At home, you can get a large harvest of greens when grown on a windowsill only using the hydroponics method. For many, this technique is “dark forest”. Hydroponics is avoided because it requires a lot of additional equipment. However, there are plants, for example, coriander, that can be grown without additional lighting and a compressor.
What you will need:
- coriander seeds;
- fine plastic sieve;
- bowl under the sieve;
- liquid or powder fertilizers.
Process of growing coriander in hydroponics
Coriander seeds need to be crushed to break the shell. This will increase their germination rate.
Then you need to put a plastic sieve in a container and pour a third of the seeds into the bottom. Water is poured from above, its level should reach the seeds.
The container is placed on the windowsill on the south side. In summer you can put it outside, but not in the scorching sun. It is necessary to control the water level so that the seeds do not dry out. In 7-10 days they will sprout. All this time, the sieve can be kept covered with film or cloth to reduce moisture evaporation. Light in the first days is not important for seeds, the main thing is warmth and moisture.
The remaining portions of seeds should be added to the first at intervals of 5-6 days. They will sprout late, then after the first greenery is collected, the next batch will arrive in a week.
Next, you need to monitor the water level once every couple of days so that the coriander roots are constantly in it. After germination and rooting, you should start using fertilizers. These can be special liquid formulations for hydroponics, or balanced powder formulations for growing greens. Once every 2 weeks, the water in the container is changed to settled water, and fertilizer is applied according to the instructions.
As the coriander grows, it is trimmed and used for food. Since the seeds were planted in batches, fresh greenery will grow constantly. The main thing is not to forget to control the water level, change it and apply fertilizer. It is also important to monitor the condition of the leaves; they can be used to determine the deficiency or excess of certain micro and macroelements.
