A smarter approach to this is the future system created by Soilless. The company is the brainchild of Westen Johnson and Julie Joo, two Rhode Island School of Design graduates who first created the system when they were students. The design is simple: “It’s basically a big bag,” Johnson says. He explains that the bag is made up of two layers that seal together much like a pool float, except instead of being inflated with air, it’s water. The vertical system can grow up to 23 plants. It hangs from a rod with an LED light fixture attached and looks like something you would see hanging in an upscale loft. “It’s basically something that a normal person can afford and consume, it’s like a living work of art in your home,” Johnson says. When the system is launched, it will cost around $ 200.
There is a system for every space
You don’t need a suburban home with enough space to make room for a hydroponic gardening system. In Atlanta, Greg Crafter founded Product’d thinking of the townspeople. “For a city dweller, space is very limited and expensive. So you want to use it and maximize it in the best possible way, ”says Crafter. People who are testing its system, which launches in Atlanta this summer, keep it everywhere, from their desks to their living rooms.
If space is too tight, there are also table options. Rise has a personal garden system that grows 12 plants, but others include Edn which grows 10 plants, up to the small Sprout by Aero Garden, which grows three plants (perfect for cooking herbs). These smaller systems probably won’t replace the products you buy at the grocery store, but they’re a good way to supplement things like herbs.
Plants are good for your mental health
Spending so much time at home made us rethink our interior spaces. We are surrounded by square shapes and hard lines, which whether we know it or not, make our brains crave something that looks like nature. This is why more and more people are turning to the biophilic (love of life) design, which focuses on the incorporation of nature into interior spaces. “There are certain patterns, shapes and images and sounds that we encounter in the natural world that give us a positive physiological response,” says Jennifer Bissonnette, Acting Director of RISD Nature Laboratory. From the bran of running water to the aroma of basil, biophilic design elements can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure, and improve overall happiness, says Bissonnette.
While being a “plant parentA familiar Instagram trope, it also applies to owners of hydroponic plants. Hydroponic systems don’t necessarily require the same daily attention as a houseplant, but engaging with these plants makes us feel connected to them. “I can’t stress this enough: it’s wonderful to have him in your living environment, but there is something about engaging with another living being and understanding that you are in a relationship with him. . I think it’s a wonderful thing for us, ”says Bissonnette.
In a continuous loop of Zoom calls and reruns of Office, these systems can also help you feel grounded. For Edmisten, checking his plants is part of his daily routine. “It’s just a targeted escape. The breakout doesn’t go anywhere else, it connects to where you are, ”Edmisten says.
Technology offers faster, more infallible growth
Want to produce quickly? Then hydroponics is definitely for you. “Plants grow twice as fast because nutrients are delivered directly to the roots. You can have a smaller garden and still produce a lot more food with it, ”says Johnson.
As an added bonus, many of these systems connect to apps that make it harder to destroy your plants. Rise, for example, allows users to enter the plants they grow on the app, then it tracks water levels, pH balance, and sets the lighting schedule. “We tell you when to do it, how to do it, how much. You really don’t have to be a technician, ”Adams says.
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