Making Food Blog

I know that being able to include greens I’ve grown in two dishes in two weeks, after a couple months of growing, is probably not considered sustainable supplemental farming. However, I can assure you that the feeling of satisfaction from growing delicious edible food in my apartment, in December, is still significantly high.

This hydroponic adventure began with the purchase of a single hydroponics system, but I soon found myself purchasing several more 12-pod Ahopegarden Hydroponic Systems. These are self-contained hydroponic systems that hold about 5 liters of water and include multi-spectrum grow lights, water circulation pumps, and space for 12 seed pods. Although, it is important to note that the 12 pods become very crowded and soon require thinning and relocation of some of the plants to ensure all the sprouts have a chance to thrive.

The baby choi, like most plants I’ve experimented with in this indoor growing system, took about a week to first raise a little green sprout out of the pod. Once the plant establishes its roots in the water tank, then things really start to take off.

The bright lush leaves seen in this featured image are actually the second harvest I pulled from this plant. Both times, it was a delicious addition to my bowl of ramen. There is no feeling like being able to take some gardening sheers and snip fresh vegetables right off the stock to add directly to the pot.

For those of you that are familiar with bok choy, you may be wondering why my plants grow spread out rather than in the constrained celery-like stalks most are accustomed to seeing. I attribute the spread of my plant to the lack of soil support missing in my hydroponic set up. Despite not resembling a traditional bok choy plant, the taste and plant texture was still very enjoyable.

So far, one other thing I’ve noticed about hydroponics is the vibrancy of this leaf coloring. There seems to be density of color that is so rich it even holds up through the cooking process. I highly recommend growing baby bok in your own home.