FEATURE
“ I like gardening indoors because it is comfortable ,” she laughed . “ You don ’ t have to fight the bees . You don ’ t get sunburned . You don ’ t have to worry about too many pests .”
Hydroponics works much like taking a stem cutting and putting it in a glass of water to take root .
Tucker uses about a dozen hydroponic growing units with built-in pumps , grow lights and automatic timers to grow her plants . Another four dozen mason jars and other containers house herbs and cuttings in the soil-free , nutrient-rich water solution .
While some of her units are near a window where they get a little extra sunlight , natural light is not necessary with the grow lights , she noted .
“ I have most of this in the kitchen and the breakfast room and the dining room . It really doesn ’ t take that much room ,” she said . “ A mason jar is not that large , and you can put six or so of them close to a unit with a grow light and they get enough artificial light to be able to grow .”
Mainly , Tucker grows greens such as lettuce , spinach , chard and bok choy ; fruiting plants like peppers and cherry and grape tomatoes ; and herbs , such as parsley , basil , mint , cilantro , thyme , sage , chamomile , anise and lemon balm .
“ Some of these I use as seasonings in cooking and a lot of them I put on salads . They also make great pizza toppings ,” she added . The mints are great for making herbal teas . Tucker , a retired teacher who still teaches private music lessons , is choir director and organist at the Episcopal Church of the Mediator . She got started in hydroponic gardening after her mother gave her a unit with three pods .
“ I remember seeing the units advertised on TV way back when my children were young , and I thought it would be so nice to grow lettuce on the kitchen counter . But I was always too busy to do it ,” Tucker recalled . With the first unit her mother gave her , she grew lettuce . “ Within a couple of months , I had already bought three other units , and I was growing tomatoes and peppers . It really is very addicting ,” she said .
“ It really is so much fun . You plant these little seeds , and then they sprout within a few days or a couple of weeks ,” Tucker added . “ Then you watch them grow and pretty soon they produce flowers and fruit and you put it on your plate . It is a wonderful hobby .”
Lettuce , if started from seed , takes about three weeks to get established and another week or two before harvesting .
“ After that , if you harvest correctly and you prune it and don ’ t destroy the plant but leave enough growing , it will continue to produce new leaves ,” she said . “ You can get to the point where you harvest once a week quite a bit and within a week to a week and a half , it will have replenished itself and the plant is ready to be harvested again . I have some lettuce I have been harvesting once a week for three months or longer .”
Plants grown hydroponically usually require less space and use less water than conventional gardening , which makes it ideal for people without backyards or who have small houses or apartments . Hydroponic plants also typically yield more produce .
“ It takes a little bit of planning , but once you get things going , you can have tomatoes and peppers and lettuce and lots of herbs for months and months and months ,” Tucker said .
While she has experimented with squash , Fairy Tale eggplants and Mascotte French beans in the past , Tucker tries to stay with foods that yield the biggest harvest and grow the easiest .
“ It is fun to try something to see if you can do it , but I really want to put food on my table and I want to cut down on my grocery shopping ,” she said . “ I also like knowing that what I am eating is fresh , has not been sprayed with any pesticides and is very clean . And it really does taste better than what you buy in the store .” M
14 • MERIDIAN HOME & STYLE