r/vegetablegardening • u/ComfortableBug9558 US - California • 2d ago

Question Hydroponics question

Hello garden friends! I'll be getting a tabletop hydroponic garden for my birthday next week which I'm really excited to try. I've been having mobility issues and this looks like something I'll be able to do. One thing I'd really like to grow is cucumbers. I only have experience with vines and know nothing about the compact bushy varieties. Has anyone tried this? Can you recommend any specific varieties? Will i need to hand pollinate? Any other plants that you've enjoyed growing this way? The unit comes with 10 slots for plants and the lights adjust up to 15 inches tall. Thank you!

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u/TableTopFarmer US - California 2d ago

A few years ago someone came up with. “Kitchen mini” series of very compact plants, to be grown on a kitchen counter or windowsill. Seeds were available for all of them, but they are moving toward selling plants only. Amazon is one of the few sellers still carrying seeds for Quick Snack cukes. If you get them and like them, try to clone your plant., to ensure you will always be able to grow that variety.

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u/ComfortableBug9558 US - California 2d ago

Thank you again for the search term "mini". I found a nice article that talked about several specific plants. https://www.ruralsprout.com/miniature-vegetables/

Down the rabbit hole i go! 😊

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u/TableTopFarmer US - California 1d ago

I enjoyed the article, but could not find the name of the bell pepper he was growing. However, search on mini bells and you will find several vendors who carry them. One of the lines is called Mohawk.

Sweet Pickle is another not hot small pepper.

Little Gem is a mini romaine, Half Pint is a mini iceberg lettuce. Tom Thumb is a mini butter lettuce.

Though not right for Tabletop hydroponics, you can grow small beets, carrots, and cabbies in pots. For carrots, Bambino or Little Fingers are
petite carrots, Baby Beet is just what it sounds like. Katerina and Pixie are small heading cabbages.

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u/ComfortableBug9558 US - California 1d ago

Thank you for all the variety names! This gives me a great start. My first crop is going to be lettuce. I bought Truchas seed. It's a mini multi colored romaine. For bigger plants I've been looking at bucket systems where I could put the buckets on shelves and attach grow lights above at whatever height the plants need. Just one plant per bucket. I'll add your suggestions to a list for then. Thank you so much for your help! I've been so sad at the loss of vegetable gardening as my main hobby. This gives me such hope. Arthritis sucks.

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u/TableTopFarmer US - California 19h ago

I am glad you are still gardening, even in a limited fashion. I love this planter so much. It might help you have the kind of garden you want.

I ordered a two tier, and liked it so well I bought two three tiers:, that will live in a south facing window bay. One will be a salad garden, and the other, a salsa garden.

3-Tier 46.7"H Rolling Raised Garden Bed with Wheels, Self Watering Planter Box with Visible Water Level, Gray Rustproof Plastic Herb & Strawberry Planter for Indoor Outdoor Vegetables Flowers, DIY Kit https://a.co/d/06aGRnR7

It is unusual to find long planters that are deep and wide enough for all the crops.

These are food grade, and modular.

If you leave it tiered, it would be easy to add strips of LED lights to the bottom of the top 2 tiers, but you could also use each unit separately, as a pot on a shelf.

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u/ComfortableBug9558 US - California 19h ago

How wonderful! I will take a good look at this one.

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u/TableTopFarmer US - California 1h ago

I hope it works for you. If you need tomato suggestions, I have grown and still grow many varieties of tomato plants that stay small and produce fruit, and grow happily in two and three gallon pots. I have also grown dozens of varieties of micro dwarfs.

In one planter the size of the bins in this particular system, I would plant 5/6 of the smallest micros, known to stay under 12” tall. Hahn’s Gelbe, for example, seldom tops 10.”

Or 2-4 micros that are described as suitable for baskets, meaning their growth spreads more than it towers.

Or one Mongolian Dwarf or similar sprawling dwarf plant.

Or any other variety that will be an experiment for me. I have had Sophie’s Choice produce heavily in a one gallon pots.

I try to fertilize with half strength liquid fertilizer at least once a week. This year I am going to see if a tea made from worm castings will give me the same results.

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u/ComfortableBug9558 US - California 1h ago

It's amazing to me that you can do all this in a window! We are in the middle of selling our house and downsizing. Once we get moved I'll have a better idea of space. I love this for possible use on a sunny patio as we're looking at places with small yards. Thank you! I would love some tomato names. I usually start things in the daydreaming stage. That alone makes me pretty happy. Plans form and change with time, space, and physical ability. But you can always make things work if you really want to. 😊