Grow Your Own

Kentigern Wong delves into the joyful world of home gardening.

Reading Time:5 minutes

Published: 4:00pm, 2 Nov 2006Updated: 2:05pm, 19 Oct 2016

Indoor hydroponic herb gardens have many advantages. Besides the apparent fact that it is much harder for your crop to get found by the Customs and Excise Department – Helicopter Division, it is also easier for you to control the ambient conditions. But be aware that herbs grown indoors will not appear the same as their outdoor cousins. They will be scrawnier and have weaker stems but despite their measly appearance they will produce as much, if not more, herb resin. Which means you’ll also get more friends.

Genetics

First things first, get seeds. If you’ve been cooking with good-looking herbs recently, then save those seeds. The seeds should be virile - not gray and shriveled, but plump and green. A good test to see if your seeds will grow is to drop one onto a hot frying pan; if it cracks loudly then that batch is good for planting.

Lighting

If you paid attention in biology class, you’ll know that plants grow through photosynthesis. In other words, you need a light cycle. At least eight hours of light a day must be provided. As you increase the light, the plants grow faster and more females than male plants develop. Sixteen hours of light per day seems to be the optimum amount, but don’t overdo it - 24 hours will hurt your precious new plants. They need rest as much as light. Just like you, after a particularly pleasant evening snacking on herbal brownies.

High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps are the best option for most indoor growers. They usually come in three different kinds: High Pressure Sodium (HPS), Metal Halide (MH) and Mercury Vapor. Renowned for their ability to significantly increase the size and potency of your plants, an HID is one small investment worth making. If possible, use the Son Agro, which is a high quality type of HPS. One indoor grower we spoke to said, “Not only do the plants grow quickly under the bulb, but the results are usually leafy and compact. Although they do not last as long as normal HPS bulbs, that’s a sacrifice you have to be willing to make.” It is difficult to find these lamps at the retail level in Hong Kong, but you can order them via several websites: DIY Trade: www.diytrade.com; and Busy Trade: busytrade.com.

Vegetation/Flowering

There are two stages in the successful growth of most plants and herbs- vegetation and flowering. Home gardeners need to create a separate area for each process.
During the period of vegetation, blue spectrum light and longer periods of light (just like it is outdoors in spring-summer) allow the plant to photosynthesize as much as possible. The plant does not only grow vertically, but it also gets leafier, which, as we all know, is the most important part of the process for many herbs.

The process of flowering begins once the plant reaches its full height (most herbs don’t get any taller than 12 inches). The single most important thing to ensure during this stage is the avoidance of light during the dark cycle. It is wise to set the dark hours at a time when you will not be able to take care of your plants, so that the dark cycle would not delay your harvesting period.

Outdoors, flowering occurs in summer-fall. Indoors, red spectrum light and shorter light periods have the same effect, stimulating hormones in the plant to increase flowering as well as the production of the plant’s intoxicating active compound. Er, that would be lycopene of course. Intoxicating. I mean, anti-oxidizing.

Hydroponics

Are you laid-back yet strangely not satisfied with second-best results? If so, welcome to the world of hardcore hydroponics. Hydroponically grown plants usually grow faster and end up healthier. The idea is that you use a water-based solution packed full of essential nutrients, making it, in theory, more effective than soil for growing big, leafy herbs. Just buy a box, buy some solution ($15-$30), place the seeds in the solution and wait. Pretty easy. Visit any gardening shop to obtain a solution that will work for the species of herb you are growing. If what you need is unavailable, the staff may be able to instruct you on how to make your own.