News
October in the hydroponic garden: harvest, bring in, restart under LEDs
October is the month of harvests and the big cleanup: what the calendar says to harvest, what you can still sow, which systems to bring in or clean, and restarting under LEDs.
The days are getting shorter, the nights cooler. In October, the hydroponic garden changes pace: you harvest a lot, you tidy up, and you get ready for winter indoors.
To harvest
According to the site’s calendar, October is mostly a harvest month: lettuce, arugula, mâche (corn salad), bok choy, mizuna, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, parsley, chives, mint, peas, beans, radishes, and nasturtiums still going. Harvest salad greens from the outside in to extend production.
To sow and plant
- Garden cress and garlic are among the calendar’s October sowings.
- Strawberries: planting time.
- Microgreens: all year round indoors, a harvest in one to three weeks.
Tidy up and get ready for winter
- Bring in tender herbs (basil first) before the first cold nights.
- Empty and clean the systems that spend the winter outside: scrub, disinfect, rinse, and store pumps and air stones somewhere dry. See diseases and pests.
- Restart under LEDs: a few salad greens and herbs on a lit shelf will last all winter. See grow lights and the DLI calculator.
What about you, what are you keeping growing this winter? Tell us in the café.
