IKEA to sell hydroponic indoor gardening systems this spring in the U.K.

As anyone who’s taken a stroll through their neighborhood IKEA can attest, the Scandinavian furniture chain has nearly everything. Be it DIY bed frames and desks to picture frames, potted cacti, and shower rods, there isn’t a whole lot someone wouldn’t be able to purchase during a visit — save actual groceries or booze. Because of this, it’s not the least bit surprising to see the massive corporation will soon carry an indoor hydroponic system which allows owners to grow a garden of vegetables (among other things) right in their kitchen. With just a few starter pods, a bit of water, and a healthy dose of patience, anyone with IKEA’s indoor gardening system can unleash their inner green thumb.

Releasing in the U.K. this May, IKEA’s new gardening setup provides everything necessary to maintain a thriving, year-round vegetable crop. Starting out, owners simply soak a batch of starter pods in a bowl of water, insert them into a specially designed pod container, then put their desired plant seeds (either pre-soaked or not) on top of the plugs. As the seeds begin to grow, it’s then time to replant the seedlings into larger containers filled with uber-absorbent pumice stones. Once replanted, the new pots are placed into a separate container where the plants will grow underneath a unique, sun-resembling light.

IKEA

In addition to the planting and replanting of seeds, the only consistent activity required of the system’s owner is the simple monitoring of water. What’s perhaps most intriguing about an indoor gardening setup is that as the plants continue to grow — day and night — users have a front row seat to the entire process. As the video posted above depicts, the system allows for a rather large harvest of vegetable at the end of a growth cycle.

“The challenge was to make growing plants in a hydroponic system simple, so that anyone could succeed,” says Helena Karlen of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences on IKEA’s website.

Unfortunately, a U.S. release of IKEA’s indoor hydroponic garden isn’t expected until the spring of 2017. Additionally, even those living in the United Kingdom will have to snatch one up quickly as the company only plans on making the system available for a limited time.

from Planet GS via John Jason Fallows on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1SnLHNV
Rick Stella