Hi, I’m Chris!
I started Hydro How-To because I want to share my passion for hydroponic gardening with you!
Whether you have a 500-acre farm or a 500 square foot studio apartment, you can grow your own food using hydroponic methods.
There is something incredibly rewarding about growing your own food, and I want to share that with you. If you’ve never given hydroponics a try before, I ask that you please give it a shot. I think you will find it extremely beneficial to not only your physical but also your mental health.
Hydroponic Gardening For Health & Happiness
Gardening has radically changed my life in so many positive ways. This monumental shift was the driving force behind my decision to create this website. I want to share with you not only the tips and techniques I’ve learned about hydroponic gardening but also the transformation in personal happiness and self-care that has grown as a result of caring for plants.
The most important thing is not how you grow plants. It is how you choose to live and enjoy your life’s purpose.
Beauty is a Wonderful Healer
Plants offer so much to us. They clean the air we breathe, provide nourishment, and bring beauty into our lives. If we take the time to stop and observe plants, they truly are wonderful works of natural art.
It’s incredibly hard to be depressed or anxious when you take a moment to truly appreciate the beauty of the plants you grow.
Mindfulness
I’m the kind of person who can easily succumb to “living in my head.” You know, when you get so caught up on a thought or idea that the whole world passes you by without your noticing. That was me before I started gardening. To some extent, it’s still me, but that’s something I work on every day. You see, when you live in your head you never truly live in the world.
I often talk about caring for my plants, but the truth is my plants do much more for me than I do for them. They force me into the now, require that I observe their being, appreciate their beauty, or identify their suffering. This requirement for thoughtful attention pulls me out of my head and immerses me in the splendor of the world.
This big beautiful world is full of wonder if we’re willing to recognize and participate in it.
No Instant Gratification Here
Plain and simple, plants take time to grow. Sure we can do things to expedite the process to some degree, but the fact remains there is no instant gratification as a gardener.
In this day and age of same-day delivery and on-demand life, it’s important to take a step back and enjoy the process rather than focusing on the result. The process of gardening has taught me so much about planning and patience. Beyond that, I have learned to embrace and enjoy each step of the process.
When we choose instant gratification, we blindly fast forward past so many great opportunities that really do help add fullness to our lives. I challenge you to take the long road, and seize the opportunity to appreciate all it has to offer!
Gardening Stimulates the Mind
I love to tinker. Since childhood, I have marveled at pictures of inventors in their shops filled with all kinds of interesting knobs and gears and tools. The concept of creating something out of nothing is so profound and enticing to me. It’s truly magical.
In many ways, gardening is the same. From seed, you both create and sustain life. Beyond the philosophical, hydroponic gardening is about tinkering and experimenting. There are so many variables that can be adjusted, and if you take the time to observe the process you will be rewarded regardless of the result.
For me, hydroponic gardening is the perfect culmination of basement engineering, horticulture, and self-care.
You’re Going to Fail & That’s GOOD
Education has created a culture filled with people who are immobilized by the fear of failure. Rather than reach for the stars, many of us instead reach for the remote control because we believe that to be a “safe” option. One that won’t reveal our weaknesses.
Because of this, many among us will never understand their true potential, their true life’s passion.
I find this to be very sad. We all need to realize failure is not bad. Failure is good. We learn from failure. Life is not a multiple-choice quiz that we can skate through as long as we memorize all the answers.
Every time I fail, I get better. This excites me and motivates me to continue trying new things. If I don’t fail, I’m not pushing myself to become better in every way possible.
I shied away from opportunities for years, if not decades because I was afraid of failure. I realize now that in itself was a failure, and I have learned so much from it.
You will fail at some point, probably many points, as a hydroponic gardener. You will fail, and you will learn and you will become better for it. Every failure pales in comparison to the successes their sum will equal.
So….what are you waiting for?
It’s time to start growing, in all aspects!