Smart hydroponics pioneer Jennifer Holston grows a living pantry in her home through all seasons. And so can you. 

When most of us hear the word “hydroponics,” we picture sprawling operations in a warehouse or basement, possibly constructed from home-drilled PVC pipes and buckets. We might also have a very specific idea of the kind of plants that are grown hydroponically. But over the last decade, attractive, compact, and easy-to-use home-scale hydroponic systems have become available. This week’s guest, Jennifer Holston, was an early adopter and she uses her bookshelf-sized indoor garden to grow everything from the expected herbs and lettuce to tomatoes, cucumbers, and even an experimental pumpkin. 

Jennifer wants everyone to feel comfortable embracing hydroponic gardening—not necessarily as a replacement for growing plants in soil, but as a complement to it. She explains how the technology in today’s hydroponic systems (including AI features in some) has taught her to be more sensitive to her plants’ needs, and how this kind of gardening is both surprisingly sustainable and prodigiously productive. The conversation addresses nutrient management, plant care, disease prevention, maintenance, and resources where listeners can learn more (see below for that list). 

Jennifer is working on the first comprehensive book for home hydroponic gardeners, Arable: Modern Indoor Hydroponics to Sustain and Fulfill (coming in 2026). Stay tuned for announcements (and read Jennifer’s blog posts) on her website at www.Gardening-anywhere.com.

You can also find Jennifer on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GardeningAnywhere

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gardeninganywhere

Online Resources

Cornell University—Agriculture and Life Sciences, www.greenhouse.cornell.edu 

University of Arizona—www.ag.arizona.edu/hydroponic 

U.S. Department of Agriculture—www.usda.gov 

National Library of Medicine (search here for studies about hydroponics)—https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 

Books

Howard Resh, Hobby Hydroponics 2nd ed.

Donald L. Coan, Toward a Hydroponic Future

Fact Check

The name of the bacterium sometimes used to counter Pythium (root rot) in hydroponic systems is Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. 

Jennifer was reaching for remembered details of a study that compared nutrients in tomatoes grown hydroponically vs. in soil. Here’s the study she was referencing: 

Verdoliva, S. G., Gwyn-Jones, D., Detheridge, A., & Robson, P. (2021). Controlled comparisons between soil and hydroponic systems reveal increased water use efficiency and higher lycopene and β-carotene contents in hydroponically grown tomatoes. Scientia Horticulturae, 279, 109896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.109896

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. 

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Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

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Timestamps

00:34 Introducing Jennifer Holston, Smart Hydroponics Pioneer

02:06 Growing Hydroponically through Texas Summers and Michigan Winters

03:00 Buttons, Lights, and AI: What’s New in Modern Home Hydroponics

06:30 Using and Maintaining Your Hydroponic System

12:00 Air, Pruning, and Pollination (with Dinosaurs?)

16:50 Using Nutrient Mixes for Abundantly Nutritious Produce

18:44 Sustainability and Resource Use in Hydroponics

25:04 Comparing Hydroponics to Traditional Gardening

26:15 AI in Gardening: Not Scary, it Turns Out

30:20 Beyond Cannabis: Hydroponics Preconceptions

37:38 Growing Vining Plants in Your Home

39:30 Keeping it Clean: Avoiding Disease in a Hydroponic System

43:18 Dealing with Hard Water and Chlorinated Water

46:47 Graduating from the Garden AI’s Mentorship

50:00 Resources for Aspiring Hydroponic Gardeners

52:29 Where to Find Jennifer Online

53:11 Jennifer’s Upcoming Book on Home Hydroponics

54:38 Conclusion and Contact Us