New York has started a growing trend that’s already branching its way outside North America: windowfarming. Windowfarming uses maximum window space for hydroponic growing and it’s no surprise its roots are found in New York. According to the 2010 US census, 8.2million New Yorkers reside within a land area of just 305 square miles (790square kilometres), and a recent 2011 ECA International report placed Manhattan in the top 50 “World’s Most Expensive Cities.” With living space clearly at a premium, and a population with a desire to still be able to grow plants and vegetables at home, urban windowfarming was born.

Most of us hydroponics growers have one major goal: increase maximum yield and efficiency so we see the largest and most valuable hydroponics harvests possible. Here are some surefire ways to make your bigger yields dreams come true…

No, you are not hallucinating…your hydroponics plants do talk to you. They send signals to you through their leaves, kind of like smoke signals. Learn their language, give your plants what they need, and they’ll give you those kind harvests you crave. Most of the time, if leaves don’t look good, it’s your plants telling you they’re lacking the essential hydroponics plant nutrients they can only get enough of via their roots. Common indicators are hydroponics leaves that are yellowing, curling, browning, drying up, or even falling off.

Q:

I want to use sunlight to grow this summer. A problem I want to avoid is harvesting at the same time as all of the other growers, which is usually mid-September where I live. I prefer to harvest earlier. Growing auto-flowering strains is an option, but they don’t yield as much and I would need to start all the plants from seed. Also, I would need much higher plant numbers, which is something else that I am trying to avoid. I realize I might be asking for miracles here but is there anything that you can suggest to help bring my crop to maturity earlier using natural sunlight?

Hydroponics maximum yield in your indoor hydroponics urban garden is easier to achieve when you use these smart tactics known by professional commercial growers…

We talk constantly about getting maximum yield from your hydroponics urban garden. What exactly do we mean? First of all, the term urban garden is a take-off from a term that preceded it: Urban Grower. But what exactly does “urban” mean? In almost all definitions, urban is related to cities. So if you have a hydroponics indoor grow room and you live in a rural area, is that an urban garden? Not by strict definition it isn’t.

Q:

I live in an apartment complex where there are rules about growing plants on your balcony. The thing is, there are few better simple pleasures in life for me than picking my own home grown under the open sky. I live and work in a city, so becoming a farmer or living somewhere with some property to grow outdoors is not an option for me right now.

Q:

I have been growing for a while, and like most growers have had occasional battles with insects in my crop. However this time, it’s a little different. The crop is on a decline due to a really severe infestation that I just can’t seem to get under control with my usual applications of neem or pyrethrum based sprays. Admittedly, the grow is running a little warmer right now, which makes the spider mites that are eating my crop that much hungrier.

If you love gardening but are confined to a small apartment or condo, you may feel as if you don’t have the room to grow an adequate vegetable garden. While limited space can be frustrating for city-dwellers, growing a hi-rise hydroponics garden is far from impossible. With a little creativity and planning, you can use vertical spaces to produce a beautiful and plentiful garden.

Farmers have got it great. Rural landowners have all the space they need for growing crops, maintaining beautiful gardens, and helping themselves to fresh food anytime. But as more and more natural land is turned into concrete city blocks and high-rise buildings, not everyone has that luxury. When it comes to gardens, are city dwellers just plain out of luck?