Purely Hydroponic Gives You a New Way to Garden

Planting a garden often takes times and effort, not to mention space.

An Avon business is offering an alternative. Purely Hydroponic recently opened in Avon and offers all the tools needed to get you started in hydroponic gardening. 

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil.

Some of the upsides to hydroponic gardening include less space, less growing time, water conservation, recyclable nutrients, higher yields, less labor and garden maintenance, and no pesticides.

Steven Hadgis, a 1997 graduate, founded the company in February. He started as an online business, then opened the retail store this summer. 

Why hydroponics?

"Hydroponics  is a fun alternative gardening solution which people of all ages can enjoy," he said. "It also enables you to garden in the fall and winter which is something we cannot do outside in Cleveland.” 

Hadgis comes into the garden business from the automotive industry. He also has online business experience.

He became interested in hydroponics in high school, after watching a documentary on the NASA channel regarding how the astronauts would eat on the space station. He started researching and experimenting and has been hooked on hydroponics ever since.

“I started following this movement and realized even more the importance of take care of the environment,” said Hadgis. “With the whole urban movement in Cleveland and food crisis for some people, eventually this will be the way to grow."

Hydroponics has been embraced by urban gardening pioneer Will Allen, founder of Growing Power.

Hydroponic gardening is also just plain fun, Hadgis said.

"You can grow a garden right in your kitchen," Hadgis said. "Items such as lettuce or tomatoes can be picked right before dinner and what’s even better, the lettuce grows right back after picking."

By not using soil, Hadgis explained, the growth cycle is cut dramatically. 

"Cleveland has the best water available," he said. "Plants grow very fast, and at the same time, we get to control the environment. You also don’t have to worry about mites in your plants.”

Purely Hydroponic offers an in-house consultation service with a product line that ranges from hydro lighting, hydroponic systems, hydro accessories and a full line of nutrients. The showroom also features a cloning tent where you can see the process in action.

Future plans

Hadgis said he hopes to use hydroponics in local schools to engage students in science.

“You can grow anything from vegetables to flowers,” said Hadgis. “Once we are up and running, we plan to build a lab in our back warehouse. I’ve been experimenting with coming up with my own nutrient mixes and we hope to sell our own products. We also will have a larger cloning tent and would like to grow some banana trees.”

Avon, once known as the ‘Greenhouse Capitol,’ was the ideal location for the new business, he said. From Avon, he plans to branch out to other distribution centers.

“Avon is a great gardening community with farms everywhere,” said Hadgis. “I wanted to stay close to home and this is ideal."