While a power outage in your hydroponic garden is never ideal, it doesn’t have to be a catastrophic event. I’ve personally experienced a few outages during my time as an indoor gardener and have managed to keep my plants strong and healthy thanks to a few handy tips and tricks.

Read on to learn what can go wrong, simple solutions and how to be better prepared for next time!

Getting light to your garden is crucial when experiencing a power outage. Battery-powered appliances such as torches, camping lanterns or even Christmas lights can be a big help when your garden needs light.  

Even if you can’t maintain a constant source of light, a few minutes every couple of hours can help to ensure your plants survive. It’s possible to maintain the inner clock of your plants with only a small amount of light during their day period, so do your best to offer your garden glimpses of light with battery-powered appliances while waiting for the power to return.  

Here’s a few handy items you might want on hand to make sure you’re prepared for a power outage:

Here in Australia, we’re not often subjected to extreme cases of cold weather. However, when the power goes out your garden will experience a temperature drop that could be potentially damaging to its health and growth, especially during the colder months of the year. 

Here’s a few things to try when the power goes out and the temperature of your hydroponic garden falls:

Your garden’s chances of survival will differ depending on the types of plants you are growing, although the principle of heat conservation remains the same for any garden. Maintain as much heat as possible while the power is out to give your garden the best opportunity to remain healthy.

If you’ve got a hydroponic or Deep Water Culture (DWC) system, a power outage could lead to a lack of oxygen in your garden’s root system due to the air pump powering off. If the power is out for more than an hour you’ll need to take a few steps to keep your garden happy and healthy.  

Here’s what to do:

The most important factor to your garden surviving a power outage is preparation. Having backup pieces of equipment that don’t rely on the main power grid will make your life a lot easier when experiencing an outage.  

Generators and other isolated power supplies can allow your system to continue operating throughout an outage, while battery-powered light sources will help you to get at least some light to your garden when required.  

If your system includes an air pump, then a battery-powered backup could be a worthwhile investment.