Moonlight Garden Supply Brings Gardening Indoors

Moonlight Garden is a brick and mortar store in Salt Lake specializing in hydroponics and answering questions.

April 4, 2017

Nick Morgan, Chad Morrow, Kody Gubler, Zack Stroup and Russell Baker of Moonlight Garden Supply. Photo by Mike Jones.

It is possible to enjoy home-grown, fresh garden produce even in the dead of winter. Moonlight Garden Supply offers everything needed to grow food indoors year-round. Although many gardeners start plants or seeds indoors to later re-plant outside, hydroponics allows full time indoor growth.

Chad Morrow and Zack Stroup opened Moonlight about 2 ½ years ago, and according to Nick Morgan, art and marketing director, they are currently the only hydroponic supply store in Utah.

To be successful, hydroponic gardening relies on three main components; lighting, nutrients and water quality.

Lighting is the first consideration, and there are several options for growers. Moonlight offers everything from fluorescent, to high intensity lights, to LED lighting. Just choosing the proper lighting can be a complicated process because plants can need different spectrums during different aspects of the growing process. The good news is that the people at Moonlight are knowledgeable and willing to answer any and all questions.

After lighting is taken care of, the next step is supplying nutrients. Plants need different nutrients at different stages of growth, usually a mix of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, along with trace minerals.

Watering can be tricky indoors. For instance, Utah water contains a lot of minerals and is considered “hard.” The natural minerals in the water are not necessarily conducive to plant growth. Moonlight offers osmosis systems to filter out chlorine and other unhealthy chemicals. There are systems, including drip systems, to deliver just the right amount of water at the right time without drowning the roots.

Something new for Moonlight is aquaponics—a system that links plant growth with a fish tank. The water from the fish tank is pumped into the plants along with the nutrients from the waste. Morgan explained that some people raise fish for food, along with their plants.

Morgan says, “Our goal is to provide customers a place to get supplies and talk to knowledgeable people. That’s why we have a brick and mortar store instead of just doing internet sales. I grew up gardening, so for me, this is a passion project.”

Moonlight Garden Supply is located at 1572 S. State Street, Salt Lake City. (385) 227-8110

Story by Connie Lewis

Gardening & Farms, Local Spotlight, Utah Stories

Aquaponics, Hydroponics, Salt Lake hydroponic garden supplies

Connie Lewis

Connie has been with Utah Stories since 2013, and has enjoyed learning everything involved in producing a monthly magazine. In addition to writing, Connie performs administrative tasks, coordinates writers, photographers and editors, and oversees a million little details. Her least favorite word is ‘deadline.’ A journalism class at the University of Utah sparked Connie’s love of writing. Finding it hard to narrow her interests to just one major, journalism allowed her to explore a wide variety of topics and disciplines. When she is not writing, Connie loves spending time with her family and traveling with her dogs. “It has been a pleasure learning new things about the state I was born in and meeting the people who make Utah great,” she says. Connie plans to continue her love of learning and improving as the magazine moves onward and upward.

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