Build your own outdoor hydroponic system to grow Potatoes, Strawberries, Lettuce and Celery!
I have been interested in hydroponics from a very young age when a relative gave me a "grow light".
Being young, I didn't realise hydroponics meant growing without dirt, but that didn't stop me trying to grow plants under my parents stairs!
Ever since seeing my strawberries growing under that purple fluorescent glow, I was mesmerised by the idea of growing plants in different ways.
When I learnt that hydroponics was about growing without dirt (and not artificial lights!), I was hooked even more.
I have researched for years, and recently took the plunge growing a small hydroponic chilli plant, that shot up above it's dirt bound siblings. That was it for me, I wanted more, and I wanted bigger!
So here is how I built my new hydroponic garden, I hope to inspire others to jump in, it is a great hobby!
I have been interested in hydroponics from a very young age when a relative gave me a "grow light".
Being young, I didn't realise hydroponics meant growing without dirt, but that didn't stop me trying to grow plants under my parents stairs!
Ever since seeing my strawberries growing under that purple fluorescent glow, I was mesmerised by the idea of growing plants in different ways.
When I learnt that hydroponics was about growing without dirt (and not artificial lights!), I was hooked even more.
I have researched for years, and recently took the plunge growing a small hydroponic chilli plant, that shot up above it's dirt bound siblings. That was it for me, I wanted more, and I wanted bigger!
So here is how I built my new hydroponic garden, I hope to inspire others to jump in, it is a great hobby!
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Signing UpStep 1: The Green side of life
Hydroponics is not only an enjoyable hobby, it is also a green one.
Hydroponics use as little as 10% of the water needed for plants grown in dirt , and results in higher yields due to the plants always having the necessary nutrients available to them when they need it.
Being a closed system, it also means that fertiliser is kept out of the water table, which is great for the environment.
An added benefit is that there is a less chance for weeds and dirt bound insects to attack your plants, so there is less of a need for chemical poisons.
Going further
Keeping with the green spirit, this instructable uses recycled materials where possible, and uses a low power pump, to keep electricity use low.
From using old PVC pipes, an old wooden baby's crib and other miscellaneous junk, not only is the cost kept down, but so is the waste.
As for power, the only thing needed is a water pump.
A small submersible pond pump kept the power usage down to a small 18 watts, which is about that of a CFL and less then a third of an Aerogarden!
When it comes to lights, it is hard to beat the Sun!
Free, effective and carbon neutral, it provides the exact spectrum that plants have evolved to use.
Food
By growing food in my garden, it is a little bit less food I need to buy, a little less food that has been shipped across country, by trucks.
No packaging, and no transport makes this food the greenest in my kitchen.
Hydroponics use as little as 10% of the water needed for plants grown in dirt , and results in higher yields due to the plants always having the necessary nutrients available to them when they need it.
Being a closed system, it also means that fertiliser is kept out of the water table, which is great for the environment.
An added benefit is that there is a less chance for weeds and dirt bound insects to attack your plants, so there is less of a need for chemical poisons.
Going further
Keeping with the green spirit, this instructable uses recycled materials where possible, and uses a low power pump, to keep electricity use low.
From using old PVC pipes, an old wooden baby's crib and other miscellaneous junk, not only is the cost kept down, but so is the waste.
As for power, the only thing needed is a water pump.
A small submersible pond pump kept the power usage down to a small 18 watts, which is about that of a CFL and less then a third of an Aerogarden!
When it comes to lights, it is hard to beat the Sun!
Free, effective and carbon neutral, it provides the exact spectrum that plants have evolved to use.
Food
By growing food in my garden, it is a little bit less food I need to buy, a little less food that has been shipped across country, by trucks.
No packaging, and no transport makes this food the greenest in my kitchen.
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I read it from a book where the guy used 2 5-litre buckets joined together and got a lot of potatoes out.
The trick is to keep covering up the stem as it grows, and more potatoes will grow from the covered stem.
I have so many projects, and I become a bit scattered!
Then I moved and threw it all away.
I want to build a new system someday that needs less maintenance.
This one wasn't perfectly stable, and I had algae grow over the perlite (the white mix).
I want to do something with flood & drain next, and put a black plastic over the medium with holes for the plants to stick through.
I'm hoping being in buckets on a properly built frame, and no way for sunlight to grow algae on the medium, that it might be easier to just keep going.
plus it can almost support itself
I did setup systems similiar to your and it's works. I didn't have the clay balls but used gravel from some fish tanks we have left over. I have attached a couple of pictures. I am still experimenting with this over the summer. Hopefully by the winter I will have all the bug out of it. I can't locate the hydroponic food in my area but I am using a mixture of Miracle grow and seem to be working, everything is growing. Thanks
I would love to see your setup! :)
I really like it, it looks so neat and professional (compared to mine which was a bit of a hack!)
One suggestion I would have is to cover your water tank to stop light getting in, otherwise you will have algae growth.
What veggies are the easiest to grow for a n00b and how much did you spend? I can across this hydroponic FAX which was pretty helpful for a novice like me. Any good tutorials out there that could aid me?
Thanks!!! :)
It has been a while and I can't recall how much I spent. The most expensive part was the pump, which here in Australia I think it was about $40, if you are in the US you should get it much cheaper.
As for the best veggies, I had the best results with celery, I would only be guessing at others.
Start with above ground veggies (not carrots etc), and as you get a feel for it you should just experiment with what works!
In the end all I did was experiment. Some things went well, others didn't. It is fun just trying!
I once grew a massive chilli plant using hydro once, way more chillies then I could use.
Don't be afraid to try, plants are pretty tough and they love hydro.
Good luck!
I added it as I tend to get distracted easily, so I could imagine forgetting to keep the water topped up and burning the pump out when it all went dry! (not to mention killing the plants!)
I found the lower bucket of water lasted a fair while, but I would suggest a dark bucket, preferably light proof, as all that water and nutrients makes a nice place for algae to grow, and I found I had to dump the water and clean it after a while.
i'm reallt new in to growing plants and got some very basic questions:
1. how long it takes to grow the celery? and the strawberries?
2. is because it grows on water the plants grow stronger and bigger?
3. when the celery is fully grown, i need to take it out and plant a new one intead, right? or you just take few leafs every time and let it regrow?
thanks!
It was quite a while ago now that I did this, so I don't quite remember how long it all took.
1. The celery was pretty quick, the strawberries didn't go as well as I had hoped though
2. The reason they grow stronger is that they have a lot more food to eat.
Plants need a few basic elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and a few other minor elements.
In dirt the plant roots have to dig far, and even then they only get a small amount of what they could use, so they grow slowly.
In hydroponics the water is full of nutrients, so the plants take up as much as they can and grow fast.
3. I cut stalks off the celery and just left the plant to regrow, but if you want it all at once, then you could cut it down and plant a new seedling.
Either way works!
I'm considering doing a new garden sometime soon, I want to try and get the strawberries to grow better then they did in this setup.
I can't wait to get started. Thanks again for sharing your wonderful work.
I was at one point wondering if I could use a worm farm for this by cutting out the base of each layer. (like this: http://www.canterbury.nsw.gov.au/resources/images/worm_farm.jpg)
Unfortunately those things are expensive, so when I finally got one I used it as a worm farm!
If you figure it out, please post it up, I would love to see it!
A set of stacking boxes with holes smaller than the growth medium in the bottom and solid sides should end up with an easily removable layer of potatoes if you can devise a way of moving a very heavy stack of crates.
Some sort of winch or jack that has a travel of the box height + a couple of inches should suffice to allow the bottom drawer to be removed and the rest of the tower lowered to the ground. Don't know how this lifting mechanism will connect to the boxes but I can't make it too easy for everyone ;)
Milk creates with some sort of wall would be easy, and if you could hinge one of the side walls, you might even be able to put your hand in to just pull potatoes out without moving it at all!
You could have a perpetual potato plant that you never have to replant!
http://www.amazon.com/Covered-Extra-Clothes-Closet-Clear/dp/B002UPY2PW
Keep up the good work.
I found the nutrients at a local hardware store (bunnings).
The prices on ebay aren't always the best but it is a convenient place to start looking.
From there try googling for an online shop near you that caters to hydroponics
The ebay store I bought from was:
http://stores.ebay.com.au/HYDRO-MASTA
http://www.hydromasta.com.au/
But they are an Australian company, so I don't know if that is helpful for you!
Thanks for the 5 stars too :)
The perlite started growing a green mould after a few months.
You could fix that by covering the top of the container with a thick black plastic though.
--Bamboo is organic and may carry pathogens into your system.
--It might be hard to find end caps that fit your bamboo.
--Is the interior surface of bamboo smooth? If not, this gives pathogens a place to grow.
--Bamboo will absorb more light than pvc, which will make managing proper nutrient temperature more difficult.
That being said, I think bamboo is an excellent idea and I hope you try it!
BTW, why aren't you using Gatorade? It's got electrolytes! Isn't that what plants crave? Sorry, I had to reference a joke from the movie "Idiocracy".
Other readers, please don't use Gatorade as plant nutrient. That was a joke!
I never got around to seeing Idiocracy, is it worth a look?