INDOOR HYDROPONIC VEGETABLE GROWING SYSTEM

Hello everyone,

hope you all are doing good.

In this instructable, i will make a indoor hydroponic system which will help us to grow various vegetables and fruits like, cherry tomato, spinach, lettuce, pea, etc.

I will share with you all, what is in my mind in first step with few sketches,

IDEAS I WILL IMPLEMENT

1) I will make a structure in which i will grow the vegetables vertically, one over another, so that i can multiply the production by 100 fold in that same area of land.

2) To start i will make 2 horizontal floors for hydroponic NFT systems and 1 floor to grow microgreens for my salad.

3) i Will test, How much energy will my system will consume and compare the electricity usage with the solar panels i have installed on my roof.

So Lets get started with sketch......

Step 1: Basic Sketching

Before starting sketch, the things everyone should keep in mind is ....

1) If we are installing NFT ( Nutrient Film Technique) in our system than we need to keep a reservoir for nutrient storage, which has to be on the lower height from NFT's,

We will take 1.2Ft of distance from ground , so that our reservoir should have enough space, so that it can collect the nutrient solution back in to it with the help of gravity.

as per dimensions , the rest of the space we can utilize as a storage for coco peat, vermiculite, seeds etc.

2) as we know, water slides on slope, so if we design the structure accordingly, than it will be a advantage for us for smooth nutrient flow in NFT's.

We need to keep atleast 1FT distance between 1st floor -3Floor, as plant need this much space to grow properly.

I Will advice to watch video, as i have explained completely about the framework.

Step 2: LETS COMPLETE BASIC ARRANGEMENT OF FRAMEWORK

So, As our framework is ready, we will paint the whole body of it,

In my case i have painted it black in color, as it is easily available in the market.

As you all can see on each floor, i have made cross section in crisscross form, That is to provide a stable surface area to support NFT and growing trays and even to fix LED tube lights in it.

We will use 2 AC high speed server fans and place them on one of the side of the framework, so that we can maintain proper airflow for the crop, we have used steel wire to tie the fan, so that it will not make noice due to certain vibrations.

As you all can see in the video , we have made all the arrangement by fixing lights, fans and even keeping NFTs.

Its the time to make Water flow connections, which are really simple and any one can do it.

LED LIGHTS : Develop lights utilizing productive LED sources are moderately new. Early forms of these lights had lacking capacity to be powerful for generally cultivators. As of late another high-thickness LED cluster innovation was presented that packs a greater number of LEDs and offers more power than past LED Grow Lights.

PIGMENTS ABSORB LIGHT USED IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS

In photosynthesis, the sun's vitality is changed over to synthetic vitality by photosynthetic living beings. In any case, the different wavelengths in daylight are not all utilized similarly in photosynthesis. Rather, photosynthetic creatures contain light-engrossing atoms called colors that ingest just particular wavelengths of noticeable light, while reflecting others. The arrangement of wavelengths consumed by a shade is its assimilation range. In the outline beneath, you can see the assimilation spectra of three key colors in photosynthesis: chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and β-carotene. The arrangement of wavelengths that a shade doesn't ingest are reflected, and the reflected light is the thing that we see as shading. For example, plants seem green to us since they contain numerous chlorophyll an and b particles, which reflect green light.

Step 3: LETS SETUP RESERVOIR FOR NUTRIENT SOLUTION

Majorly, we would be requiring few things mentioned below.

1) 15 liters bucket.

2) Small water cooler pump of 15W.

3) 0.75Inch PVC water pipe of around 1M except the pipe we require for water flow connections of NFT.

4) Oxygen Pump , We can use same similar to aquarium bubble pump.

we will complete the whole setup by fixing water pump inside the bucket and putting the oxygen pump outlet inside the bucket.

Nutrient solution is really easy, we can make it at home.

I have ordered nutrient in powder form and will prepare the solution as described on the nutrient box.

AMAZON LINK :

https://www.amazon.in/Pindfresh-HydroponicNutrient...

Instead of water divider,i have 3d printed my own water distribution system.

Step 4: PREPARING THE GROWING MEDIUM

we would need 3 things to make growing mixture.

1) COCO-PEAT = 50%

2) VERMICULITE = 25%

3) PER LITE = 25%

We will mix them according to the % mentioned in front of each.

COCO-PEAT :Coir, or coconut fibre, is a natural fibre extracted from the husk of coconut, its main ability is to hold the water in it.

PER LITE: Perlite is technically a form of glass, extracted from volcanic mines, the volcanic glass is then heated at extreme temperatures until it ‘pops’ and transforms into the white mineral we are familiar with.Because of its high silicon content (75%), Perlite carries the ability to hold onto oxygen very easily creating a highly aerated environment for your plant’s roots to thrive. Perlite is often used alongside Vermiculite which has a similar ability to hold onto water.

VERMICULITE:Vermiculite added to the garden or vermiculite in potting soil increases water and nutrient retention and aerates the soil, resulting in healthier, more robust plants

There are various methods to grow seedlings.

1) COCOPEAT BALLS : As shown in the picture, we just need to dip the coco peat ball in water, it expands automatically, and we just need to put seed just 2 mm deep from its top.

2) NET CUPS : We can put the mixture we have made above directly into net cups just by adding a thin layer of cloth, which will prevent the mixture to flow in nutrient solution, when we will shift them in NFT.

Step 5: SOWING SEED

For microgreens, we just need to put the mixture into growing trays and sprinkle seed with a sufficient distance of 2cm ,

Here i have grown "PEA" and " REDDISH" Microgreens, as you can see in images.

HOW TO GROW MICRO GREENS?

1) Put the mixture of "coco peat + Vermiculite + Per lite " in growing trays with atleast 2 cm of mixture base in height.

2) Sprinkle small seeds evenly with sufficient space for seeds to grow, for big seeds like PEA i have kept the space of 1.5 inch from top and side plants, so that it can grow in sufficient space.

3) After sowing seeds, cover the seeds with minimal layer of coco peat , just to cover the seeds, or we can use tissue paper.

4) Sprinkle water really well, and cover the growing tray with other tray and let it from 2 days, once the seedlings are of 1.5 inches, remove the covering tray, and put the seedlings in led lights,

5) Micro greens will be ready in 1 week from starting date, and they are ready to harvest once they reach to a height of 4-5 inches.

NOTE: Growing season of each seed is different , so before growing any micro greens, just google the growing season of that seed.

Step 6: TRANSFER OF SEEDLINGS IN NFT

Once seedlings are big enough, that they cannot sustain in growing tray, than we will carefully transfer those seedlings in net cups as shown in image, and than we can start our hydroponic system.

we can even use cup growing trays to grow seedlings and than we can transfer them in net cups.but dont forget to add a thin mesh inside the net cups.

This task is really easy, but i have made it complicated as by growing the seedlings in growing tray and than transferring it to net cups, Instead i can just sow the seed directly in net cups.

1) Apparatus – Hydroponic NFT

2) Seed Used – PEA Seeds
3) Most common pests & diseases: Pests include nematodes,aphids, thrips, flea beetles, white flies, and snails/slugs. Diseases include damping off, root rot leaf spot diseases, fusarium wilt,and downy mildew.

which can be cured by using 10% of vinegar and 90% of water mixture.

4) EC/PPM (electrical conductivity/parts per million): 1.6-2.2

5) pH range: 6.2-6.8

6) Planting: From seed or clone

8) Yield: 3-4 lbs / Tower / 5 week turn

9) Temperature: 70-85o F

10) Light: Full Spectrum LED /16 hours

Ideal conditions

•EC: 1.6-2.2

• pH range: 5.6-6.6

• Temperature: 65-85º

Step 7: TAKE CARE OF NUTRIENT PH AND PPM With THE HELP OF METER

We just need to measure the, the PH level and PPM level of nutrient on regular basis in 3-4 days,

And we have to maintain the PH level to neutral all the time but level of PPM depends on the veggies we are growing.

We can maintain the PH level by using PH stabilizer solution available in market or we can use the equipment available in market,the image i have attached above.and we can maintain the PPM level by adding more or less nutrient.

Each plant needs to get the appropriate measure of phosphorous, nitrogen, potassium, and various follow components. The wrong nutrition adjusts, or an answer without enough hydroponic nutrients in it, could cause difficult issues for your hydroponic framework.
There are a wide range of various business nutrient alternatives out there. Some claim to enable our plants to notice better. Others will enable us to deliver plants all the more rapidly, to get more sprouts on your blooming plants, or to create strong plants with huge root frameworks. The privilege hydroponic nutrients for our garden will depend to some degree on what we need to develop, and what the essential focal point of our developing may be. Somebody inspired by creating greens rapidly won't need an indistinguishable hydroponic nutrient from somebody who needs to get a major yield from their tomato plants.

To be 'finished' a hydroponic nutrition need the basic components for plant development these are:
• Nitrogen (N) • Potassium (K) • Phosphorus (P) • Calcium (Ca) • Magnesium (Mg) • Sulphur (S) • Iron (Fe) • Manganese (Mn) • Copper (Cu) • Zinc (Zn) • Molybdate (Mo) • Boron (B) • Chlorine (Cl) The levels that these components are available in your hydroponic nutrient have a tendency to shift between brands, since there is nobody single proposal for fixations. Numerous nutrients may likewise contain a portion of the 'valuable components', for example, Nickel (Ni), Cobalt (Co), Silica (Si) or Selenium (Se). .

Step 8: NUTRIENT PROBLEMS

Regardless of whether you make your own nutrient arrangement from the diverse manure salts, or purchase a pre-made brand, issues can, a frequently do, emerge with insufficiency of one of a greater amount of the nutrient components. Regular explanations behind this are

If we add nutrient solution in high concentration, than the picture can depict that how our plant condition can be.

(1) the nutrient quality might be too low, bringing about lacking nutrients for the plants by and large.

(2) The nutrient recipe you are utilizing may not be totally adjusted, and (at least one of the components) might be insufficient.

(3) Sporadically, cultivators may unexpectedly forget one of the manure salts or the wrong compost was utilized when the nutrient recipe was weighted out. What's more, just to entangle matters further, regardless of whether your answer is all around adjusted, now and then natural and inner plant conditions keep the take-up of specific nutrients and lack side effects at that point result.