Hello world, and welcome to my new obsession: hydroponic gardening. Today marks the one week anniversary of my first serious foray into the world of hydroponic gardening, and due to my unrestrained excitement about the subject (and some pressure from my mother), I have decided to document this journey and share my successes and failures with anyone who is interested.
My decision to begin a hydrogarden was born from the excitement and satisfaction I got from my first outdoor vegetable garden. My wife and I recently purchased our first home, and with it came the opportunity to raise a vegetable garden on our property.
As fall came and the final veggies were harvested, I wanted to continue, albeit to a much smaller degree, the feeling of self sufficiency that comes from growing one's own food. I cleared out a 7' x 2' area of work bench in my garage and set up some planter boxes so I could grow radishes and herbs indoors. My original idea was a simple geoponics garden (planting in sand with organic and liquid fertilizers for nutrients, as well as a hydration agent for holding in moisture). I set this up with some 48" fluorescent shop lights and 2 175 watt incandescent grow lights. I was getting results, but not the thriving plants I was looking for.
Given my desire to grow a greater variety of vegetables and higher yields, I turned the focus of my research toward hydroponics. Now, I already had a cursory education in hydroponics because of a high school science project I did on the subject, so I already knew some of the benefits of hydroponic culture. Bear in mind, however, that my science project, although pretty cool, was not a success. I was bent on doing everything myself and not turning to specialty products for my system. Without proper nutrition, all my plants died and the pvc pipes and buckets were either repurposed or thrown out. This time I decided to do it correctly.
Last monday, the urge to get started was so great (I was actually losing sleep over it; not in a bad way, more like the night before Christmas) I decided to go out and buy the components to build my first successful hydroponic system. From all the internet research I had done on the topic, I decided to go with a deep water culture, floating raft system.
Plants need water, light, nutrients, and air in order to thrive. The hydroponic system provides the water, nutrients an air to the roots, and grow lights supply the light. Deep water culture is a system in which plants are suspended above a nutrient reservoir with the roots dangling into the solution. Concentrated nutrients are added to the water and air is supplied using an air pump and an aquarium air stone (bubbler). The floating raft, or lettuce raft, allows the plants to float on the nutrient solution with their roots submerged in the aerated solution. This method is very low maintenance because as the water level decreases due to evaporation, the raft falls with the water level. No need to worry about whether or not the roots can reach down to the solution. This method is also the least expensive to build.
To build this unit you need the following items:
-Plastic tote with lid: < $10
(size depends on how many plants you wish to grow and their size. I used 24" x 18" x 12")
-Styrofoam: $5
(I used 1.5" silver backed foam insulation for added light reflection. 1 sheet can build 3 rafts)
-Net pots: $.40 each for 3" pots
(available from a hydroponics store or on ebay)
-Aquarium air pump < $11
(I bought a dual port air pump to aerate 2 units)
-Air stone: $5 ea
(I bought 2- 18" air stones at $5 for 2 units)
-Air tubing: $2
-Rockwool cubes: $10
(I bought way more than enough to fill all my units)
-Hydroton $10
(this was probably 5-10 times the amount I needed, but it was the smallest bag they had)
-Hydroponic nutrients: $16
(this should last me about a year)
-Grow lights: $30+
(I used incandescent fixtures I already had and bought a fluorescent shop light for $11. I also bought 2- 175 watt grow lights. I also just ordered 2- 12x12 LED grow lights $30 ea)
-Litmus paper $10
(enough to last quite a while)
*I bought all my hydro-specific materials from American Agriculture in Portland OR
How to build your DWC lettuce raft
2. Use a jigsaw to cut out the raft.
3. Trace circles for the net pots. I found an old plastic cup that is the perfect diameter, but you could use a compass to draw a 3" circle. The circle must be the diameter of the net pot minus the lip at the top rim, otherwise the pots will fall through the holes.
4. Use a jigsaw or a hole saw to cut out the holes. Check the diameter of the holes using net pots.
5. Clean up the edges of styrofoam raft
7. Add water to the bottom of the tote and plug the air pump in to make sure it is working. Bubbles should be vigorously escaping from the air stone.
8. Dump the water out of the tote and make sure the tote is clean.
9. Add a measured amount of water to the tote and mix in nutrients according to the product label. I used 3 gallons of water and .75 tsp each of a 2 part nutrient mix. Stir thoroughly.
10. Float the raft on top of the solution and place unit under grow lights.
11. Fill net pots with hydroton and place them in the holes.
12. Wait 30 minutes (growing media may change pH of the solution) and check the solution's pH using litmus paper. If pH is not in the ideal range for the plants you will be growing, raise or lower it using pH up, or pH down (available from hydroponics store).
13. Add your plants and watch them grow!
Starting Plants From Seed
Seeds need heat and moisture in order to germinate, and eventually light to become healthy seedlings. In my limited experience with germination, I have found that heat is the factor that is the most important to fast germination. Specialty germination units are available to those who are not crafty, but I just used an old plastic bin, a heat pad (for sports injuries), and a makeshift cold frame. The cold frame is not necessary, but makes it easier to peek in at your little plants without too much hassle.
To create a good germination environment, simply set your tray on top of the heating pad and plug it in. Use cubes of rockwool, and place a couple of seeds into the pre-made hole. You may want to use a pen cap to widen the hole, making it easier to drop seeds in there. Dip the rockwool cubes into a weak nutrient solution or water and place the damp cubes into the germination tray. You can place a cold frame on top or cover the tray with plastic wrap. Don't be surprised if you see tiny plants in just a couple of days. That means it is working.
*The lettuce seeds in the back were planted 3 days before this picture was taken.
My Garden of the Future
So, as you may be able to tell from the pictures, I don't have many plants to speak of, just a bunch of seedlings and freshly germinated seeds. I have cilantro, spinach and radishes that were transplanted from my geoponic trays, but these are mainly to satisfy my urge to watch something grow. In a week or so, I will get rid of the existing plants, clean out the units and replace the nutrient solution so my new seedlings will have a nice pathogen-free environment in which they can grow with less fear of pandemic disease. In the meantime, I have some scraggly cilantro plants that I will try to nurse into health (these were destined for the compost bin before I decided to transplant them). I will keep posting and let you know how goes my first Hydrogarden!
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