Hydroponic Garden – If you live in a small apartment or condo unit, we’ll shown you how to create a hydroponic garden because you have a very small amount of space to grow or enjoy plants. If you’re looking for a good solution to adding some green to a balcony or window seal, this article may be for you. In this tutorial, you’ll find out how to easily build a hydroponic garden with easy.
The History of Hydroponics
The word hydroponics comes from two Greek words, “hydro” meaning water and “ponics” meaning labor. The concept of soil less gardening or hydroponics has been around for thousands of years. The hanging Gardens of Babylon and The Floating Gardens of China are two of the earliest examples of hydroponics. Scientists started experimenting with soil less gardening around 1950. Since then other countries, such as Holland, Germany, and Australia have used hydroponics for crop production with amazing results.
The Benefits of Hydroponics
Hydroponics is proved to have several advantages over soil gardening. The growth rate on a hydroponic plant is 30-50 percent faster than a soil plant, grown under the same conditions. The yield of the plant is also greater. Scientists believe that there are several reasons for the drastic differences between hydroponic and soil plants. The extra oxygen in the hydroponic growing mediums helps to stimulate root growth. Plants with ample oxygen in the root system also absorb nutrients faster. The nutrients in a hydroponic system are mixed with the water and sent directly to the root system. The plant does not have to search in the soil for the nutrients that it requires. Those nutrients are being delivered to the plant several times per day. The hydroponic plant requires very little energy to find and break down food. The plant then uses this saved energy to grow faster and to produce more fruit. Hydroponic plants also have fewer problems with bug infestations, funguses and disease. In general, plants grown hydroponically are healthier and happier plants.
Hydroponic gardening also offers several benefits to our environment. Hydroponic gardening uses considerably less water than soil gardening, because of the constant reuse the nutrient solutions. Due to lack of necessity, fewer pesticides are used on hydroponic crops. Since hydroponic gardening systems use no topsoil, topsoil erosion isn’t even an issue. Although, if agricultural trends continue to erode topsoil and waste water, hydroponics may soon be our only solution.
Growing Mediums
The purpose of a growing medium is to aerate and support the root system of the plant and to channel the water and nutrients. Different growing mediums work well in different types of hydroponic systems. A fast draining medium, such as Hydrocorn or expanded shale works well in an ebb and flow type system. Hydrocorn is a light expanded clay aggregate. It is a light, airy type of growing medium that allows plenty of oxygen to penetrate the plant’s root system. Both types of grow rocks can be reused, although the shale has more of a tendency to break down and may not last as long as the Hydrocorn. These grow rocks are very stable and rarely effect the pH of the nutrient solution.
Rockwool has become an extremely popular growing medium. Rockwool was originally used in construction as insulation. There is now a horticultural grade of Rockwool. Unlike the insulation grade, horticultural Rockwool is pressed into growing cubes and blocks. It is produced from volcanic rock and limestone. These components are melted at temperatures of 2500 degrees and higher. The molten solution is poured over a spinning cylinder, comparable to the way cotton candy is made, then pressed into identical sheets, blocks or cubes. Since Rockwool holds 10-14 times as much water as soil and retains 20 percent air it can be used in just about any hydroponic system. Although the gardener must be careful of the pH, since Rockwool has a pH of 7.8 it can raise the pH of the nutrient solution. Rockwool cannot be used indefinitely and most gardeners only get one use per cube. It is also commonly used for propagation.
Nutrients
Most of the principles that apply to soil fertilizers also apply to hydroponic fertilizers, or nutrient solutions. A hydroponic nutrient solution contains all the elements that the plant normally would get from the soil. These nutrients can be purchased at a hydroponic supply store. Most are highly concentrated, using 2 to 4 teaspoons per gallon of water. They come in liquid mixes or powered mixes, usually with at least two different containers, one for grow and one for bloom. The liquids are the slightly more expensive and the easiest to use. They dissolve quickly and completely into the reservoir and often have an added pH buffer. The powered varieties are inexpensive and require a little more attention. They need to be mixed much more thoroughly and often don’t dissolve completely into the reservoir. Most do not have a pH buffer.
How to Create a Hydroponic Garden
#1: Start the seeds
- Place 2–3 seeds (lettuce, in this case) into a moist seed-starting cube. Fill each cube. I used a seed starting kit, with a tray and lid, but it’s not necessary.
- Set them in the sun, being sure to choose a place safe from slugs and birds. In 1–2 days, the seeds should sprout. Water them as needed until they grow leaves.
- When the leaves are looking sturdy, carefully lift the cube to check for roots poking out from the bottom. When the roots are vibrant and the plant seems strong, it’s time to transplant. This first step should take 1–2 weeks.
#2: Choose a flood table
- This system is the simplest version I could design. If you are serious about hydroponics, consider purchasing a readymade flood table, which is built to fill and drain, and can easily be automated with a pump and timer. This system uses a homemade flood table that’s hand-filled with water.
- The amount of water used in this project is 5 gallons, so choose a container for your flood table with a capacity of 10gal–12gal. The goal is for the water to reach about halfway up the sides of the 4″ pot when the table has been filled.
#3: Add the drip emitters
- Drip emitters are great little tools. Found in the irrigation supply section of most hardware stores and nurseries, they do just what you think: drip. They are rated based on their maximum gallons per hour (gph).
For this project, the goal is for the table to hold 5gal of water for about 1 hour, so I used 2 drip emitters that are each rated 2gph.
In determining where to place the drip emitters, consider where you’ll set the growing tray, and in turn, where you’ll place the bucket. This example uses a stool to hold the tray, and the bucket fits under the edge.
- To easily make a hole in the tray, use a hot nail. Hold the nail with pliers, and then heat it until it’s very hot. I used my stove’s gas burner.
- Once the nail is ready, puncture 2 holes in the bottom of the tray. You can always make the hole wider, so start with a small hole, and see if the end of the emitter fits inside it. Scrape the melted plastic away with a sharp knife, and then sand it with fine-grit sandpaper to make it smooth. Push the emitter into the hole.
- If the emitter doesn’t seal completely, it’ll be fine. But if the water gushes out really fast, try sealing it with epoxy or hot glue.
#4: Mix the media
- Plants grown in soil develop roots that uptake nutrients and minerals from dirt. When plants are grown hydroponically, they are grown in a sterile medium and fed only with a water and nutrient mixture.
- To maximize your plants, they must be potted into a mixture of media that will serve the plants in 2 ways. First, the mixture must hold a good bit of moisture, but not too much moisture. Second, it must allow plenty of air to circulate around the roots, because roots heart oxygen! If the mixture is too dry, the plants will starve and wilt. If the mixture is too wet, the roots will rot.
- To give your plants the best of both worlds, use a base of dry, air-holding perlite and then add a portion of water-holding rich coco fiber. Vermiculite and peat moss are acceptable substitutes, respectively.
- If your climate is arid, add more coco to the perlite. If your climate is humid, add less. If you have a wet mix, water less. If you have a dry mix, water more. In Northern California, where this garden was grown, the mix used was 8 parts perlite to 1 part coco.
#5: Pot up
- Make sure that the 4″ pots you use have numerous holes in the bottom. The plants will wick food and water through these holes. If necessary, poke holes in the plastic.
- Fill the bottom 1/3 of a 4″ pot with media.
- Gently place the cube and its start in the pot, then add media all around the sides and top of the plant until it’s snugly in place.
- Water the plant to finish the process. Set each pot into the flood table.
#6: Mix the nutrients
- Fertilizer for hydroponic gardens can be confusing, so keep it as simple as you can. This garden uses Alice’s Garden All Purpose Plant Food. You can also try FoxFarm Liquid Plant Food, and the Flora Series from General Hydroponics. Plants grown hydroponically need all of their nutrients to come from the water. They require 2 types of nutrients: macronutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) as well as micronutrients (molybdenum, zinc, cobalt, manganese, and others). Since this garden just grows lettuce, herbs, and small veggies, avoid complicated formulas, but be aware that not all fertilizers are suitable for hydroponics. They must offer both micro- and macronutrients.
- Fill the 5gal bucket with water. Add the fertilizer per the instructions, and mix thoroughly.
#7: Feed the plants
- Pour the bucket of mixed plant food into the tray, slowly.
- The food isn’t poured onto the plant directly; it’s poured into the tray, and it wicks up into the roots of the plant through the holes in the bottom of the 4″ pots.
- Set the bucket under the drip emitter to catch the water and nutrients as they drip out.
#8: Maintain and harvest
- Once the water has dripped out of the tray and back into the bucket, cover the bucket with its lid, as the plant food is photosensitive.
- Water the plants every day. If they seem wilty, water them twice daily.
- The mixed nutrients will be eaten by the plants, and the water will also be consumed, so add more water to the mixture in the bucket as necessary.
If the plant food starts to get a funky smell, make a fresh batch. Otherwise, replace the nutrient and water mixture every 7 to 10 days.
When the lettuce is mature, make a huge salad, and then start your garden up again!
I have enjoyed this method How to Create a Hydroponic Garden of indoor growing and you can use it any where even move it with the sun, it is a perfect micro green house and as you can see maximize space for growing a healthy dinner. I will carry on filling up my small apartment with veggie hydroponic garden.