Gardening With Homemade Hydroponics!
Start with a simple hydroponic setup, and your interest will grow as plants flourish. The systems shown in this article are inexpensive but vary in the time they will require to put your mini-farm together.
The least expensive hydroponic system is also the easiest to operate. In fact, your children may become experts in hydroponics with this beginner’s special. Fill an ordinary flowerpot with perlite. Add the your, sturdy plant, gently cover bare roots with perlite. Pour a cup of nutrient solution through the perlite once or twice a day, depending on the strength of the solution, and catch the drainage in a bowl. The solution can be reused for a week. (Old solution may be used on lawn or garden.) Although hydroponic gardening is not completely free of problems, you won’t have to fertilize regularly to get healthy plants.
If your more adventurous, try one of these other ways of applying the nutrient solution.
Siphon-feed Method of Hydroponics
A variation of the basic watering method described above makes plant care almost automatic, allowing you to leave plants unattended for several days at a time. Place a container (such as a glass jug, available from wine-maker supply stores, or an old thermos jug with spigot at the bottom) of nutrient solution above the plant container’s soil level, and connect tubing so liquid can be either gravity fed or siphoned (see illustration at right). A clamp (such as those available from sickroom supply stores and some hardware or automotive equipment stores) attached to the tubing will regulate the flow; this way just the right amount of solution goes through. Be sure to set the planter on a tray or something similar to catch drips.
Wick System of Hydroponics
Here’s another way to escape daily watering. This system provides feeding through the bottom of the planter, using wicks dipped in a container of the nutrient solution. The wicks or cords should be made of synthetic fiber, either nylon, rayon, or polyester. First, test the wick to see whether it draws moisture up its entire length by placing the end of a six-inch cord into water.
The end of the wick inserted into the artificial soil should be spread out on the bottom of the plant container so nutrients will be distributed evenly throughout. The wick then is passed through the drainage hole into the second receptacle filled with the solution. For best results, place the container of nutrient solution directly underneath the planter. Several wicks can be used to supply the solution to the plants; sim;y drill holes in the bottom of the planter. The wicks will carry the solution up to keep the medium moist.
Soluble salts from the water in the nutrient solution will build up gradually in the growing medium because of evaporation. This will eventually inhibit plant growth. To avoid the problem, clean the growing medium thoroughly every few months by running tap water through the medium several times.
Bucket and Tray Method of Hydroponics
A quick and easy way to provide daily saturations of nutrient solution is to connect the bottom of a pail to the bottom of a plant box or tray with half-inch plastic tubing (see illustration). Seal the connections with silicone rubber cement. cover the drainage holes of the plant box with a piece of netting before adding the plants and the growing medium. Fill the pail with the liquid food. Once a day, lift the pail above soil level until the surface of the growing medium becomes well dampened. Then lover the bucket so excess solution can drain back into the pail.
Remember that the nutrient solution should be shielded from light, so algae and other organisms don’t spoil the mixture.
Pump and Timer Method of Homemade Hydroponics
An entirely automatic system of hydroponics can be built using a aquarium pump and a household timer. The timer triggers the release of the nutrient solution from a sealed reservoir into the growing tray or planter.
connect a plastic dishpan to a five-gallon plastic gas can (used for the reservoir) with flexible half-inch tubing (see illustration below). Apply silicone rubber cement to make the openings around the tubing airtight. Run the tubing to the bottom of the sealed reservoir. Next, attach the aquarium pump to the top of the reservoir with aquarium tubing. Seal the connections with silcone rubber cement. By plugging the air pump into the timer and setting it for a two-hour “on” cycle every 24 hours, you’ll have an easy-care setup for a crop of vegetables or flowers.
Remember to cover the planter’s drainage hole with netting. Then add the rooting medium. Pour the solution through the dishpan planter to fill the reservoir.
When the timer turns on, air will blow into the reservoir, forcing the solution into the planter. The solution will drain back into the reservoir when the timer is turned off. Add new solution every two weeks. The used solution can be poured around outdoor plants.
Recycling Drip System of Homemade Hydroponics
In this system (see illustration) , nutrient solution is pumped up through the growing medium from a reservoir in the bottom of the planter. However, unlike the pump and timer method, this procedure does not require the timer or sealed reservoir. The solution is pumped up by an aquarium pump with a bubbler valve submerged in solution. This valve sends solution, plus air bubbles, up to the top of the growing medium, where it continuously drips through, returning to the reservoir through drainage holes.
Build this low-cost homemade hydroponic system with two stacked pans, or use a plastic foam ice chest. To use an ice chest, cut a piece of one-eighth-inch-thick bottom; fit it where the ice chest narrows. Then run a piece of plastic pipe (about two inches around) through a hole drilled in the plastic insert. Make the drainage holes in the insert at the same time. Cover the insert with window screen, and fill the top growing space with perlite. Next, add solution until the reservoir below if full.
Insert the bubbler valve into the tube, and connect one end to the aquarim punp. Connect the other to a piece of perforated half-inch tubing. Lay the tubing along the top of the growing medium. Holes in the tubing permit the nutrient solution to spread evenly.
Plug in the aquarium pump, and you’re ready to grow. The solution will rise and drip out across the growing medium.
Add new solution each week to replace that which evaporates.
Homemade Hydroponic Hints:
- The secret of getting the biggest crops from your hydroponic garden is to keep planting. Seedlings should be started and ready for transplanting into the unit.
- Sow seeds for leaf lettuce, spinach, or some of the miniature vegetables in small hydroponic setups. Cherry tomatoes work well, as do chives, thyme, oregano, and parsley.
- Start houseplant cuttings in a pot or flat filled with growing medium, such as moist vermiculite. When roots form, transplant to the hydroponic system.
- In late winter, use your hydroponic garden to start seeds of flowers to be transplanted outdoors when the weather turns warm.
- You can use nursery-started transplants in your hydroponic system. Remember to remove all soil from the roots by gently rinsing them before your replant.
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