This is a little project I've been working on for a few months, thought I would share the progress and some of the things learned along the way. Don't mind the horrible pink/purple glow. Thats just from the grow light. This is the primary growing area. Two storage bins with holes drilled in the lid, net pots placed in the holes filled with expanded clay pellets called hydroton. Each pot has a drip nozzle attached to a 1/4" hose going to a 1/2" main line. Plant sites 1 through 16 ( photo / image / picture from Masket's Garden ) This is the Reservoir, its the same type of storage tub I used for the growing area, but with a black garbage bag wrapped around it to prevent light from getting in. I've read that any light at all will allow algae to grow in there which is apparently very bad. Inside is the nutrient solution which replaces soil altogether. Two aquarium air stones are duct taped to the bottom to keep it well aerated, and there is also a submersible water pump which sucks water in through the sides and pumps up into the main line seen in the first photo. Reservoir ( photo / image / picture from Masket's Garden ) This is a close up of one of the Habanero plants. I don't know exactly what kind they are but my guess is either Caribbean Red, or Red Savina. They were just under half this size two weeks ago when I moved them into the hydroponics from a Jiffy tray. Hydroponic Habaneros ( photo / image / picture from Masket's Garden ) Here is the seedling area. Pretty simple, basically just a seed starter tray from the hardware store put under 6500k daylight florescent bulbs. Seed starting area ( photo / image / picture from Masket's Garden ) Also, the grow light. I did a lot of research on these, and found that the lighting is the most important part of indoor gardening. The speed a plant grows is directly proportional to the amount of usable light it gets, so double the amount of light and you double the growth rate. Plants only use 20% of sunlight. Mostly in the blue and red ends of the spectrum, so thats why my main grow light is that color. Metal Halide and High pressure sodium bulbs are the most commonly used for indoor gardening and hydroponics, As they are very efficient and have the intensity required for photosynthesis. The drawback is that they still use upwards of 400 watts of power, and get extremely hot. Since burning the house down can harm plants, I decided to go with the slightly more expensive but high tech option of LEDs. I use a Tri-band (Red, blue, and orange) 120 watt LED light panel, specifically designed for plants. It is said to equal a 600 watt MH or HPS bulb, but only produces minimal heat (You can touch it and barely feel the warmth) and uses a fraction of the electricity. Its also efficient because the plants are using 100% of the light it gives off instead of 20% as with white light. I'll post updates as they grow and I upgrade the system. I have 16 net pots and about 47 liters of Hydroton left so... I'll have to come up with some use for them later on. Probably tomatoes and other fruit in a different type of system.
Hi Masket, welcome from a very far away land You have a nice set up for a controlled enviroment. I was just thinking of starting some kind of hydroponics to grow veggies that I cannot grow here under normal condition ...... I am from the equator area. I would love to be able to plant veggies like romaines, chards, leeks ...... so I thought of trying out with hydroponics for these types of veggies. I practice organic farming and I don't seem to be able to find real natural organic feed formulation I can make by DIY. I am not interested in purchasing them because I am sure they are not 100% natural. Any suggestion??
Thanks! Those plants grow well in hydroponics from what I have read, but fertilizers can be tricky. Because the plants are not in soil, they rely on the fertilizer for 100% of their nutrients. Hydroponic fertilizers are carefully balanced for the right amounts of micro nutrients and other things. Usually they come in three parts and have instructions on how much to use of each. Its entirely possible to make your own, I've heard of "Compost teas" but one would have to know exactly what they are doing.
Oh mine!!!! How about pond water? Do you think that would be possible to support the veggies to maturity? You know the circulating kind of hydroponics.
It might, but aeration is very important. You might want to look into something called Aquaponics. Its basically growing plants and fish together. The fish live in the reservoir, and their waste provides fertilizer for the plants. Meanwhile the plants filter the water for the fish. I've never tried it, so I really don't have any specific advice on how that might work. But it would probably be the most "Organic" way of doing it.
Thanks, I will look up aquaponics and if it is viable for me I'll do it. Thanks again Masket and Merry Christmas.
