How to Build a Hydroponic Garden System at Home
For people with limited space, hydroponic gardening is an excellent method of growing their own ornamental plants, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Hydroponic farming is an easy concept, despite sounding tough and complex. Additionally, there are options for gardeners of various skill levels and growth budgets because of the abundance of distinct hydroponic garden varieties, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as a broad variety of pricing points.
Therefore, anyone may become an expert in hydroponic gardening, regardless of whether they want to buy a hydroponic growing system or construct their own hydroponic garden, like the DIY deep water culture system described in the instructions below.
Describe Hydroponics.
In hydroponic gardening, nutrient-rich water serves as the plant’s food source rather than soil. Because there is no soil to maintain, plants require little work to stay fed and flourish because they always have access to nutrients in the water.
Aquaponics vs. Hydroponics
Aquaponics and hydroponics are sometimes confused. Despite the similarity in pronunciation, the terms are not the same. Similar to hydroponics but with fish, is aquaponics. Fish waste nourishes the plants, as opposed to adding nutrients to the water as in a hydroponics system.
Hydroponic Growing System Types
Every kind of hydroponic growing system has benefits and drawbacks of its own. The most popular types of hydroponic gardens are as follows:
- The hydroponic deep-water culture system. With this hydroponic technique, the plant roots are suspended in nutrient-rich water that is actively oxygenated by a pump that has an airstone (an aquarium bubbler).
- Hydroponic System with Wicks. A wick, usually composed of cotton or nylon, is used in a wick hydroponic system to draw nutrient-rich water to the plants, which are grown in absorbent media such as perlite and vermiculite.
- Hydroponic Drip System. In a hydroponic system, a drip system circulates oxygenated, nutrient-rich water through a network of tubes before dripping it over the plants. After passing through the roots, the solution empties back into the reservoir below.
- Hydroponic System with Ebb and Flow. A grow tray and separate reservoir are used in an ebb-and-flow hydroponic system, which is a flood-and-drain hydroponic technique. A pump transfers the nutritional solution to the grow tray, and an overflow drain permits its return to the reservoir.
- Hydroponic System Using Nutrient Film Technique (NFT). Because NFT hydroponics transfers the solution to the grow tray, it resembles an ebb-and-flow system. However, NFT systems have a continuous flow of a thin layer, or film, of nutrient solution, in contrast to an ebb-and-flow system that floods the grow tray and then completely drains it. This indicates that water is always in contact with the roots
- The hydroponic aeroponic system. Plant roots in an aeroponic system are never floating in water. Rather, the plants are misted with the nutritional solution. The roots of the plants get oxygen from exposure to the open air; therefore, the nutrient solution doesn’t need to be oxygenated because the plants are floating in air rather than water.
So how do you choose the best kind of hydroponic system for your needs? A piece of advice to someone who wants to have a DIY hydroponic system: begin with a deep water culture system because it’s easy to do yourself and has a low learning curve. Furthermore, a deep-water hydroponic system lets you cultivate a variety of plants, no matter how big or small. The steps below describe how to construct this system.
The Top Hydroponic Plants
In a hydroponic garden system, certain plants thrive more than others. For novices, we suggest quick-turn crops. The ideal crops for beginners are quick-turn crops, which may be harvested in four to six weeks. Before attempting longer-maturing and more nutrient-demanding crops, you can see results quickly and build confidence. Lettuce is the easiest because it does not take long to mature and also does not require a complex feeding schedule.
While a hydroponic system can grow a wide variety of plants, the following typical plants do well:
- Greens like lettuce and other
- Along with other plants, basil
- taters
- Chillis
- berries
Start Now
Build your own deep water culture hydroponic system using these easy instructions and some basic tools: net cups (tiny pots with slotted holes), an opaque 5-gallon container, and a pump with airstone.
Supplies Required
Five-gallon opaque container with lid, airstone pump, net cups, hydroponic fertilizers, pencil drill, drill bits, hole saw, scrap wood, utility knife, sanding block, and empty water (reverse osmosis, distilled, or collected rainwater)
1. Set Up the Net Cups
The mature size of the plants you aim to develop will determine how far apart to place the net cups. Make a pencil mark at the location.
2. Drill a vent hole in Lid
Carefully drill out the holes for the net cups using a drill equipped with a hole saw after sliding a scrap piece of wood below the lid.
Pro Safety Tip: The slower the bit speed, the better when using a hole saw to drill plastic. If you drill too quickly, the bit may snag and fly out of control, seriously hurting the user.
3. Empty the Holes
Sand away the remaining plastic after carefully cutting away any stray pieces with a utility knife.
4. Set Up the Air Pump
Using a drill bit the same size as the hose on your air pump, drill a hole in the top of the lid. Attach the airstone on the opposite side after sliding the hose through the opening. Once the other end of the air hose is connected to the pump, trim the excess so that the stone rests on the bottom of the container.
5. Pour Nutrient-Rich Water Into Container
After adding the nutrients to the water, fill the container with water and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the specific nutrients you want to add to find the right amount and percentage. Activate the pump to start adding oxygen to the water.
6. Incorporate Plants
Plants should be placed in net cups and inserted into the lid’s perforations.
Successful Hydroponic Gardening Advice
You will discover many tips and techniques for optimizing the performance of your hydroponic growing system as you advance in your hydroponic farming endeavours. The following are some pointers and strategies for effective hydroponic gardening:
- Keep the pH at the right level. In a hydroponic system, controlling the pH of the water is critical to the health of your plant. It should be kept between 5.5 and 6.5 for plants to have access to the nutrients they need. To stay inside the advised window, adjust your nutrition levels and conduct routine pH checks.
- Make use of empty water. Hydroponic nutrients are designed to be used in empty water, meaning water containing very few other minerals is close to 0 ppm (parts per million). We recommend using distilled, reverse osmosis, or, my favourite, captured rainwater because it’s free.
- Alter the nutrient solution regularly. It is suggested to swap out the nutrition solution every week or every two weeks. Instead of just adding extra nutrients to the already-existing solution, when doing so, drain the water and clean the reservoir.
- Make sure your plants get lots of light. Hydroponic gardens require an abundance of light, either from natural light or a grow lamp, much like standard gardens do.
- Adjust the nutrients you provide your plants. Different plants require different nutrients. Although you can customize the nutrients for your particular plant by learning about its requirements, generally speaking, throughout the vegetative stages of the mix, we like to utilize more nitrogen. Our nutrient mix will contain more phosphorus and potassium once a plant is ready to fruit and blossom. Large fruiting plants such as tomatoes, melons, and eggplants can require additional calcium and magnesium to prevent blossom end rot.
Regarding the selection of nutrients for your hydroponic system, there are many excellent brands out there. The General Hydroponics 3-Part Flora System is considered the gold standard. Decades ago, General Hydroponics was the pioneer of hydroponic nutrition and is a tried-and-true method today. They also produce an extremely affordable dry-soluble Maxi series.
