Article 5-3 Build an Ebb & Flo

Building a Flood and Drain System By Kent Elchuck Setting up the system: Cut the two by fours to length so that when the sawhorse legs are set up the reservoir will be slightly lower than the table. Each pair of sawhorse brackets will be joined with another two by four to give the table support. Place flood table on [ read more ]

Article 5-3 Back To The Basics

Back to the Basics By Trevor Shields Hop off of the fence, Green Thumb, as a hydroponic gardener you have a series of choices to make when you set up your own personal Eden. The first decision to make is which basic direction to go in with your garden. When you reach this first crossroads, you will see two directional [ read more ]

Article 5-3 Yield Predictions

I am working with a family which is raising hydroponic tomatoes (loose, not clusters or cherry). We need to be able to establish a “normal/expected” yield and we do not know where to obtain that sort of information. Can you point us in the right direction? Connie Skinner Connie, Thanks for your question. If growing in a well-managed hydroponic environment, [ read more ]

Article 4-5 NFT Gully

In the July/August issue of 2001, the article about NFT gullies refers to choosing the “right” gully manufacturer to get the best yielding and most versatile system. Who are some of these manufacturers? I never see ads for NFT gully producers in your magazine or any others I received. Also, concerning commercial hydro greenhouses, what is the most common source [ read more ]

Water Culture System

Convert an aquarium into a simple hydroponic system. The plants are suspended on a floating Styrofoam platform. This system is popular for classrooms because the roots of the plants are visible hanging below the floating platform.   MATERIALS REQUIRED AQUARIUM – Any water tight container with fairly vertical sides will work. Light breaks down the nutrient solution and encourages algae [ read more ]

Hand-Watered Bucket

Simple and inexpensive, this very basic and easy to build system will still deliver impressive results. The series of holes that ring the bucket are about 1 1/2″ inches above the bottom. This makes a small reservoir of nutrient solution that will be wicked up to the plants roots by the capillary action of the growing medium.     Perfect [ read more ]

Do It Yourself Chiller

MATERIALS REQUIRED Dorm-sized refrigerator (1 to 1-1/2 cubic feet) 50 to 100 feet of 3/8 inch hard plastic tubing (depending, vinyl isn’t as good a choice here) PVC fittings (90 degree elbows or straight connects, threaded or slip) Aquarium safe Silicone sealant. 1/2 inch thin-wall PVC pipe (about 1 foot for the “thru-the-box” connections). Hand drill and 1/2 inch drill [ read more ]

Constructing a Bell Siphon

Using a bell siphon is an easy way to drain a grow-bed in an aquaponic or hydroponic system. The idea is that in an ebb and flow system, you have a tank of fertilizer (for aquaponics its a fish tank) and a grow bed full of plants. You then pump the fertilizer into the grow-bed and the plants eat. The [ read more ]

Hydroponic System Plans

Here are some FREE plans for some simple hydroponic systems that you can build out of easy to find, inexpensive materials. Please feel free to use any or all of these plans to build your new hydroponic systems. If you have a plan for an easy system that you would like to share, send it to us and we will [ read more ]

Article 4-3 Home Sweet Home Grown

Home Sweet Home Grown By Cindy Rea In late autumn a few years ago I purchased a small, beautifully landscaped home in a lovely bedroom community north of Toronto. The new property came complete with a 20′ x 30′ patch of ground that had obviously been used by the previous owners to grow vegetables. As spring rolled around I decided [ read more ]