Kiwi Phil
Commander
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 2,182
Hydroponics is a means of growing many different types of plants NOT in the ground, but in a structure where you supply nutrients (fertilizer), dissolved in water, on a regular basis .<br />The structure you use is best built at bench height. (no bending)<br /> <br />If you were to put HYDROPONICS in google search, you would have 000's of hits, and most would be selling you very overpriced structures and equipment. In reality, a Hydroponic System can be build for very little, and the simplier it is, the better it is.<br /><br />You need to understand that a human being has a Skeleton of bones that support the body. <br />A plant is a little different. In broard terms that part of the plant above ground level contains cellulose and that is what keeps it rigid, but the part of the plant below ground level (in the dirt), requires the soil to give it support.<br /><br />So relating that to Hydroponics means, you must use something for the roots of the plant to grow in. Hydroponic web sites sell all sorts of things, from clay balls, grow wool slabs, in fact the list is endless.<br /><br />I put my plants in small 2" pots that are full of potting mix. These pots are placed in my hydroponic structure . <br />As the plant grows, their roots grow outside the pot, but the pot gives them support and rigidity.<br />Any size pot can be used, so long as it fits within your system.<br /><br />Once you have a system and the plants in it, you then need to water then with not only water, but fertilizer.<br /><br />The easiest way is to have a tank of this water, with a pump on it. This pump needs a timer to start/stop it . <br /><br />You pump the water into one end of your system, the water flows down hill past the plants roots, and when it reaches the end of your system, in is directed back to you tank, to be used again. It is a recirculating or closed system. <br /><br />As the water with the fertilizer in it, passes the plants roots, the plant takes up what it needs and the balance returns to the tank to be re-used.<br /><br /> To build a Hydroponic System. <br />You need to construct a bench frame to support your system. <br />I call them "leg frames". <br /><br />I have used 2 different methods.<br /> Type 1.) I have a verticle plank 200x75mm (8"x3") dug 600mm in to the ground and then I have bolted a horrizontal plank [/B] (same size) to it. <br />I have these supports 2m apart. <br />The verticle plank is 1m above the ground at the top end, and the plank at the bottom end is 800mm above the ground, giving me a fall of 200mm (8"). <br />In my case this is over 12m length. You won't need that, but you do need a 'good' fall.<br /><br />
<br /><br /><br /> <br /> Type 2.) I have 2 x 1' thick water pipes driven in to the ground. The horizontal beam 75mmx50mm (3'x2') has 2 holes drilled half way through. I just slip these over the 1" pipe, and make sure they are level. The height and fall is the same as above.<br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />Next you will need what i will term Channels (some call them troughs). These are the 'things' you put along the "leg frames" I described above, and this is what you grow in. I have used 3 different types of troughs over the years. See the photos for them.<br /><br />This is the 1st type i used 13 yrs back. It is just industrial roofing, galvanised, which I filled with small gravel. This gravel supported the pots I put in it, that had the plants in these pots. I put a bigger pot in the gravel to show you what I mean. Pot must be sitting on the steel.<br /><br />
<br /><br />This is the 2nd system I used. It is 65mm pressure pipe, with holes cut in it with a hole saw. It is fine for small 2" pots, but as they have flat bottoms, you have to lean them over a bit so they get wet at the bottom.<br /><br />
<br /><br />This is the last system. They are 4" wide troughs with removable tops. Very efficient.<br />
<br /><br />What you need to understand is, you can use any type of material, so long as it works and dosn't leak.<br /> <br /><br />I have pumps that put out 100's of litres a minute, but for a small home gardeners system, you should be able to get away with a small pump, such as a 12V bilge pump. If you are smart, you will use something like a battery charger to run it. <br />Then you can put the battery charger in a safe place in the shed, or where there is 240v power, and then run a 12v cable outside to your system where the pump is located. <br />This makes it 'safe'.<br />To start and stop your pump, best you buy a cheap house/home timer with 15min intervals. If you were to put the timer in to the mains power socket, then the battery charger in to the timer, then 12v cable to the system, you should have a very safe and cheap automatic watering system.<br />Now you can decide your 1st watering cycle is at 8am, then every 30mins you will give them 15mins watering, and you will stop at 6pm. In the summer, you may have to water more frequently, in the winter, less.<br /><br /> Now for the Tanks .<br /><br />You don't have to use this, and you may have something more appropriate you have seen or around the home, but I have seen home gardeners systems run off a blue plastic 200L (44gal) drum. <br />The crunch is this. <br />You must have sufficient capacity in your tank to run the pump for the min time the timer will run for......but remember, once you have water being pumped out of the tank in to the troughs, it will start flowing back in to the tank continually topping it up, to allow you to continually pump. <br />Does that make sence?.<br /> <br />I have seen 2x blue drums side-by-side, with snap on hose fittings glued in to the botton side, with a short garden hose connecting them, giving him twice the capacity. When he cleaned the tanks, he just un-snapped the hose.<br />One problem you may incure is: the 200L drum is taller than the bottom end of you system, and this is where the water returns to the tank, so you may have to dig a hole in the ground to lower it (remember you will have to take it out to clean it out) or maybe you can put it on its side and cut a hole in the top side to pump out of and return water in to it.<br />Whatever you decide, make sure it is simple.<br /><br /> Plumbing (irrigation). <br />To move the water from the tank to the top end of your system, you will need pipe. <br />The cheapest way to go is with irrigation pipe, and the cheapest place to purchase it is an Irrigation shop. <br />You can use black non pressurised (we call it soft, but it isn't really) polypipe. <br />For a very small system, half inch is ample. You will be able to buy all the fittings being elbows/tees/joiners cheaply. Remember one thing, the smaller the pipe, the lesser the flow, so you decide if you want to use .5 of an inch or .75 of an inch.<br /><br />So now you have a tank and a pump pumping it up a pipe, you will need a feeder which is a very fine pipe to deliver it to your channels. You can see mine in the photos.<br />You will also need filtration. All this is very simple. I won't go in to the detail now, but get back to me if you want to know more.<br /><br /> Gutters <br />Now you have the water being pumped from your tank, through your .5" pipe, through your feeders in to your channel, and it flows down past the plants, you need a gutter to collect it at the end and return it to your tank. <br />Use a piece of gutter, with a dropper riveted in the hole you cut in it. Then buy flexible unslotted drainage pipe (we call it donkey-richard) <br /><br /><br />This photo shows it (black pipe). Cheap, no bends to buy, no glue-ing. Screw it over the outside of the dropper in the gutter. Too easy.<br />
<br /><br />I know I am a shocker when it comes to long posts, but I hope I have covered enough of the basics for you.<br />Really it is a very simple way of growing food plants, and if done wisely, very cheap too.<br />So if you have any questions or want to go to the next step....go for it.. this just covers the basics.<br /><br />Cheers<br />Phillip
