My Very First DIY Hydroponics System

Somewhere in the fall of 2015 I stumbled upon an article about hydroponics that really sparked my interest. The fact that you could successfully grow veggies and herbs, without attending to them everyday (yes, I’m forgetful) and without soil (I don’t own a garden), made me, once again, very enthusiastic about the idea of growing my own food.

I have been trying to successfully grow plants my whole adult life, but I just never really got the hang of it. So I decided I had a black thumb and the interest in growing my own food faded. Until that article, that is. Now, I’m more enthusiastic about it than ever before, because hydroponics really works well for me. I’m growing lettuce and herbs, plants from seeds of store-bought fruit, zucchinis, all kinds of chili peppers, tomatoes, basically any fruit or vegetable I can get my hands on!

This article tells you how I started out. It is a very simple setup and I hope it will encourage you to start with hydroponics yourself. A lot of people also have much more noble reasons for growing their own food this way; it uses much less resources than a traditional vegetable garden, thus environmental friendly, ecological responsible, less food miles, healthier food, etcetera. Whatever your reasons are, I hope this article will help you get started (and please let me know if it does, I would love to hear from you!).

The name for this hydroponics method is Kratky. The Kratky method is extremely simple; as your plants grow, they use up the water with dissolved minerals in their container. As the roots of your plants grow longer and the water in your container lowers, it creates an air gap, providing air to roots that are no longer submerged. This way the plant is able to get the air, water and food it needs to grow into a healthy plant. Without you paying any attention to it, mind you. Seriously, you could go on a trip for 3 weeks and find fresh salads in your window sill when you return.

What you need for this:

a plastic (foodgrade) container with a lid, at least 4 inches deep
a hole drill, large enough so that your cups will fit
a couple of plastic cups
a soldering iron
clay pellets
some young plants, preferably herbs and/or lettuce
a water-soluble fertiliser

6 chili peppers in my Kratky system

• Drill a few holes in the lid of the container.
• Keep in mind that your plants are growing, the container should be able to hold appr. 1 gallon of water per plant
• With the hot soldering iron, poke a lot of holes in the bottom halfs of your plastic cups
• Do this outside the house and do not inhale the fumes, it's really gross and not very healthy
• Fill your container with water and add the water-soluble fertiliser (Masterblend has a good one, but there are also liquid fertilisers available from Miraclegrow, for example)
• Place the lid on top of the container
• Place the cups in the holes
• Carefully remove as much soil as possible from the roots of your plants
• Fill the holes with clay pellets and your plants, careful not to damage the roots
• Make sure that at least half of the roots of your plants are in the water
• Place it in a spot with as much sunlight as possible (a south-facing window for example)
• Watch it grow and cut your herbs and salad leaves whenever you feel like it

And last, but not least: take pictures, write a blog and show me your results! :)