Building a Hydroponics System

Hydroponics is the practice of growing plants without soil. You anchor the plants in a growing medium such as clay pellets or rock wool, and then place them in a net pot. The roots can then grow through the pot directly into nutrient-enriched water. In the raft system, the roots are in a water bath and the plants feed directly from the water. In the Dutch bucket system, the bucket acts as a reservoir and water is pumped through a tube to the plant and flows over the roots repeatedly throughout the day.

The raft system is for you if you want to grow plants such as lettuce or low-growing herbs. You will need a plastic container measuring 12 inches by 24 inches, a piece of Styrofoam, 1/4 inch tubing, air stone, twelve 3-inch net pots with seedlings and a small air pump. The pump aerates the water.

Cut the Styrofoam to measure 11-3/4 inches by 23-3/4 inches. Cut three rows of holes from the Styrofoam with four holes in each row. Make sure you space the holes evenly and then measure them to be three inches in diameter.

Fill the plastic container with nutrient-rich water. Place the pump just outside of the container. Connect the tubing to the air stone and place the air stone in the plastic container. Connect the air stone tube to the air pump.

Float the Styrofoam on the water and slip the net pots with their seedlings into the holes. Plug in the pump. Change the water every three weeks.

The Dutch bucket system works well if you want to grow vegetable plants. For this system you need a five gallon plastic bucket, 1/2 inch tubing, a net pot with a seedling, a timer and a small pump.

Cut three holes in the lid of the bucket: one for the tubing, one for the cord of the pump, and a three-inch hole for the net pot with seedling.

Place the pump at the bottom of the bucket and run the cord through the hole in the lid. Run the tubing from the pump through the hole in the lid so that four to six inches of tubing is outside of the bucket.

Fill the bucket two thirds full with nutrient rich water. Place the lid on the bucket and put the net pot with clay pellets and the seedling into the three-inch hole. Turn the tubing toward the base of the seedling and secure the tubing. You can use a wire to secure it to the rim of the net pot. This will allow the water to "feed" your seedling three times a day.

Set the timer to go for fifteen minutes three times a day. Plug the pump into the timer and the timer into the outlet.

You can build both the raft system and the hydroponics system using inexpensive materials. They require a small amount of space and you can use them both indoors and outdoors.

To expand your garden, you need only to add another system. Several raft systems, for example, will allow you to grow lettuce in succession, thereby having fresh lettuce year round. Three or four Dutch buckets will allow you to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, bush beans and broccoli on the patio or in an unused room in your home.