My DIY hydroponic systemsteemCreated with Sketch.

in hydroponic •  7 years ago  (edited)

20170821_201456_resized.jpg

I work 40h a week and have never been interested in plants. But I like the idea about being selfsustainable. I heard about hydroponic on youtube a couple off years back and thought it sounded interesting. To have the ability to grow your own food with minimal work. After building our greenhouse I started to put together a system that fitted my needs. We are using our greenhouse for more then growing so it had to be a discrete build.

20170519_110710_resized.jpg

I started with digging a hole under the greenhouse for the 200 l tank.
I fitted the pump, hoses and airstone.

20171015_125655_resized.jpg

I have two hoses. One for supply from the pump and one for drainage. I first tried to do an bell siphon. But I discovered by chance that it worked simply putting the pump on a timer and adjusting the slack of the drainage hose. The farther down the slack is, the slower the water drains.
I run the pump every third hour for 10 min.

20171015_125722_resized.jpg

20171015_125510_resized.jpg

I put a small stone in the drainage holes so that the clay pebbles won’t drain out to the tank.
I run small hoses from the supply hose in to each container.
Important to wash the clay pebbles before putting them in the system.

20171015_130131_resized.jpg

20171015_130217_resized.jpg

I start my plants inside in rockwool. When the temperature is above freezing outside I move them out to the greenhouse. Sadly my greenhouse is raised on a porch. This means that it gets very chilly as soon the sun goes down. If I had it on the ground the sun would have heated the ground and the greenhouse have had more heat accumulated.

20160703_095215_resized.jpg

What I soon discovered is how important it is to have en EC meeter. I burned my first plants because I added to much nutrient. I bought it really cheep and I works fine. I have not done any research into different nutrients yet. I bought the first one that I could find. But my plants grow, so I am happy for now.

20171015_125912_resized.jpg

Now this has become a big interested of mine. I am starting to look into conventional growing. I am planning to grow potato, union, radish and much more.
The plan is also to get chickens and other animals that can supply food for the family.

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Congratulations @hansson! You received a personal award!

Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 2 years!

You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking

Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!