Anyone into hydroponic...

[HT413]

.. vegi gardening? This is our first attempt. Plan is to have a full year indoor garden and turn it into a living green wall in our basement family room. Fresh tomatoes and greens all year. Decided to pilot it outdoors to get the hang of it before worrying about grow lights, etc.

Check out the planters. 4" pvc that we finished to look bamboo-esque.

 

[eldubb440]

pretty cool...... I was planning to build the wife a small greenhouse

 

[YY1]

There's a spot on my back gutter that supports about a 2 foot section of sod and a sapling or two each season. It's really quite amazing, and kind of a shame to pull it all out.

 

[WileERobby]

Not me .... sliding on water while driving is scary...

 

[BeeKool]

Pretty nice looking.

 

[HT413]

Thanks. Yeah we used 4" pvc, then scratched it with 60 grit, then 100 grit to get the wood grain. Then quick hit with steel wool and some mineral spirits and finally some wood stain and a shot of clear coat. I'll post a close up shot of one of them in a bit.

 

[Budnicks]

The bamboo look is kind of cool...

 

[HT413]

Made some cradles out of leftover decking material from this deck, so it matches real nice.

Drilled out 1-1/4" holes on 4" spacing. Big plants like tomatoes will be planted 2 per planter. Smaller ones like kale and escarole will be spaced more closely.

Water/chemical mix will be siphoned out every 2 weeks. Heavy feeders like tomatoes take much more chemical, so one cool thing is the tomato chemical will be recycled into the lettuce which needs less nutrient. The lettuce chemical will be added to the vegi garden out front or in the tire garden below. This way nothing is wasted.

 

[HT413]

Closeup of the wood grain...

 

[HT413]

The fernco endcaps aren't so fancy looking but they are leek proof and will outlast my lifetime. Kinda adds an industrial look lol.

 

[mopar 3 B]

I do not like chemicals in the food chain. There are natural fertilized hydroponics systems. Also tomatoes will need pollination to produce fruits as will any flowering plants grown indoors.

 

[HT413]

I do not like chemicals in the food chain. There are natural fertilized hydroponics systems. Also tomatoes will need pollination to produce fruits as will any flowering plants grown indoors.

I agree about the chemicals. My goal is to eventually move to a system that incorporates a fish tank for the fertilizer. But that's down the road a piece. Baby steps!

Good point on the pollination. I've never done it but i hear it's a piece of cake.

 

[conv67bdere]

Good point on the pollination. I've never done it but i hear it's a piece of cake.

Whoa . . . you know how to fly ht413 ? ? cool !

(Smile) . . . Curious about this form of gardening . . .

 

[BeeKool]

I do not like chemicals in the food chain. There are natural fertilized hydroponics systems. Also tomatoes will need pollination to produce fruits as will any flowering plants grown indoors.

Nothing is more organic than manure

 

[funknut]

The bamboo look came out really, really nice!

Even in the up close shots you'd never know. Well done!

 

[1967coronet440]

Use milorganite for a fertilizer, cheap, all natural, and works great

 

[cryplydog]

Hey 413, looks to me like you could use that for little MOON cabbage too.

 

[HT413]

Use milorganite for a fertilizer, cheap, all natural, and works great

Thanks, I'll look into that.

 

[HT413]

Nothing is more organic than manure

Manure and it looks like the Milorganite aren't good for hydroponics. Looks like their nutrients are locked up in big organic compounds. Hyrdroponics need it to be dissolved as simple salts.

That's one downfall of basic hydro, so maybe it's not a direct replacement of organic home gardening. Add a fish tank as the source of nutrient and it gets more complex but with organic fish food, can't get a cleaner source of vegis anywhere.

 

[1967coronet440]

Manure and it looks like the Milorganite aren't good for hydroponics. Looks like their nutrients are locked up in big organic compounds. Hyrdroponics need it to be dissolved as simple salts.

That's one downfall of basic hydro, so maybe it's not a direct replacement of organic home gardening. Add a fish tank as the source of nutrient and it gets more complex but with organic fish food, can't get a cleaner source of vegis anywhere.

Oh ok i am not familiar with hydro only basic landscaping a few "exotic" plants I have growing And I only use milorganite, except for first spring grass treatment I use scotts step 2 lawn food and weed control other than that there is no chemicals.