Simple hydroponic system setup

    In this post I will describe a typical flood and drain (aka ebb and flow) setup for a garden.  The options for complete retail packages and do it yourself (DIY) setups will both be explored.  I will show a variety of different materials that I have found useful.  The feeding schedule and light schedule will be covered as well.  In the end, you should have enough information to be able to take the step into hydroponic gardening and enjoy the simple pleasures that it brings.

      The basic idea behind a flood and drain garden is to simply flood the roots of your plants for a few moments, and then allow the water to drain away.  This flooding takes place once every 3-6 hours, depending on what you are growing and what kind of aggregate (soil alternative) you are using.  I have found that my broccoli, tomatoes, and cucumber plants grow best with one feeding every 3 hours, with each feeding lasting 15 minutes.  The means to accomplish this flood and drain routine are simple.  First you need a reservoir for the water and nutrients to reside in.  The reservoir needs to be opaque, so as to not let any light shine on the water.  Next, you'll need another container to place the plants in.  This container is often referred to as the table.  The table will need to be a couple of inches deep, so as to allow the water to rise high enough to come in contact with plenty of the roots.  Here are a couple different ideas:

This is a commercial product.  The table sits in the top of the reservoir, acting as a lid to slow the water from evaporating.  The table being directly above the reservoir allows the water to easily drain back into the reservoir.

This is a half of a 55 gallon barrel that was cut length ways to serve as a reservoir.  The table is a plastic storage container that fits snuggly in the barrel and has a 4 inch wall.

These are two bus tubs that I purchased at Sam's Club for $12.  By placing a lid on one, and then sitting the other tub on top of the lid, these become an excellent reservoir and table.

     Other items that work well are plastic footlockers, rubbermaid totes, and plastic round child pools (like the ones at Wal-Mart for $10-$15).

     Once you have a table and reservoir, you will need to get them setup to be able to flood and drain.  A submersible water pump is the easiest way that I have found to flood the table.  These water pumps can be found at pet stores near the aquariums or at home improvement stores in the gardening areas for ponds and fountains.  A pump that does 150-300 gallons per hour (GPH) will be sufficient for small tables and reservoirs that hold 10 gallons or less.  The larger your table and reservoir, the higher output pump you will want.  For example if you had a flood table that was 4 feet by 8 feet, you would need a reservoir that holds close to 100 gallons.  In order to flood the table to a suitable level in 15-30 minutes, you would want a pump that pushes 800 - 1000 gallons per hour.  My favorite way of feeding water from the pump into the table is with these fittings:

Just drill a pair of holes in the bottom of your table for these two fittings (half inch speed bit works perfect).  In the picture, to the bottom left, there are the the bottoms of the fittings, which are designed to connect tubing to.  Above them to the right are risers that are connected to the bottom fitting to adjust how high you want the water level to be.  And to the top left there are small plastic grills that go on top of the risers to keep debris from getting back into the pump or reservoir. I use one fitting with just a grill on it (no risers) and I connect it to the pump.  On the other fitting, I put two risers and the grill on it to act as the overflow for the water level, which drains directly back into the reservoir.

     In addition to the two fittings, you may want to drill a few small holes (1/8") in the table to allow the water to drain back into the reservoir.  Commercial products have all of the holes and fittings done for you already.  Here's some pictures to give you an idea:

Notice the holes that are drilled in the floor of the table.  I always put a hole in the lowest area of the table, as well as a hole in any area that is sunk in such as the strip to the right.  The idea is to ensure that all water will drain out of the table.  Stagnant water is a sure way to get algae growing, and you do not want that.

Notice the small black dot to the right of the overflow fitting (top, almost center of the red circle).  That is a drain hole with a cover over it to prevent debris from blocking the hole.  Also notice how the floor of the table in the commercial product is grooved to direct the flow of draining water to the drain holes.  I have not found an everyday item that has a similar floor.  I would recommend purchasing a table or "tray" from an indoor gardening store if you want the best solution.

    Once the reservoir and table are combined and able to transfer water back and forth with no problems, you are ready to let it go to work for you.  An electric plug timer that operates in 15 minute intervals is perfect.  Harbor Freight sells them for $6.  Set it to have one 15 minute on period every three hours.  Add nutrients and plants.  If you are using artificial lighting then another timer can be used for 12 hours on and 12 hours off if your plants are flowering.  If the plants are growing still, you can leave the lights on 16- 24 hours.  Some studies that I have read have shown that 24 hour lighting helps delay the flowering process of some green leafy plants such as basil and cilantro (which you don't want them to flower until you need more seeds anyways).

     As far as potting each plant goes, you will want to research which aggregate will work best for what you are growing.  There are several options that I am aware of:  expanded clay (hydrokorrel), perlite, coconut material, and grodan.  I have seen other kinds that are made out of plastic or even glass, but I am not familiar with any of these options except for the expanded clay.  It came with the first system that I purchased and works wonderfully for my vegetables.  Using the expanded clay is simple:  pour about 1/2 inch of it into a pot, place the plant's roots on top of the layer of clay, and then fill the pot to about 3/4 full with the pebbles.  One exception is that the expanded clay must be rinsed off before it is used.  It is reusable, breathes well, holds moisture fairly well, and is easy to handle.  I've had no reason to look for any alternatives.

    That pretty much concludes my explanation of getting started with a flood and drain hydroponic garden.  Hopefully I have been clear with my explanations.

    I will revise this posting within the next few days.  Feel free to comment about corrections or any questions that you my have.

Thanks, and happy gardening.

Joe

Pictures of plants

The first hydroponic system that we ever owned.  It's a simple flood and drain type garden that we bought from our local grow store: GardenTech.  The garden is simple to maintain and works wonderfully to grow anything that we've put in it: squash, tomatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, basil, cilantro, venus fly traps, broccoli, orchids, etc.  This garden was about $100 and came with everything that we needed to start growing including nutrients.

My first attempt at a homemade flood and drain garden.  It currently has my latest batch of seedlings in it, along with an orchid that just lost it's last bloom.  Total cost of garden: $32

                                                        A deep water culture system that I made out of an old footlocker.  There are 2 squash plants and a tomato plant in it.  I pruned the tomato plant 3 times ( once every two weeks after the first 3 weeks) and then let it grow, and grow it has.  There are 13 tomatoes on it currently.  Total cost of this system was around $25 for an air pump and a few air stones.

A pair of sunflowers that are 5 weeks old, and already forming a head.  The squash plant in between them is only 5 weeks old as well.  They are planted in 4 1/2 gallon buckets that are set in 5 gallon buckets with a constant drip feed system.  This method has worked wonderfully to produce some monster plants.  The plants would probably be taller if I hadn't kept the light so close to them during their first 4 weeks.

A cucumber and squash plant that are starting to compete for space.  Time to rotate and prune.

The flowering area.

More new flowers on the tomato plant.

A few tomatoes.

More new flowers on the tomato plant.

The heads on the 5 week old sunflowers.  I've pruned them twice and kept the lights close in order to keep these plants shorter.  I don't have space for a 6 foot tall plant.

This morning's blooms on the largest squash plant.

Farmville in my basement

     Hello.  My name is Joe, and I have recently taken up the hobby of hydroponic gardening.  This hobby started one day when I thought that my wife could use some help with some basil plants that she was growing.  I picked up a small flood and drain style hydroponic system for her, thinking that the automated watering would make our lives easier.  What I didn't know was that I was going to really screw stuff up with that first garden.  Well, at first anyways.  Now my wife and I have plenty of plants growing and producing fruit and vegetables.  Amanda, my wife, has been encouraging me to post pictures of our success on the internet for our distant friends and family to see.  This blog will serve as host for the pictures, plus it will be a place for me to keep track of current projects and their progress.

     The one small system is still around, but there are several other systems in place as well - hence the 'farmville in my basement' title.  At present, we have two areas in our basement: a seedling and vegetative growth area, and a flowering area.  Our flowering area has a 600 watt high pressure sodium (HPS) light, 5 constant drip buckets, and a 20 gallon reservoir with plants placed directly in the water for deep water culture or poor man's aeroponics.  The growth area has two T5 florescent lights with 4 bulbs each.  There are 2 flood and drain gardens, a deep water culture garden, a spray/mist cloner, and a hot house for seedlings.  I'm working on assembling a nutrient film technique (NFT) garden.  I also have several compact florescent lights that I have been using for side lighting.

     The pictures will be posted later tonight or tomorrow.  The next couple of posts will be about the lessons that I have learned since I first started playing with the idea of hydroponic gardening.  Hopefully the information that I have to offer will be of some help to others that are already gardening, or interested in starting.