Hydroponics

What is it?

Hydroponics is one of the many indoor farming techniques that have been standardized throughout the world. There are numerous structures that have been designed using hydroponics. This method takes advantage of the fact that plants are able to synthesize all required materials to survive using water and CO2. It is water based, and the nutrients are introduced through another solution.

Additionally, this method of farming can be in some ways better than soil-based farming. When removed from soil, the roots of plants can often be damaged. In hydroponics, this factor would not be applicable, as it is a water based system. Further, in soil based systems, circulation of nutrients is not stable. Rather, it changes as nutrients bind with soil particles. Thus, the heterogeneous nature soil based farming is far more complex and difficult to manage than the homogeneous nature of hydroponics.

Build your own

Materials and tools:

Materials: To create this farm, you will need…

  • Three buckets (with lids)

  • Epoxy adhesive

  • One submersible water pump (660 GPH)

  • One pool noodle

  • 25.0 cm PVC pipe

  • Hydroponic plant nutrient

Tools: To create this farm, you will need…

  • Drill (with hole bits of radii 0.5, 1.0)

  • Dremel oscillator

Step 1:

Using the hole drill bit with a radius of 0.5, drill a centered hole into two buckets’ lids and bottoms.

Step 2:

Using the hole drill bit with a radius of 0.5 cm, drill a hole on the top of one of the buckets' lids.

Step 3:

Using the drill hole bit wth radius 1.0 cm, drill 8 evenly spaced holes into the sides of the buckets. Do this with two buckets.

Step 5:

Using the Dremel oscillating tool, take off the rim of two of the buckets’ bottoms.

Step 6:

Using the epoxy glue, glue a bottom of a bucket with holes in it to the lid of the bucket without holes.

Step 7:

Using the drill, drill uniform holes into the glued lid and bottom. A more detailed diagram is shown to the right.

Step 8:

Place the pump into the bottom bucket, filling it with water. The amount of water filled does not matter. Pour in the plant nutrients (8 oz of nutrient makes 16-45 gallons of solution).

Step 9:

Repeat step 6, glueing the final bucket to the top. The final product should look like the diagram on the right.

Step 10:

Place the 25.0 cm PVC pipe into the holes drilled down the middle of the structure. Connect it at the bottom to the pump.

Step 11:

Take the pool noodle and cut it into diagonal pieces that are 5.0 cm lengthwise. Cut the piece lengthwise, and place into the holes drilled.

Step 12:

Repeat with every hole. The final product should look like the diagram to the left.