How to DIY a hydroponic plant for growing greenery

To get all the vitamins a person needs, it is important to include salads and fresh herbs in the diet. In order not to buy parsley and dill in stores, you can use the popular technology. The hydroponic plant for growing herbs provides lettuce, celery, onions and other crops throughout the year.

Method essence

The word "hydroponics" means that the plant requires water to function. It is saturated with nutrients and used instead of conventional soil. Many people think that the hydroponic system is a modern innovative technology, forgetting that greens were first grown in this way in England at the beginning of the 20th century.

The convenience of this method is that it allows you to forget about regular weeding, pest control and provides plants with the necessary conditions for rapid growth and development:

• water;
• light to carry out the process of photosynthesis;
• optimal acidity level, preserving all the valuable substances in the greenery.

As a result, it grows large, juicy, and is not affected by pests. Dill, cilantro, lettuce can be cut 3-5 weeks after planting and quickly re-harvest. Therefore, hydroponics is a well-deserved popularity among those who grow greenery for sale.

To enrich water with nutrients, those elements are used that the plants planted in the garden receive from the soil. The plant functions perfectly in automatic mode, so the plants do not need daily care. The main thing is to change and add the nutrient solution in time. This is the main condition for growing seedlings and greenery.

Installation selection

The stores have a wide selection of hydroponic systems. There you can choose a unit for large-scale operation and for use in a small apartment.

Modern hydroponic equipment is of several types, differing from each other in the way water is delivered.

1. With drip irrigation, the nutrient solution enters the plant roots through a thin tube, washes them and pours out of special holes.
2. With tidal irrigation, the root system is periodically filled with a solution, which is removed after a few minutes.
3. With capillary irrigation, the roots are in the substrate, which is saturated with nutrient fluid.

The problem is, a store-bought hydroponic plant isn't cheap. Before deciding on such a solid acquisition, it is advisable to understand the principle of the system and find out exactly what result you can count on. The best option is to make a plant for growing greenery yourself.

Advice

At home, it is easier to use capillary irrigation. It does not require complex expensive automation, and the design itself takes up little space.

Home Installation Requirements

Before starting work, you need to prepare everything you need. You will need a resealable water container. Its volume depends on how many plants you will grow. On average, one root system requires 2-3 liters of nutrient fluid. The container must be dark in color, otherwise the water will quickly deteriorate and "bloom" under the influence of sunlight.

1. Be sure to get a dedicated aquarium pump. With its help, the liquid is enriched with oxygen. To make it better suited for a hydroponic system, it is advisable to replace its tubes with silicone ones.
2. Buy a stone that sprays oxygen bubbles in water. For growing greenery, it is recommended to use only a new stone in order to prevent pathogenic bacteria from contaminating the liquid, which leads to the death of the plants.
3. You will need pots. Regular plastic cups or small plastic pots are suitable for seedlings. Make sure they are no higher than the prepared solution container.

When the main ingredients are ready, take care of the substrate. His choice is wide enough. This can be coconut fiber, rock wool, perlite, expanded clay, or any specialized filler purchased from a store.

Finally, you need to pick up the nutrients. The market sells ready-made concentrates intended for seedlings of vegetables, indoor flowers and greens. Instead, it is allowed to use complex fertilizers.

Manufacturing instruction

First of all, you need to prepare seedling cups... They need to make small holes on the bottom and grooves on the sides with a red-hot awl. Then you should remove the lid from the water container, put the glasses on it upside down and circle with a chemical pencil. The distance between the glasses should be at least 10 cm. Cut holes in the lid along the outlined contour and insert the pots there.

1. In the upper part of the container, make holes for the hoses of the aquarium pump. Prepare the air atomizing stones according to the instructions and place them inside the tank.
2. Fill the container with filtered water more than half and connect the compressor. For convenience, it is advisable to install the device next to the hydroponic installation. If the system works fine, turn it off and get busy with the pots.
3. Fill them with the substrate soaked in water, close the tank with the lid and slide the pots back into place. Their bottom should be immersed in liquid.
4. Plant 3 seeds of the desired seedlings in the substrate, cover each pot on top with an empty plastic cup to create a greenhouse effect, and wait for the seeds to germinate.
5. Then add the nutrient solution to the water tank, strictly following the manufacturer's instructions, and remove the empty glasses from the seedlings.

The nutrient solution should be topped up twice a week. Its concentration should be 15 times less than the initial one. The pump for enriching water with oxygen can be left on all the time, but it is more convenient to purchase a timer that is used for aquariums and program it to turn on for fifteen minutes 4 times a day.

It is recommended to completely change the water in the container once a month. To make it convenient to do this, a special drain valve can be installed at the bottom of the tank. Do not pour out the used liquid. It is useful for irrigating garden plants or flowers.

Recommendations for beginners

For the cultivation to be successful, it is advisable to sow simple, unpretentious crops for the first time. Dill, parsley, green salad, cilantro, basil... Vegetables are more demanding. They need a large tank for the nutrient solution, special props and artificial lighting.

Before use, it is advisable to disinfect the container where you need to pour water. The procedure should be carried out with chloramine.

1. It needs to be diluted at the rate of 1 tbsp. l. 10 liters of water.
2. Pour the solution into the tank, close it tightly with the lid and leave for half an hour.
3. Drain the liquid, wait for the container to dry completely, and only then fill the container with the growing liquid.

The rapid growth of plants ensures that the optimal temperature is maintained in the container with the nutrient solution. It should vary between 24-30 degrees. If this cannot be achieved under natural conditions, it is required to purchase an apparatus that heats water in aquariums.

Advice

If the greens are grown in winter when the daylight hours are too short, additional lighting should be used. Purchase special phytolamps and turn them on every day for several hours. This will help speed up plant growth and increase yields.

Hydroponics is becoming more and more popular every day. The simplicity and efficiency of the technology gives it every chance to supplant the traditional cultivation of young greens. Having built a simple DIY installation, you will quickly appreciate its benefits. You will definitely want to make a more complex and powerful apparatus to test its great capabilities.