Hydroponic Gardening DIY

[Zenbaas]

From the guys at Marley :

"


Please see our attachment regarding our Hydroponic pipe,

It costs around R26.50 P/M.

Unfortunately we do not have stock at the moment , hopefully by the middle of February we will have again.

*

Please contact me directly on the info below if you require anything else. "

 

[Basil959]

That's not to bad considering I paid R260 for 110mm plumbing pipe...! The pots should sit much better in that piping..

 

[Zenbaas]

That's not to bad considering I paid R260 for 110mm plumbing pipe...! The pots should sit much better in that piping..

Agreed. And the fact that I need to rethink my design somewhat so it's easier to clean etc.

 

[Basil959]

Just some feed back on my experience to date,

I watched a bunch of you tube vids and decided I wanted to go with a NFT system using 110mm plumbing pipe. (I don't have a green house.)

I bought a 6m length of 110mm pipe and cut it into 3 pieces so 2m X3.

I then slapped an "A" frame together and used gutter brackets to hold the pipes, I put the pipes level then dropped one side by 10mm and the pipe below the also by 10mm on the opposite..etc to create some downward flow.

What I really struggled with was sealing the ends, I bought 110mm marley end caps which can screw out (Aparently I will need to clean the pipes from time to time) these leaked like crazy I ended up using window putty to seal the screw thread. The next problem was the actual water delivery... I bought black irrigation 20mm pipe and used a combination of a 90deg bend with thread on one end and a female to female coupling with a rubber 20mm washer between them. So it went 20mm pipe to 90deg bend through the middle of the end cap then washer then female coupling. it also leaked like mad, so back to old faithful (Window Putty) to stop the leaks.

I got some net pots from my local pet shop.. (they use them for the aquarium plans) a fountain pump with a head height of 2.5m ...over kill, I had to reduce the flow by about 85% I bought a lever valve to adjust the flow from the pump. I also added an air pump as I've seen some people recommend you use one.

I added 50l of water to the system, tested the water with my pool tester and I guess its about 7, I googled it and some one said add vinegar to reduce PH 6-6.5 which i did and it seemed to work. I added the nutrifeed as mentioned on the forum to the water, as per the packaging.

I added lettuce, basil, thyme, origanum, parsley and celery... I decided 100% sun (North facing) would be the way to go as the little picture said "full sun" :wtf:

Durban / January = deadly hot

Well the leaves wilted and burnt, so I moved the system to face east against a wall so sun in the AM and shade after 12. This meant I had to empty all the piping again, reseal all the leaks and adjusted the levels again...:twisted::twisted:

The veg / herbs are growing but something just isn't right, maybe it's to hot at the moment, maybe my nutrient is to strong for some / too week for others..etc

I'm going to buy a PH meter (R140 on DX) and I think I need a ppm meter (R150 on DX) just so I can accurately know whats going on...

Any feed back would be most helpful...!

 

[Batista]

Stunning Tomatoes Zen! I was a bit late with my garden but we got it up last December.Soil garden lol, hey its something?
Will post pics tomorrow.

 

[Zenbaas]

How are you keeping your reservoir cool?

 

[Basil959]

I bomb some ice in it from time to time, but I'm not monitoring it properly...

If the nutrient is cool will the plant maintain in high temperature conditions?

 

[Zenbaas]

The reservoir must not get excessively hot otherwise you will get root rot. I think it can't go above 27°C.

 

[Zenbaas]

Stunning Tomatoes Zen! I was a bit late with my garden but we got it up last December.Soil garden lol, hey its something?
Will post pics tomorrow.

Thanks. I've been having some issues though lately. The leaves keep on dying and I can't think what it can be other than the tomatoes sucking up so much water that the ppm increases so high that it harms the plant. The pH us more stable now and I fill my reservoir every second day but it's still slowly deteriorating for my one black zebra and one Tigerella Tomato. Will post some pics when I have time.

 

[Batista]

Thanks. I've been having some issues though lately. The leaves keep on dying and I can't think what it can be other than the tomatoes sucking up so much water that the ppm increases so high that it harms the plant. The pH us more stable now and I fill my reservoir every second day but it's still slowly deteriorating for my one black zebra and one Tigerella Tomato. Will post some pics when I have time.

Very Weird, maybe run ph neutral water for a few days and then switch back to nutes?

 

[Zenbaas]

Very Weird, maybe run ph neutral water for a few days and then switch back to nutes?

I was testing the ppm just now and I simply think it's way too high. Have dropped it to 1200 from shock horror 3000 Again! Eish. The tomatoes simply drink up the water way faster than the nutes. Will just add water daily and see if I can drop it further.

 

[Zenbaas]

Some pics

 

[SirFooK'nG]

I cleaned out 90% of my buckets this weekend, emptied, cleaned out old root systems and topped up the aggregate. Also I got my 3rd row up and running for my Herbs (just need to germinate some seeds). Currently I have some green peppers, 2 tomato plants and a cabbage growing

 

[Electric]

Looking good zenbaas

 

[Zenbaas]

I cleaned out 90% of my buckets this weekend, emptied, cleaned out old root systems and topped up the aggregate. Also I got my 3rd row up and running for my Herbs (just need to germinate some seeds). Currently I have some green peppers, 2 tomato plants and a cabbage growing

How you holding up otherwise..? Is the hydro stuff at least keeping your mind somewhat occupied..?

 

[SirFooK'nG]

How you holding up otherwise..? Is the hydro stuff at least keeping your mind somewhat occupied..?

My Hydro kinda took a backseat for while there... so it went very neglected for 6 weeks. I'm doing good now. Time to get everything back into action!

 

[Basil959]

I was testing the ppm just now and I simply think it's way too high. Have dropped it to 1200 from shock horror 3000 Again! Eish. The tomatoes simply drink up the water way faster than the nutes. Will just add water daily and see if I can drop it further.

As you know I'm new to all of this but I was thinking about your problem last night, just a practical though... maybe your reservoir needs to be bigger?

 

[Zenbaas]

As you know I'm new to all of this but I was thinking about your problem last night, just a practical though... maybe your reservoir needs to be bigger?

You're hundred percent right but I live in a flat and this is on a balcony. I can't raise the bucket system higher to put in a larger reservoir at this point in time and I can't bury it in the concrete either So unfortunately I have to make due. Maybe a set up like electric had with auto top up with shut off valve for the water only.

 

[Basil959]

I've seen your pics, what size is the tank? I plan to try 4 or 5 buckets and I'm in the planning stages.. I see Builders have a 160lt on special?

You're hundred percent right but I live in a flat and this is on a balcony. I can't raise the bucket system higher to put in a larger reservoir at this point in time and I can't bury it in the concrete either So unfortunately I have to make due. Maybe a set up like electric had with auto top up with shut off valve for the water only.

 

[Electric]

You're hundred percent right but I live in a flat and this is on a balcony. I can't raise the bucket system higher to put in a larger reservoir at this point in time and I can't bury it in the concrete either So unfortunately I have to make due. Maybe a set up like electric had with auto top up with shut off valve for the water only.

You should give the float valve a try, it works very well if you are concerned about water levels.