Even if you don’t have the luxury of a large backyard you can still grow plenty of your own fresh produce using hydroponics.
Brian Bullock is a home gardener who has set up a simple but highly effect hydroponics system in his driveway and it produces more than enough food to feed his household.
“Hydroponics is essentially growing food plants in nutrient-rich water, with no need for soil,” explains Brian.
The plants sit in a growing medium – he prefers expanded clay balls but you can use scoria, perlite or even gravel – in different containers, and a nutrient-rich water solution flows over their roots, supplying them with all they need to grow. Brian blends different solutions to suit different plants, but the clever recycling system means it needs only 20% of the water an in-ground vegetable bed would use. The system avoids any soil-borne pests and diseases, there is no digging or weeding, no fertiliser loss or run off, and Brian reckons the plant growth is also quicker.
Brian is a qualified horticulturist and greenskeeper, so had a head start in setting up this hydroponics system, but he happily shares his knowledge online, and his set-up is a simple, low-cost arrangement that features lots of recycled pallets, plastic buckets and tins.
As well as the Dutch Bucket system that circulates nutrient-rich water through a series of pipes and buckets, Brian also uses a passive, single-container “Kratky” method in the cooler months (when the water is less likely to stagnate).
04:10 THE KRATKY METHOD
What you need:
A 20L bucket with lid
A slotted pot
Growing medium
Water
Nutrients
Plants
What you do:
1. Drill/cut the lid, creating a hole large enough to place and hold a net pot.
2. Fill the reservoir with water and nutrient mix and place the net pot with growing media and plant into the drilled lid. Having the lid in place supports the pot and stops mosquitoes from breeding in the water. The roots should be just touching the water, and not fully submerged.
3. As the plant roots grow, the water level in the bucket decreases. Brian suggests topping this up as required, watering through the net pot at the top.
4. Brian also drills a ‘drain hole’ in the side of his buckets. “This stops root rot, it means that the roots are accessing the water and nutrients, but aren’t submerged.”
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26 Comments
Extra bonus is no fungus gnats! 🙂
The adventage hidroponic planet very good my friend.
If this tickled your fancy, there's a great channel from Queensland called Hoocho. All kinds of methods, all kinds of vegies and how to's.
You can’t beat soil grown veges for taste
Where do i can buy that small stones
Might go back and watch some Hoocho's vids.
Very impressive small space gardening. (Kratky method is a water and feed once though. No top ups.)
G'day , thank you ABC Gardening Australia for the episode and showing my homemade hydroponic garden. Everyone should be able to grow food.
Join us on Facebook at " Perth Eze-Grow Hydroponics and Aquaponics" if you are interested in growing fresh, healthy vegetables and fruit at home. Whether that be a house, apartment or even at sea.
My Youtube channel features tutorials on building simple to complex hydroponic systems, information on growing via different hydroponic methods, plant propagation, weekly walk around and follow through on various crops from planting to harvest through the seasons.
If you are in Australia and are looking for the best most cost effective hydroponic fertiliser, specifically designed for vegetable growth send a message.
Happy growing.
Really interested in hydroponic gardening and honestly Brian was the first person I’ve seen actually explain it well! I also didn’t know using that method in summer can be tricky so great to know!
Great video!
What a great segment. I learnt so much.
this is cool my only concern is your feeding one plant and water drops to the next plant but you can transfer infections from using the same water to the next its like somebody spiting in cup and you drink that cup and you pee it out and feed that pee to the next person
My husband works with aquaculture (betta fish mainly) and our dream is to put up an aquaponic system! For now, we've been using our fish water to give our garden a good and nutritious drink!
More please
What's the difference between this and normal gardening? I have a water well, I pump the water, I water the plants, water sink to water well…
Does the title supposed to say "how to" not "Wow too" I'm to Wigh to tell.
is anyone here for gardening class?
How can we make our own fertilizer? In this vivid era I am not sure whether you are able to ship out of Australia.
What size pump is required please? Absolutely amazing job!
yep. just for veggies 🙂
Can you recommend a grow light for a small scale indoor hydroponic system which is available in Australia. I have a blue red light which does not seem to be working. What should I look for?
I tried and failed … my guess is that the water was too hot … how to cool it?
what should be good on chemical based nutrients and often radioactive phosphorus.
. nothing its more else disgusting. you must flush the correls with so many much better used water. then your depency on those nuttrients and of course energy for the pumps…. just for lpretty lazy ones with little understanding of plants.
Great 👍 👌
Great show people 💯💯💯 stay strong 💪💪💪😊😊😊 Les from Perth
Para todo usa la misma concentración de nutrientes, mide en ec o ppm ? Cuánto aproximadamente? Gracias
Do you mind me asking what nutrients you use? Love your video. Thanks.