Hydroponic Plans

From Cornell, plans to build a horizontal unit.
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gardening/fctsheet/growflow/index.html

This looks possible, following the plans step-by-step.

golddog... Thanks. I notice they also have a link to plans for a pvc light stand on the same page.

Yea, darius, looks like a good way to save money. Those in the catalogues are tooooo costly. I would rather use wood, as I am more familiar with it. All that is needed are the dimensions from the plans.

I've got trees, a roof overhang, plus hot water radiators at the windows. Frustrating, not having house plants to grow. Better get busy on a indoor plant stand w/ lighting.

golddog, thanks for the plans. You're right about the ones in the catalogues being too costly.

Well, the greenhouse is up,next step is some hydroponic units to grow salad greens. I'm hoping to try a little ebb and flow,aeroponics and maybe NFT. I've collected several instructional sheets online. If anyone is interested, I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Yes please, keep us posted. This is very new to most, and will be appreciated!

I would love to learn more too. We grow and sell water plants and perennials...here in Summerville, SC and one of the aquatic gardens that wholesales to us grows all of their
starter plants in running water. Also...they use raised beds so that weeding and tending will be easier. I really would love to learn more about this system. They are so very happy with theirs.

I will keep checking back. I think hydroponic units will be what I want to use for winter veggies. We don't have terribly cold weather for very long in South Carolina, Zone 8..but the farm we just purchased is very close to Zone 7 so we will have to use some heat during those two cold months. Anything home made and costing less money is what I want. The ones in catalogs are just way too expensive for our budget.

My Thanks, Stephanie

I have found a place in Dave's Garden where I can really participate with my hydro/aero and bioponic experiences. I have never used any store bought systems, they are too easy to make and most hydro stores sell all the hard to find pieces if you can't find them. My favorite system to date is a drip system I made using hydroponic ferts..
I'll describe it quickly and can find a bunch of pics/instructions for making other hydro/aero units.
The easiest and most fool proof hydro system is a knock off of General Hydroponic's "emily's garden". It is nothing more than netted pots sitting submerged in hydro solution and a airstone to keep the O2 levels up. [HYPERLINK@www.greencirclehydroponics.com] I was going to do a write up on this until I found the website of my local hydro store. The link above contains pictures and great descriptions you can use to make your own for a fraction of the costs. Like holty said, "the sky is the limit" and there are SEVERAL WAYS to get great results. Don't let anyone tell you different. I've seen rookies with simple systems outgrow others with hi$ systems. I think its just a matter of finding a unit that your comfortable with and run with it.
My best performing system to date is a drip system. Most everyone will tell you that you can't keep nutrients running 24/7 or you will over do it or get root rot. That's simply not true if you have adequate O2. I had tubs that are 4'x4'x 6inches deep. I'd fill these tubs w/ around 12 plants full of grorocks(lava rock like pebbles). I would run 1 drip line to each pot constantly running at a rate of 2 gallons per hour per plant. The bottom of each tub was fitted w/ a drain line the recirculated the nutrients back into a res. of nutrients. The res. is just a rubbermade 35 gallon tote containor. I used a small powerhead style aquarium water pump connected to a 1/2inch tube that ran to the tubs. Then I'd connect 1 drip line per plant onto my 1/2 inch "main nutrient line or tube". The only crucial part of this operation is monitoring the PH level of your nutrients and to make sure the res. is topped off w/ fresh water every few days. I always changed my nutrient evey 2 weeks. Pour it down the drain and mix up a new batch in the res.. Around and around you go until your plants are where you want them or your crop is finished at harvest time. You can make all this hydro stuff as easy or as complicated as you wish, KISS: keep it simple stupid turned out to be the best idea yet.
I highly recomend starting off w/ the Emily's Garden from home made parts. Instead of buying the unit at the above link, go to Home depot or Lowes and buy all the parts there.
PARTS LIST:
1 shallow container around 8-10 inches deep
6 or more 1 quart netted baskets depending on lid size.
1 small air pump from pet store
1 6 foot long piece of air tubing
1 air stone
1 bag of growrock or other growing media
1 utility knife for cutting holes in lid.
1 small drill and bit for air tube hole
1 hydroponic nutrient (they vary a lot)General Hydroponics brand is easy for the beginner.
1 PH tester. A cheap 1 from pet store will work great.

You can start off w/ a simple shallow storage container(Ideally 8 inches or close). Look at the dimensions of Emily's garden and the plant spacing per netted pot. Then take the lid to your container and measure it out. Try to keep the sites for your pots around 4 inches apart. You'll need to locate a gardening center or hydroponics store to find the netted pots/baskets. The size and shape of your baskets determine the spacing and size of holes to be cut in the lid of your container. Some netted pots are square and some a round. You want pots that could carry roughly 1 quart. I found 6' round baskets here so I cut my holes 5' in diameter. This smaller hole kept the baskets off the bottom of the container barely, you want the nutrient to be able to surround the pots all the way around and under. Thats the only hard part. After measuring out where the holes go in the lid, I used a utility knife to cut through the plastic lid. Now you need to drill a small hole in the side of the container just below where the lid fits on. This is for the air pump line to enter the container and connect an airstone to the tubing inside the container.
Now fill you container /res w/ water 1 gallon at a time to see how much nutrient you'll need to premix before pouring into the container. Then place netted pots filled w/ growrocks in the holes in container lid. Plug in the air pump and then you can begin potting plants in your baskets. I would buy a book on this subject or check out the library to see what kind of plants do well. The nutrients bottles have different strengths of nutrient for different plants so you'll find a small list there. Its trial and error, I think you can grow anything in there.
PHEW! I hope I did ok in describing this. I'm worn out now. Try searching the net, you'll find more links than you could read. Many other DIY systems too along with nutrients etc., on and on.
Feel free to ask Q's and I'll do my best to keep up. I'm SURE holty could answer all of these questions too. He knows what he's talking about since he is building a trough system. That's 1 more of the hundred's of ways to do it right IMO. It's all personal prefference and what you feel comfy with.
JD
I posted this in the wrong place earlier. Hopefully it fits here;)

great to have you here JLD!!! as I catch up on all my other projects I hope to get this made and started up.