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 Post subject: Why not make a hydroponic herb garden
 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 10:52 am 
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Spirit Dragon
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Location: South Africa
This is a great idea for the herbologist who wants to be eco friendly.

You can make an indoor or outdoor (depending on your climate) herb or flower garden.

What you need:

A large bucket or trough.
A few hoses or plumbing connectors and elbows to fit the pvc pipe.
A PCV pipe
Some clean stones
Mesh
A fish tank or water pond pump
Waterproof Sealant (silicone)

First you need to make the stand, at the very bottom you place the bucket or trough with water in it, cut the pvc pipe into lengths desired, place them on a stand you can make with poles or benches or even bolt them to a wall, place them on different levels, one below the other. Make sure the fish tankor water pond pum can reach from the bucket or trough up to the very first or highest pcv pipe. Block off the ends of teach pcv pipe with a sealant or whatever you can find if you don't want to use a sealant, it must be waterproof. Use your hoses and cut them into lengths so you can make the water go from one level to the next. going down each time, eventually the last hose will go from the last pvc pipe to the bucket or trough at the bottom. If you have plumbing connectors it may work instead of the hose.
Once you have made a waterway system that pumps from the bucket / trough up to the highest pvc pipe and zigzags down through the other pipes below until it gets back to your bucket / trough at the bottom... And make sure it has no leaks. Silicone is a great help here. Ductc tape also works well.
Then cut holes into the tops of the pvc pipes to fit little pot plants in, you don't need the pot plants it's just for size. Alternatively you can cut open the top of the pipe in one big hole from one end to the ther, make sure it is not a big hole that allows the water to run out, it should only be along the top of the pipes.
Once you have done this, fill up the pipes a little over half way with the clean stones, the stones must be clean to avoid soil contamination and to prevent the water becomming dirty. Then take your seedlings of the herbs or flowers you have chosen (make sure they will be compatible for a hydroponic system, some don't like too much water, but most work well) and wash off the soil from their roots very carefully. Use your mesh to create a grid over the openings at the top of your pvc pipes. this is going to hold your herbs in place so they don't fall over and give them a little support. Make sure your stones are nott too tightly packed. Place the herbs into the mesh and make sure the water passes through the stones and reaches the roots well enough. The roots will grow down and into the stones, so no need to cover the roots as long as the water is toughing your herb's roots. If you are going to have it indoors, make sure you have the propper lighting, if you have it outdoors like I do, then no need tor the lighting. But make sure it is not in direct sunlight, perhaps a shade cloth canopy or gazebo that allows the sun to go through but not too much would be a good idea. It you want to be extra eco friendly and green, then why not make a solar panel or wind turbine to power your little water pump (it does not use much energy at all) and even your lights if it is indoors? Just remember to check your water levels often and top it up if you need to.
As for nutrients, a garden shop will have more than enough things for you to add to the water to make it more beneficial to your plants.

Because you are recycling your water over and over you save on water usage instead of letting it just seap into the ground and dissapear. So you get more from your water this way.

This is a great little idea for those who live in a home that does not have a garden for you to plant in. And sometimes pot plants dry out as the soil dries out quickly too. Most herbs grow grat indoors on a windowsill, so sunlight is not something they need a lot of.

Hope you find this fun and interesting. There is a ton of hydrponic ideas out there, just check online... It's easier than you think.

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 Post subject: Re: Why not make a hydroponic herb garden
 Post Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2011 8:31 pm 
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MM MoonGrove. I heartily agree, a great idea! Thanks for sharing. Do you have any photographs of your hydroponic system?


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 Post subject: Re: Why not make a hydroponic herb garden
 Post Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 8:47 am 
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Spirit Dragon
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Location: South Africa
Will try to post some up, having a little trouble with my cell to pc usb cable, might need a new one.

But will post pics as soon as I can.

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 Post subject: Re: Why not make a hydroponic herb garden
 Post Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 7:54 pm 
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Thank you - Would love to see!


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 Post subject: Re: Why not make a hydroponic herb garden
 Post Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 10:00 am 
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Spirit Dragon
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Joined: Tue Jun 07, 2011 4:09 pm
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Location: South Africa
Okay, so I had to order a new usb cable and will take a photo of my garden system once I get it and will post it up for all to see.

But in the mean time for you to get an idea of what I am talking about and for you to sort of see how it is supposed to look and work I have posted a few pics below.

Now, my system is slightly tilted to help the water flow a little easier but it is nt tilted as much as the one shown here. I find the flat systems make the water flow a little slower and sometimes you need a little bit of a bigger bucket or water trough sat the bottom for those and a slightly strong water pump to pump the water a little faster.


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Nft%20Hydroponics.jpg
Nft%20Hydroponics.jpg [ 44.28 KiB | Viewed 460 times ]
hydroponic-setups-1.jpg
hydroponic-setups-1.jpg [ 48.89 KiB | Viewed 460 times ]
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24.jpg [ 127.05 KiB | Viewed 460 times ]

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 Post subject: Re: Why not make a hydroponic herb garden
 Post Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:58 pm 
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This is a wonderful idea, especially for those who have little ground space! Thanks for posting :cleo:


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 Post subject: Re: Why not make a hydroponic herb garden
 Post Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 10:54 am 
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Spirit Dragon
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Location: South Africa
Most welcome, If I helped even one person, it was well worth it.

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