I like to cook and I like fresh spices.
There is no comparison possible between fresh garlic, mint, thyme, basil ... and the dry stuff you buy at the supermarket !
I tried to have some plants in soil but I didn't like it too much. Sometimes you forget to water them and you feel guilty when you see how much they have suffered. Sometimes you knock over the pot and their is soil everywhere. Even sometimes you have bugs coming out the soil. That wasn't for me.
I always liked watching these youtube documentaries on new farming, hydroponics, etc ... So I decided to build a tiny one for fresh spices, mint, tomatoes, lettuce, ...
The system basically works like this :
During 15 minutes every hour, the pump sends water through the violet pipe in the tube containing the roots of the plants. The water starts to drop back to the main tank through the small black pipe. The inflow is too rapid for this tiny black pipe and the water rises until the level of the big black pipe (don't let your mind beeing so nasty !). Once there, the water starts a smooth loop coming out of the pump and going back through the two black pipes.
After 15 minutes, the pump stops and all the water go back to the main tank.
The roots have humidity and oxigen during 45 min and water and nutrients during 15 min. It's a good combination that allows plants to grow very fast.
I've made the whole system with 30-40 bucks.
I got lucky, I could find a perfect fit at the Chinese bazar shop.
Rotate this photo 90º to the right in your mind, you can do it !!!
( Lazy GlitterFart ... LAZY !!! )
( Rotate this one too ) Clever way to adjust the height ;p
The height inside determines the maximum height of the water inside
Standard plastic box !
I cut the plastic with a Dremel.
Don't forget to make some holes in the pots
You can see on this one the inside filled with water
The pots are filled with standard clay pearl. There are several others options but I like this one because you can clean these pearls and reuse them as many times as you like !
This is a photo I took after a month. It grew so much during the followings months, particularly the mint, that it looked like a tiny jungle in front of my window !
The plants will grow and survive with only tap water but if you want amazing results, the best way is to add in the water some green hydroponic fertiliser. It costs around 10$ for a bottle and you'll have enough to run your tiny hydroponic system forever.
If you want to grow plants of marijuana ... yes you can and yes they will be huge. Just consider larger pots and a wider pipe ;p
Even if it's hard to believe, I'm really growing food and spices there, nothing else ;)
If you enjoyed the reading, consider following me, @GlitterFart