This is the second half of the article "The Quick and Easy Hydroponic DIY Project".
If you want to read the first half of this article CLICK HERE.
These are the items that you will need for your hydroponic DIY project. Building it will be quick and easy. Here are the steps:
1. The first step is to measure the top of the cup minus the rim. This will decide the size of the holes that you will need to cut on the plastic storage container lid. The purpose of the rim is to hold the cup out of the water keeping the plant stable.
2. Next cut holes into the cups so that water can pass through the cups, and roots can grow outside of the cup as the plants grow. When cutting the holes in the cups, make sure they are small enough so that the growing medium can’t leak out into the reservoir.Credit: Amazon
3. Measure the lid of the plastic storage container with the number of holes that you want the hydroponic DIY system to have. If the plants are bushy then make the holes further apart, if the plants tent to grow tall then put the holes closer together.
Now cut the holes out of the plastic storage lid. Be careful not to cut yourself while doing this because the plastic that the lid is made from is thick and can be a little difficult to cut.Credit: Amazon
After you have cut the holes cut a smaller hole at one end of the lid around one inch in diameter. This hole is where you will put the tubing for the air pump into the water.
4. Relax, the hard part is over. Now you need to put the plastic container in a sunny spot and then add water to it. The water needs to be deep enough so that the roots of the plants are submerged in the water.
Add some fertilizer to the water. If you are planting seedlings then keep the PPM at less than 300 otherwise you could burn them and kill them. If the plants are developed then start with 500 PPM, you want to start out a little weak until the plants have had enough time to adjust to their new environment.Credit: Amazon
Test the PH of the water and make sure that it is within the tolerance range of the plants. Remember that if the PH is to far out of range for the plants, you could inadvertently lock out nutrients preventing the plants from absorbing them.
5. Now add the growing medium to the cups, and add the plants to the growing medium. Be sure that you remove all of the soil from the roots before putting the plants in the growing medium. Do not put the stems into the cups, rather keep them above the medium so that they don’t become wet and rot.
6. Put the air tube in the hole on the lid that you drilled for it, then connect the air stone and pump to the tube. Now put the lid on the reservoir with the air stone on the very bottom of the reservoir.Credit: Amazon
Now place the potted plants into the remaining holes on the lid making sure that at least some of the roots are submerged into the water and plug the air pump in.
Keep a close eye on the plants for the next few days to make sure that they are adjusting to their new environment. Once they have adjusted to their new environment, add more fertilizer until you have reached the levels that the plants need.Credit: Amazon
Change the water once in a while, maybe every two weeks to a month because the plants absorb nutrients at different rates which can cause an imbalance in the N-P-K levels. Check the PH level when you add more fertilizer to keep it in the range that the plants need.
That is pretty much it; all you need to do now is make sure that the roots remain submerged into the water to prevent them from drying out. You can add a fan to the hydroponics DIY garden to help keep the bugs away. You can also add a light if your water garden is not located in a sunny place.