Very good explanations. For two years, we have been growing herbs and lettuce with static Kratky method in health ranger Mini Farm Food Rising bins. In condo but have in solarium using 300 W LEDs suspended on conduit above workbenches my husband made for me. Taped translucent white lids with opaque tape and no longer have algae problem. Use superclean nutrients from same source. Also operate 3 Aerogardens inside, and several aerated gardens consisting of outer ring of coated fence material, tied to gopher hardware cloth. Inside is another smaller diameter fence/gopher ring. Between the two are cedar chips for drainage and aeration. Inside is potting mix, vermiculite, worm castings, compost. Wonderful for root crops like sweet potatoes, and delicate crops like strawberries. Aerated gardens are outside.
Claudia, it would be awesome to see pictures of your garden. Sounds amazing, and is another great example of home creativity in growing healthy foods. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Matt, where did you buy the 1/2 rubber grommets, T connectors, and the hose? I bought mine and they don't work too well. It was leaking all over the place. Love your setup and I would like to do the same.
Hey Matt. Love the videos. Big Kratky fan as well. I'm a new viewer so will go through all the videos to see if you already answer some of the questions I have.
Matt, so you have found that with say Tomato plants.. in the bucket set up.. it's NOT necessary to bath the upper portion of the roots..as with the typical Dutch Bucket set ups...where it's on a timer..maybe 2 to 3 times each day?
Non-circulating hydroponics, no pumps, no timers, no aeration, and not like Dutch Buckets. The nutrient is gravity fed by float valve to maintain a constant level in the buckets. You can see other examples in my TH-cam videos. I learned about this from Professor B.A. Kratky, and here is one of his videos, th-cam.com/video/pZZO1tYqcwk/w-d-xo.html
It took me a year to figure out what happens when you lower the bucket with the float valve.. It lowers the water level in the plant buckets, so you don't have to mess with the float valve setting. I feel mentally challenged. I must have lead poison. Anyway, I found a 23 gallon trash bin at Walmart that come with a dome cover. I drilled a one inch hole in the middle and put in a rubber grommet where I will insert my indeterminate Better Boy tomato plant. I made another hole on top with a rubber grommet that fit a half inch pvc with a 90 elbow, for air. I think most of the rain water will run off to the sides. This is the best I could come up with to solve the rain problem. I will keep the solution level at 1/2 full.
@@MattGarver Hello, I have a hole that allows 1/2 inch of water on the bottom of my 5 inch net cup which leaves a 4 1/2 inch air gap on the top. I have been filling my tomato buckets up to that level every other day and they look healthy and are starting to flower. I wonder if the plants will adjust to the water level and grow air roots above the clay pebbles?
@@mangofever4681 Sounds like it will work, with a bit of regular maintenance. Tomato roots easily form in any moist zone. Be careful to prevent wide fluctuating in nutrient levels when water drops too low before refilling.
@@MattGarver The air roots grew out of the 5 inch net pot to adapt to the high solution level. My plants are drinking about a quart of solution every 2 days.
Good job, very informative. That's an awesome looking pepper plant!
Thanks Mike, you do a wonderful job on your channel showing Kratky hydroponics as well. I am hoping to eventually juice greens like you have done.
Very good explanations. For two years, we have been growing herbs and lettuce with static Kratky method in health ranger Mini Farm Food Rising bins. In condo but have in solarium using 300 W LEDs suspended on conduit above workbenches my husband made for me. Taped translucent white lids with opaque tape and no longer have algae problem. Use superclean nutrients from same source. Also operate 3 Aerogardens inside, and several aerated gardens consisting of outer ring of coated fence material, tied to gopher hardware cloth. Inside is another smaller diameter fence/gopher ring. Between the two are cedar chips for drainage and aeration. Inside is potting mix, vermiculite, worm castings, compost. Wonderful for root crops like sweet potatoes, and delicate crops like strawberries. Aerated gardens are outside.
Claudia, it would be awesome to see pictures of your garden. Sounds amazing, and is another great example of home creativity in growing healthy foods. Thanks for commenting!
I was thinking of doing the same thing but with syphon action for the tubing.
Thanks for both watching and commenting. I would be interested in seeing what you create.
Nice video Matt! Your plants look great. That Jobito is a beast. Thanks for showing your systems.
From ideas to paper to actual concepts in growing, you know it's addictive. Thanks for watching!
Hi Matt, where did you buy the 1/2 rubber grommets, T connectors, and the hose? I bought mine and they don't work too well. It was leaking all over the place. Love your setup and I would like to do the same.
Kerick Valve MA052 PVC Mini Float Valve, 1.5 gpm at 60 psi, 1/2" NPT Male
amzn.to/3oEXlRL
1/2" Female NPT x 1/2" Barbed Tubing Fitting
amzn.to/3MKdSf3
Hydrofarm HGTB50GF 1/2-Inch Black, 25 Foot Roll Tubing
amzn.to/3ININ9c
1/2" Tubing Elbows, T-Fittings, and Shut Offs
amzn.to/3oCACpm
General Hydroponics 1/2" Rubber Grommets
amzn.to/3qkbc0k
5 Gallon Black Food Safe Buckets
amzn.to/3MMrpCW
6" net pot bucket lids
amzn.to/3N5jVwg
32 Gallon Food Safe Reservoir
amzn.to/3N3itJN
Dyna-Gro Grow 7-9-5 complete liquid nutrient, 1 tsp per gallon
amzn.to/42gywt1
Darrin, my parts list is in my first reply to you. If you need a simpler solution, check out this video. th-cam.com/video/mDz5I_vKjyU/w-d-xo.html
Thank you very much for all your help, Matt!
Thanks for the video😀👍 I have some small 5 gallon totes I'm making this week also
BD Beatz Sounds great, it's fun to build your own setups. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Matt. Love the videos. Big Kratky fan as well. I'm a new viewer so will go through all the videos to see if you already answer some of the questions I have.
David Clymer Thanks for stopping past my channel. Much appreciation to read your comments.
Matt, so you have found that with say Tomato plants.. in the bucket set up.. it's NOT necessary to bath the upper portion of the roots..as with the typical Dutch Bucket set ups...where it's on a timer..maybe 2 to 3 times each day?
Non-circulating hydroponics, no pumps, no timers, no aeration, and not like Dutch Buckets. The nutrient is gravity fed by float valve to maintain a constant level in the buckets. You can see other examples in my TH-cam videos. I learned about this from Professor B.A. Kratky, and here is one of his videos, th-cam.com/video/pZZO1tYqcwk/w-d-xo.html
@@MattGarver Thanks Matt- great videos!
Matt do you have a item list I would need for this system in regards to different sizes of grommets and tubing you used. Ty
How do you prevent mosquitoes from growing in the reservoir?
My reservoir lids fit snug, and the bucket lids are tight too. I lived near a huge marsh, but never had mosquito issues in my containers.
@@MattGarver Thank you for answering the question, Matt! You are GREAT!!!
It took me a year to figure out what happens when you lower the bucket with the float valve.. It lowers the water level in the plant buckets, so you don't have to mess with the float valve setting. I feel mentally challenged. I must have lead poison.
Anyway, I found a 23 gallon trash bin at Walmart that come with a dome cover. I drilled a one inch hole in the middle and put in a rubber grommet where I will insert my indeterminate Better Boy tomato plant. I made another hole on top with a rubber grommet that fit a half inch pvc with a 90 elbow, for air. I think most of the rain water will run off to the sides. This is the best I could come up with to solve the rain problem. I will keep the solution level at 1/2 full.
Just hoping to help you
@@MattGarver Hello, I have a hole that allows 1/2 inch of water on the bottom of my 5 inch net cup which leaves a 4 1/2 inch air gap on the top. I have been filling my tomato buckets up to that level every other day and they look healthy and are starting to flower. I wonder if the plants will adjust to the water level and grow air roots above the clay pebbles?
@@mangofever4681 Sounds like it will work, with a bit of regular maintenance. Tomato roots easily form in any moist zone. Be careful to prevent wide fluctuating in nutrient levels when water drops too low before refilling.
@@MattGarver The air roots grew out of the 5 inch net pot to adapt to the high solution level. My plants are drinking about a quart of solution every 2 days.
@@mangofever4681 Sounds like things are going well.
Why is algae considered to be a problem?
Algae competes for nutrients and restricts growth also by coating plant roots.
thanks
I wonder if algae on the roots actually has bad effects on growth?
@@tangobayus Yes