Tool using animal writes has a simple hydroponic system you can make with foam cups and easy to gather supplies… – “This is a completely passive hydroponic float system suitable for fast growing crops in cool weather..” – Link.
Related:
From the pages @ MAKE:
Home Mycology Lab – Use an off-the-shelf home air purifier to make a laminar flow hood for your own miniature mycology lab. Then use it to culture and grow mushrooms, and to perform other experiments that require a clean-room environment. MAKE 07 – Page 102.
6 thoughts on “Make a hydroponic float system”
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Fast growing crops eh? What kind of crops?
For a float system, you’ll want something with a short harvest time and a tolerance for wet roots, i.e. leaf lettuces, spinach, salad greens, etc. Peat pellets will work, but they tend to have problems with water logging and damping off (i.e. lack of root oxygenation and fungal issues). A good option (that’s also reusable and can be sterilized) is the small sized expanded clay pellets. You may have to go to a hydroponics store, but they are cheap, nearly indestructible, and you can pick up your nutrients at the same time. If you root out in a loose medium like expanded clay, technically you don’t even need a medium in the cups. You can make or buy little foam rings that will hold the plant by the stem, allowing the roots to dangle in the nutrient solution. This design works even better if you add a aquarium pump and fine diffusion airstone, which helps keep the nutrient solution oxygenated and circulating. Also be careful of nutrient temperatures; many plants with stop taking up water and nutrients when their root zone reaches a certain temp, regardless of how much water is available.
For a float system, you’ll want something with a short harvest time and a tolerance for wet roots, i.e. leaf lettuces, spinach, salad greens, etc. Peat pellets will work, but they tend to have problems with water logging and damping off (i.e. lack of root oxygenation and fungal issues). A good option (that’s also reusable and can be sterilized) is the small sized expanded clay pellets. You may have to go to a hydroponics store, but they are cheap, nearly indestructible, and you can pick up your nutrients at the same time. If you root out in a loose medium like expanded clay, technically you don’t even need a medium in the cups. You can make or buy little foam rings that will hold the plant by the stem, allowing the roots to dangle in the nutrient solution. This design works even better if you add a aquarium pump and fine diffusion airstone, which helps keep the nutrient solution oxygenated and circulating. Also be careful of nutrient temperatures; many plants with stop taking up water and nutrients when their root zone reaches a certain temp, regardless of how much water is available.