How to Build a Frame for Hydroponics

Apply PVC cement to the end of a 4-inch PVC pipe and push it into a 4-inch elbow. Turn the pipe so the elbow joint points toward the ceiling. Drill holes in the diameter of your planter's cups every 10 inches along the top of the pipe. The size of your planter's cups will depend on the kind of plants you grow. Make sure the diameter of the cup is smaller than the diameter of the PVC pipe. Repeat this step on the other 4-inch pipe.

Attach two half-inch PVC pipes into the arms of a T-junction with PVC cement. Apply the open ends of the arms with PVC cement and attach elbows. Point the elbows the same direction as the body of the T-junction and attach 4-inch sections of half-inch-diameter PVC pipe into the elbows. Follow manufacturer instructions on the cement to allow it to set.

Place an air stone and submersible air pump like you use in an aquarium in one side of a 5-gallon plastic tub. Place a water pump in the other side of the tub. This is the nutrient-solution tub.

Use a hand saw to cut 2 inches of each leg off a sawhorse. Set it upright in the space for your hydroponic garden. Set another sawhorse without modified legs 4 1/2 feet from the first, and parallel. Slide the nutrient-solution tub under the shorter sawhorse.

Drill a half-inch hole in the lid of a peanut butter jar. Place it over the open end of the elbow joint on one of the long PVC pipes. Do not cement the lid down. Repeat this step with another lid.

Set the elbow end of the larger PVC pipes on the taller saw horse, and the other end on the shorter one. Turn them so the holes and elbow joints face toward the ceiling and slide the ends of the assembly with the T-junction to the holes in the peanut jar lids. Run the hose from the water pump to the body of the T-junction and clamp it tight.

Slide a capillary mat into the bottom of each large PVC pipe. Make sure the open ends of the hydroponic frame on the shorter sawhorse drain directly into the nutrient solution tub.