Easy to Build Hydroponic Systems

Individual Buckets

• Almost any kind of a bucket can be used as a hydroponic growing pot, as long as it has not been contaminated with any kind of chemicals that might harm the plants. Five-gallon buckets work well to support large plants such as tomatoes and peppers. Melons and other vines can also be grown in hydroponic buckets, and growing space can be maximized by training such plants on a trellis placed behind the buckets. The buckets must have adequate drainage and they should be filled with perlite or gravel as a support medium for the plants. Nutrient solution is dripped or poured in several times per day, then allowed to drain out through the bottom of the bucket.

Soda Bottles

• Small hydroponic systems can easily be built from 2-liter soda bottles with the tops cut off. Plants either receive nutrients via a wick that dangles into the nutrient solution filling the bottom section of the bottle or they are placed in a cup and the roots are allowed to grow directly into the nutrient solution. Both types can be built quickly and easily by almost anyone, for little or no cost.

Lightweight Coolers

• Simple hydroponic systems that will support several plants can be made from Styrofoam or lightweight plastic coolers, with a sheet of Styrofoam laid over the top of the cooler. Holes are cut into the sheet to hold several Styrofoam cups. The cooler is filled with nutrient solution and the cups are filled with perlite. The plants are added to the cups and the cups are then placed so that the plants within can reach the liquid when the cups are set into the holes in the Styrofoam sheet.

Simple Frame

• Larger hydroponic systems consisting of frames filled with liquid nutrient solution are quick and easy to make, and will grow enough leafy greens such as lettuce, spinach or herbs to provide for an entire family. A 4-by-8-foot frame consisting of four wooden boards is lined with a sheet of plastic, then filled with nutrient solution for this design. Holes are cut in a large sheet of Styrofoam which is then floated on the liquid, pots holding plants are added to it, and the garden is operational.