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Hydroponic Deck Garden
Summer 2007 - Learning the basics
A project like this takes a lot of patience and forethought. Most of this system was built using parts easily obtainable from Lowe's. Inspiration for this project came from various internet sites and the indoor “Office” hydro garden I grew from 2005 through 2006.
The addition of the Sun to hydroponic gardening created a new set of obstacles that I’m working hard to overcome. Very few people use this type of hydroponics outdoor and I know why now. The major hurdle has been the lack of climate control. Enjoy this attempt to create a cost effective hydroponic garden on my deck.
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Nutrients - To feed the plants, I add a liquid chemical nutrient called FloraNova to system water. This highly concentrated “complete” hydroponic fertilizer will buffer the PH to around 6 and give the plants all the nutrients they need. “Complete” refers to a hydroponic nutrient that contains all the nutrients needed by a plant for their entire life cycle without supplements. FloraNova and Pure Blend Pro are the only complete nutrients in a one part formula that I am familiar with.
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Diary - Newest entries to Older entries
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9/12/07
Everything in this hydroponic garden has been growing very well over the last month. There was a week with highs every day in the upper 90s that caused some leaf and fruit damage; casualties included some split tomatoes. Our area has been so dry that few gardens are still producing.
Last night, Jenn and I harvested a number of green bell peppers that are absolutely amazing. We’ve been eating hydroponic tomatoes for weeks now which is great timing because our dirt garden tomatoes are all but dead from the heat. The birds seem to love eating our banana peppers so we’ve only been able to get a few of those. Two cucumber plants in a single tub are producing more than enough for my family with 3 or 4 a week extra for friends. I couldn’t have guessed that this experiment was going to work out so well.
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 8/2/07
I finally got around to sealing the end caps of the square tubing. When dealing with hydroponics, always use 100% Silicon bath calk because it will cure in the presence of water. I had used liquid nails and acrylic calk before and neither worked well at all. I’m keeping the nutrient strength around 700ppm now and the plants are doing fantastic. Check out this cucumber; I’ve wrapped the porch in gardening screen where it can climb freely. Maybe next year, I’ll get an early start and will be able to get the whole porch wrapped in cucumbers.
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7/12/07
Over the last month:
- There was a bug problem - I finally licked it with some Neem oil spray over the course of a week.
- Water temperatures are staying more consistent with the reflective tops.
- Nutrients concentration increased to around 500ppm.
- Both end caps have developed leaks. Do NOT USE LIQUID NAILS FOR A HYDRO SYSTEM!
- Most of the plants have finally taken off over the last couple of weeks.
- Algae isn’t growing in the tubs as much with a lower ppm nutrient solution and the light shading.
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6/13/07
After a long day of sunny 83 degree weather, I checked on the deck hydro garden to find my pump had stopped working. It restarted after cycling the power but it may have done some serious damage. The roots are very dark on most of the plants but only time will tell if this problem will kill everything. Replacing that pump with an external model and adding a protein filter are imperative at this point. E-mail me if you have an extra 900+ GPH pump laying around!
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6/8/07
Upgrades:
Added reflective lids to reduce radiant heat absorption
Water from the reservoir now enters the tubs through black 1/2” tub with outlet at the bottom of the tubs
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5/8/07
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5/8/07
The days are getting warmer and so are the water temperatures in this hydroponic garden. Higher water temperatures and light leaks result in higher algae activity which has already killed nearly all of the plants. Using dark blue Rubbermaid tubs wasn’t a great idea as they collect quite a bit of heat from the sun and are not light tight. I found some reflective insulation at Lowe's that has reflective foil on each side of what appears to be bubble wrap. Water temperatures were reduced by quite a bit. I ran out of the insulation before I could finish the tops. The reservoir will also be covered in reflective insulation in a few days.
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 4/28/07
A trip to Lowe's gardening center provided us with a bunch of plants for the hydroponic system. We’ve got lettuce, broccoli, green bell peppers, red bell peppers, banana peppers, and basil. I started cucumbers inside to add to the system as well.
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4/7/07 - SNOW DAY
I built the hydro system a few days before a freak snow storm. My beautiful basil plants were killed relatively quickly but the water never froze.
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