Indian Hydroponics

Automated hydroponic planter- Update!!

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Bhat) — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:13:00 +0000

I could not resist sharing the pictures of my babies growing so nicely in the hydroponic planter that I had created sometime back.

In my previous post, I had explained about the system and shown pictures of 15 day old plants. Have a look at the latest pictures. These are 25 day old plants (32 days from seed).

The plants are growing vigorously, much faster than the that in soil. This growth is remarkable since this hydroponic planter is kept in the open (on my terrace) and the temperature is hovering around 32 deg. C. Lettuce is not bolting, Chinese cabbage and red ruby cabbage plants are not wilting because of heat.

In spite of the hot and dry weather, the feeding cycle is 15 days. The 25 litres of hydroponic nutrient solution which I pour into the system lasts for 15 days (It will drop to maybe 10 days or so as the plants grow bigger). What is remarkable is the efficient use of water and nutrients. No wastage at all.

I will keep you posted on further progress. If you would like to know more about hydroponic gardening please visit Indian Hydroponics

Automated hydroponic planter- No electricity needed!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:36:00 +0000

As I had mentioned in my previous posts, my constant endeavor is to continuously innovate and create a low maintenance and low cost soilless/ hydroponic gardening system. Well, after years of experimenting with various types of systems I have created the first prototype of a automated hydroponic system which does not need electricity and other expensive equipment like pumps, timers etc. And it works wonderfully well!!

What you see in the picture does not have a good finish (I lack carpentery skills :)) I plan to get hold of a good carpenter to create a neat finished system which can be kept indoors, in the balcony or in the patio.

Anyways.. coming to the the features and benefits of this system:

1) A large planting area - I plan to create 3 different sizes - 2' x 2', 3' x 1.5' and 4' x 1.5'. These sizes are much larger that the conventional planters available in the market. A couple of these systems are enough to grow all your flowering plants, herbs and leafy veggies.

(I have planted 3 watermelon plants, 12 lettuce plants, 8 ruby red cabbage plants and 3 Chinese cabbage plants in the 3' x 1.5' planter shown in the picture)

2) No daily watering needed - Depending upon the plant growth stage and the weather conditions, this garden system would require nutrient solution only once or twice a month, you need to refill the system with our nutrient solution

3) Built-in nutrient level indicator - This system has a built-in nutrient solution level indicator, which will tell you when to refill the system with the nutrient solution

4) No water stress due to under-watering or flooding due to over-watering - The plants roots get the optimum supply of water and nutrients all the time throughout.

You fill the system once/ twice a month with the solution and the system takes care of dispensing the optimum supply of nutrients to plants.

5) No soil borne diseases - In this soil-less system, hydroponic media is sterile, hence there are no soil borne insects or pests which makes it an ideal indoor growing system

The planters will be designed keeping in mind the aesthetics of the home interior. With attractive wooden laminate finishes and wheels, these planters will truly gel with your living room or balcony furnishings.

For more information on hydroponic gardening, please visit Indian Hydroponics

Chilies in Hydroponics

noreply@blogger.com (Raja Bhat) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:01:00 +0000

I wanted to do away with daily watering and at the same time I did not want to use pumps, timers etc, so I experimented with a grow system sometime last year. I planted 7 chili plants in a small tub (18" L x 10" W x 10" H).

I filled the entire tub with sterile grow media (cocopeat). I used a 2 litre plastic bottle as a nutrient solution reservoir. I used a 1.5" PVC pipe with an end cap and an L joint to feed nutrients to the plants.

The system worked really well, as you can see in the picture (Plants loaded with chilies).

However, there were certain drawbacks - In the initial stages when the plants are small the nutrient requirement is low. The 2 litre bottle filled with nutrients would last for a week. As the plants grow bigger, the nutrient and water intake increased. Now, I need to refill the bottle at least once a day (sometimes twice a day)!!.

Also, lack of aeration in the root zone and salt build up in the grow media are some of the other issues with this system.

I have found a work around to this problem, I am working on a new system design which I will talk about in my next post.

In case you need to learn more about hydroponic gardening, please visit Indian Hydroponics

10 years in hydroponics

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:23:00 +0000

Its been 10 years since I got introduced to hydroponics. In 1999, my brother who was in Singapore at that time visited some of the hydroponic gardens there and was so fascinated by that technique that he got hold of a book on the subject and sent it across to me in India. The book is called "Hydroponic Food Production" by Dr. Howard Resh. It is an amazing book, a must buy for anybody who is interested in hydroponics (hobby or commercial grower).

Due to various reasons , I did not get a chance to experiment with hydroponics till 2004, in the last 5 years I have tried various methods of low cost hydroponic growing keeping the basic principles which I had learnt from this book.

Low cost Hydroponics

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:50:00 +0000

This is for all of you with a green thumb. This blog is dedicated to all of you with interests in gardening and want to discover innovative ways to grow plants.

I was introduced to hydroponics about 8 years back. I was fascinated by the way scientists discovered a way to grow plants in water mixed with some nutrients. I started reading about this technique on websites & books.

I live in Bangalore, India, city known for its salubrious climate and gardens (also of course for the IT industry). The climate ideal for growing plants outdoors without the need for heating or cooling throughout the year.

The hydroponic technique requires high cost equipment, I wanted to substitute and use materials which are easily available and inexpensive at the same time. I started experimenting with hydroponics about couple of years back on by roof top and have achieved some remarkable success and will share pictures in my next post.