Hydroponics / Sturdy Greenhouses

[Coffee N Chickens]

Has anyone tried hydroponics? I've heard some people say that the hydroponic setups they bought didn't work or broke soon after they got them. Other people love them. Any advice or good ideas? Experience?

Or greenhouse ideas? It has to be able to withstand gale force winds and blowing sand. A few neighbors who built greenhouses told me they used aluminum frames and the wind totally destroyed them. I bought a book on building greenhouses, but they look like you need some major carpentry skills.

Planting crops in the ground is pretty much a no-go around here. I'm in the desert at the top of a hill with very hard soil and rocks and petrified wood everywhere. Growing crops straight in the ground would involve a huge amount of work bringing in soil and adding to it, and trying to break up the ground. I'm not a youngster.

I'd like to try growing some plants this spring, and just got a nice new composter for free from someone who gave up. I'm not smart enough to give up quite yet. The way the world is going, a few veggies would be a good idea. Ideas? Thoughts? Solutions?

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Hi!
Good luck with your gardening plans, gardening is awesome. I would suggest the greenhouse pathway, only because in my opinion a lot of plant health and thus nutritional value comes from the crazy complex soil food web - which will also exist in a greenhouse with growing mediums but cannot naturally occur in hydroponics.

Check out The Prairie Homestead https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/

She has a podcast episode and probably a blog post about their greenhouse, which is rated for huge winds and snow so the company they used is sure to have something that would work for you.

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

Hi!
Good luck with your gardening plans, gardening is awesome. I would suggest the greenhouse pathway, only because in my opinion a lot of plant health and thus nutritional value comes from the crazy complex soil food web - which will also exist in a greenhouse with growing mediums but cannot naturally occur in hydroponics.

Check out The Prairie Homestead https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/

She has a podcast episode and probably a blog post about their greenhouse, which is rated for huge winds and snow so the company they used is sure to have something that would work for you.

They have some interesting articles on there, thank you.

 

[MasterofNone]

My dh and I are trying to learn how to build a small hydroponics wall in an enclosed porch to grow leafy greens, since they do terribly in our garden every year.

Have you had any luck with your set up?

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

So

My dh and I are trying to learn how to build a small hydroponics wall in an enclosed porch to grow leafy greens, since they do terribly in our garden every year.

Have you had any luck with your set up?

So far, I haven't done the setup. I was trying to get a few thoughts from people first.

 

[MasterofNone]

So

So far, I haven't done the setup. I was trying to get a few thoughts from people first.

Oof, my bad. I did a search for hydroponics and thought this was an older thread. I should have paid more attn to dates.

Welp, maybe we can learn together. I have learned that there are different 'types' of hydroponics systems, and NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) seems to be the most efficient overall. I would think in an arid environment that might be your best bet, as opposed to 'deep water' systems, but it might depend on exactly what types of plants you plan to grow.

The past few days I have been in a debate with DH about whether horizontal or vertical hydroponics make the most sense (most plants to space/resources ratio), and I don't know if you have come across the 'tower' hydro systems, but they seem like something you can diy fairly easily with 4"pvc, a smaller 'inner' pvc pipe, a heat gun, and a few other basic tools, etc. You can cut them to whatever height works for you and your situation, and use solar powered pumps to move the water with a NFT system. If you got the system away from prevailing winds (up along a side of your house, for instance) that could work against the high wind and sand issue.

But I really am just learning about all this myself, so take what I say with many grains of salt. I have been know to miss important info at times. Lol. If I find links to good info I will pass it on.

 

[Coffee N Chickens]

Oof, my bad. I did a search for hydroponics and thought this was an older thread. I should have paid more attn to dates.

Welp, maybe we can learn together. I have learned that there are different 'types' of hydroponics systems, and NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) seems to be the most efficient overall. I would think in an arid environment that might be your best bet, as opposed to 'deep water' systems, but it might depend on exactly what types of plants you plan to grow.

The past few days I have been in a debate with DH about whether horizontal or vertical hydroponics make the most sense (most plants to space/resources ratio), and I don't know if you have come across the 'tower' hydro systems, but they seem like something you can diy fairly easily with 4"pvc, a smaller 'inner' pvc pipe, a heat gun, and a few other basic tools, etc. You can cut them to whatever height works for you and your situation, and use solar powered pumps to move the water with a NFT system. If you got the system away from prevailing winds (up along a side of your house, for instance) that could work against the high wind and sand issue.

But I really am just learning about all this myself, so take what I say with many grains of salt. I have been know to miss important info at times. Lol. If I find links to good info I will pass it on.

I'd like some good info, thank you.

I'm thinking along the lines of buying the first one, so there's an example to follow if I should get brave enough to make one. The one I looked at seemed pretty flimsy, though. I guess that's called paying for an education. A former coworker had an elaborate DIY system where he raised tilapia in a huge tank, and used the dirty water to fertilize his plants. They were really healthy plants.

 

[locust88]

so your choices are hydroponics or a greenhouse? That's a hard decision to make...you can try experimenting with growing hydroponic plants and see how it goes. Maybe you like it or you hate it. Here is a post on how to grow hydroponic lettuce https://ponicsarea.com/hydroponic-lettuce/
But if it were me I would go with a greenhouse and garden beds.
Hope this helps