Homemade Hydroponic System for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide

Many people think that making a homemade hydroponic system is difficult to make on their own, and it needs extensive knowledge about equipment and gardening. Here is a quick and simple step-by-step guide for hydroponic newbies that helps you get going on the right foot.

[After reading this, check out our own pictures and experience from last season trying our own homemade hydroponic system n the “How To Make A Homemade Hydroponic System Cheap” blog post]

Determining the Plant to Be Grown

It is first essential to know the plant that you are going to grow in your hydroponic system. It is important to determine the type of plant and assess if you are going to grow them in a single system or scatter them using multiple systems. After deciding the type of plant that you will grow, decide the number of plant that you will grow for each type. You may want to have at least six to ten plant types per system, but this depends largely on the area for your hydroponic system.

Area Estimation

Estimate the size of the area where you will grow these plants. For example, a combination of 66 cabbages and silver beet can be grown in five pipes four inches round and three meters long by two meters wide. The whole unit in this instance is six meters. Measure and make a mark for the holes in each pipe. Leave about an inch for the spaces in between holes. Holes are generally four inches in diameter, and this corresponds to the measurement of the pot, which is also four inches. For the first month of your hydroponic system, utilize a shade cloth to prevent direct sunlight, especially in summer seasons where sun emits a significant amount of radiation that may damage the sprout.

Create your own hydroponic solution that is a combination of fertilizer and water. The strength and the PH should be accurately determined to make it ideal. The strength should be in an average of 24 CF, and the PH should be around 5.5 to 6.5 test using a paper PH strip. The CF can be measured using a CF meter. Make sure these levels are not just estimated.

Growing and Harvesting

Rinse the seedlings carefully to remove debris and dirt before putting them in the hydroponic medium. Make sure you don’t scrub the seeds because it may damage the roots. Never use chlorinated water to rinse the seeds because it may affect its growth. It is important to control the chemical balance of the hydroponic solution by checking it every day.

Make sure that you add a significant amount of water every day to keep the solution balanced since water mostly evaporates. Keep pest and bugs away as your plant grow. The full growth of your plant may take about four to six months. After harvesting, never forget to top rinse the entire hydroponic system and flush it with peroxide to destroy bacteria and mold.

Hydroponics Systems for Beginners: Where is a Good place to Start for Building or Buying your First Hydroponic Garden?

A great place to start building your hydroponic system is right at your backyard. This is a good place to start because you can easily access your garden whenever you need to. A good area is wide grassy backyard not frequented by pets. The location that is ideal is an area that is not covered with large trees and is not blotted out of the sun.

[Tip: Grow tents will help you grow inside all year long and all day long while keeping the bugs away]

There are many manufacturers that sell expensive hydroponic systems. A good place to start researching cheap and affordable hydroponic systems is right here in our deep water culture hydroponic system shop.

Thanks to readers like you, our blog has now become so popular that we started to shop online ourselves and handpick many products to include in our very own marketplace.   A few years ago this was not possible, but today, there are so many products to compare if you decide to cheat a little bit and buy one of these great starter kits!  We still would love to hear more about your experience!  Check out our post “How to Make Homemade Hydroponic Systems Cheap” to see our own pictures and experience (we left out the pictures of the foam created because we added to much nutrient).  Happy growing!