Help Please on Hydroponic Gardening

**whitey56** · 10th September 2012, 07:52 PM

Hi Colbra
I had a little play with Hydroponic's about 30 yrs ago, i think your 400mm pipe is too big as most farm use around 75mm, my setup was a budget one using old Brocolli boxes and 150 mm pvc pipe 1-8m long with the ends blocked and about 25% of the pipe removed from the top where the plants would go, the medium [what the plants grow in] was Perlite and Vermiculite mixed 50/50 and washed coarse sand which i washed again so it was inert [ no nutrients].
Fill your boxes/pipes with medium and at about 1/3 from the bottom drill a 3/8th hole drain hole in the boxes and pipe end cap, 1 hole for each container this creates a reservoir for nutrients then about every 2 or 3 days i would mix nutrient and flood the boxes until it run out of the drain hole.
Buy your perlite from a rural store like Elders and Packaged nutrient is ok but not suited to every plant.
Try this method before you commit to a flood and drain system it is interesting.
I read 2 books one by Joe Romer and one by Albert [bert] Sundstrum from Port Macquirie he had brick raised beds full of sand using this method also have a look on You/tube for idea's.
Hope this helps.

**colbra** · 10th September 2012, 10:45 PM

Hi Whitey56 thanks for your reply
I obtained the 400mm conduit from a company laying a high voltage power cables. They were short off cuts with no collars and were not of any use to them.
The reason I was going to get into hydroponics is that I had nematodes in the garden soil and could not get rid of them, so I thought that may have been the best way to go seeing I had the conduit I now realise that the conduit is to big and that there is a lot of work in setting it up for hydroponics
So what I have done is follow the advice of Gidgee 1 and put some nematode mustard plant seeds in when they grow a little, dig them back in before they go to seed I hope this works at this stage I must apologise to Gidgee 1 for not replying to his post on his message and thanking him for his advice which I have taken so thank you Gidgee1

I will now put some drainage holes in the conduit and seal the ends fill with new soil and make a tiered hanging garden I am not sure how it would go but I have to use the conduit somewhere, how I have it sitting about the place all fifty meters of it when it’s all laid out end to end.
Cheers Colbra

**doug1** · 24th September 2012, 11:01 PM

Hi Colbra
I use an auto pot system mostly for tomatoes but also small amounts of other veges. I have gone over to coco peat and renew it each year. it can be added to the garden without issue. I have stopped using perlite / vermiculite as I believe there is some asbestos fibre in those products, I also use simple grow GP1 nutrient

its 2 part and easy to use at a reasonable price ( powder) PM me if you want more info

Doug

**johnredl** · 25th September 2012, 08:35 AM

If u want a super easy system, go for the autopot system. It's a bit pricier than others to set up, but there's no power & it's good for a beginner. I've found it to be idiot proof for me, & there's no water loss to evaporation.

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