Hydroponics On The Cheap

[bobby57]

Looking through the various hydroponic postings it seems to me that you guys are all doing fancy / complicated systems. I wonder is there anyone else out there doing it on the cheap!

I am using two systems - simple floating beds(Pak Bong and Lettuce) and sand/ rice hull mix beds (tomatoe, bean, cucumber etc)

No complicated feed systems, just a hose and watering can. Finding lots of problems and slowly overcoming them - e.g. I use rain water so no impurities. EXCEPT that I store it in those big concrete jars and have not discovered that they mess up the pH so have to get nitric acid to rectify the problem.

I'm looking to find anyone else out there having suffered and overcome suck surprises.

[antony77]

Looking through the various hydroponic postings it seems to me that you guys are all doing fancy / complicated systems. I wonder is there anyone else out there doing it on the cheap!

I am using two systems - simple floating beds(Pak Bong and Lettuce) and sand/ rice hull mix beds (tomatoe, bean, cucumber etc)

No complicated feed systems, just a hose and watering can. Finding lots of problems and slowly overcoming them - e.g. I use rain water so no impurities. EXCEPT that I store it in those big concrete jars and have not discovered that they mess up the pH so have to get nitric acid to rectify the problem.

I'm looking to find anyone else out there having suffered and overcome suck surprises.

I only grow rocket lettuce because it is so expensive here. (Villa SM about Bt700 per Kg) I use a simple floating bed. It grows very well. I do have difficulty raising seedlings first,many die.. I get some friend to post me the seeds from UK or US.

Regarding ph just add a little vinegar to your nutrient. The cement jars need to be seasoned first to leach out the chemical that causes problems, Fill each one with water, cover them and leave them for 1 month. then empty them and srcrub the inside whillst hosing it down. Let dry well and then fill with rainwater. a

[Maizefarmer]

Looking through the various hydroponic postings it seems to me that you guys are all doing fancy / complicated systems. I wonder is there anyone else out there doing it on the cheap!

I am using two systems - simple floating beds(Pak Bong and Lettuce) and sand/ rice hull mix beds (tomatoe, bean, cucumber etc)

No complicated feed systems, just a hose and watering can. Finding lots of problems and slowly overcoming them - e.g. I use rain water so no impurities. EXCEPT that I store it in those big concrete jars and have not discovered that they mess up the pH so have to get nitric acid to rectify the problem.

I'm looking to find anyone else out there having suffered and overcome suck surprises.

You got the idea alright - other than for having to buy the liquid fertiliser and artificial lighting of the right freq and the ballists (if you decide to go down that route), the hardware parts if one takes the trouble to study them, are little more complicated than what one can source from a decent hardware store, and then put together to run as big a hydroponics system as they want - at a fraction of the cost of what it costs to purchase commerically made systems.

Hydropincs offers huge potential in Thailand.

[blantore]

Looking through the various hydroponic postings it seems to me that you guys are all doing fancy / complicated systems. I wonder is there anyone else out there doing it on the cheap!

I am using two systems - simple floating beds(Pak Bong and Lettuce) and sand/ rice hull mix beds (tomatoe, bean, cucumber etc)

No complicated feed systems, just a hose and watering can. Finding lots of problems and slowly overcoming them - e.g. I use rain water so no impurities. EXCEPT that I store it in those big concrete jars and have not discovered that they mess up the pH so have to get nitric acid to rectify the problem.

I'm looking to find anyone else out there having suffered and overcome suck surprises.

You got the idea alright - other than for having to buy the liquid fertiliser and artificial lighting of the right freq and the ballists (if you decide to go down that route), the hardware parts if one takes the trouble to study them, are little more complicated than what one can source from a decent hardware store, and then put together to run as big a hydroponics system as they want - at a fraction of the cost of what it costs to purchase commerically made systems.

Hydropincs offers huge potential in Thailand.

What is a good hardware store in Thailand for finding these items? Also, did you make your greenhouse or buy a commercial one? I have found that "Global House" is a big hardware store in Thailand but there are not so many stores. Thanks.

[Maizefarmer]

Good hardware store? - you'll have look around but I would have thought any large hardware store in a regional town that caters for the farming community - where is your largest regional town?

[rice555]

Hello bobby57, is your statement based on being a hobby grower or commercial grower? If I had to save rain water for my growing needs, it would make a 'very expensive' irrigation system, much more than my 6lt.

plastic watering can,(Bt.75) which worked great last season on 300+ bagged plants, and working good so far this season on the first 100 of 800 plants by hydro.(pump and drip will be installed next month to save on nutes)

Using double poly bags, 8"X8"X12" with coir only, for coir + 2 bags runs Bt.9.36 each, is this a low cost system? I'm also going back to 6"X6"X12" which gives me more bags per Kg.(all sizes costs Bt.45 @ Kg) The coir comes from a roadside nursery, same place I've bought from for 4 years, smaller bags than last season, Bt.70@ bag, fills 11 of the poly bags.(8-8-12" after opening are 8-8-8", fill to 7" high)

rice555 just stopped raining again, 3AM Korat

[bobby57]

Hello bobby57, is your statement based on being a hobby grower or commercial grower? If I had to save rain water for my growing needs, it would make a 'very expensive' irrigation system, much more than my 6lt.

plastic watering can,(Bt.75) which worked great last season on 300+ bagged plants, and working good so far this season on the first 100 of 800 plants by hydro.(pump and drip will be installed next month to save on nutes)

At the moment between the two!! In waterbeds I have 20 averaging 6 mt by 1.25. For rice hull mix I have about the same! Selling a bit around the mooban but still getting things sorted!! A long and problem strewn process!! Regarding the water pH - Wesco advised adding Nitric acid - finally sorted through a hardware store and due today only to have my meter start giving readings of 19.1 yesterday!! Into town today for new batteries in the hope that that is the problem as the info which came with the meter is in Thai so have no idea how to recalibrate it!!

The initial water storage systems a bit expensive - water jars and two undergroung water storage (cement!) tanks - 25,000 liter and 80'000 liter. Added to about 30 jars - collection and storage! I figure I shall need about 500,000 liters per year and if I took that from the small village supply they'd all smell a lot worse!!

[bobby57]

What is a good hardware store in Thailand for finding these items? Also, did you make your greenhouse or buy a commercial one? I have found that "Global House" is a big hardware store in Thailand but there are not so many stores. Thanks.

I built all my greenhouses myself - with various mistakes!! The most successful (and cheap) structures are raised beds in blocks of 4 @ 6m X 1.25m. These are roofed with plastic sheeting raised 1.5m on one long side and 1m on the other. All around netting. The frame is a basic 2 x 1 though I am now using heavier wood on the 1m side to take guttering for collection my rain.

[bobby57]

[i only grow rocket lettuce because it is so expensive here. (Villa SM about Bt700 per Kg) I use a simple floating bed. It grows very well. I do have difficulty raising seedlings first,many die.. I get some friend to post me the seeds from UK or US.

Regarding ph just add a little vinegar to your nutrient. The cement jars need to be seasoned first to leach out the chemical that causes problems, Fill each one with water, cover them and leave them for 1 month. then empty them and srcrub the inside whillst hosing it down. Let dry well and then fill with rainwater. a

Virtually all the seeds I've got from home have been a disaster! For lettice (as most all plants) I am relying on locally bought seeds, planted in sand/rice hull beds and watered with nutrients. The seeds in the cans come up great though the packets tend not to. then I transfer into polystyrene beds - have a square meter of baby lettuce awaiting transfer at the moment!!

Thanks for the gem on the jars.