I received an email from France. This system will go on a balcony in Paris.

UPDATE: I assembled several of these tubes to make a proof-of-concept for a commercial project to provide stevia, a natural no-calorie sugar substitute, to diabetics .

The stevia grew to green walls requiring a power hedge cutter to harvest.

However, a pump from the Silicon Solarcompany is failing. For two months, the pump circulating the water/nutrient to the system.

And then the Silicon Solar water pump failed. Without adequate water, the heat of the Los Angeles summer scorched the stevia. Click on the link below to see the problem:

https://youtu.be/cJiAfOGtG14 http://www.learninghydro.org

This puts at risk the project of several years. Yet the concept of growing for money remains viable.

To see how to make money growing stevia and other expensive vegetables — to improve health and avoid crippling diseases — go to:

That new video shows a proof-of-concept project to grow stevia, a common substitute for sugar in drinks and recipes.

With the system shown there and in this video:

To maximize production, go with 12 inch diameter. 6 inch is okay for indoor / small scale situations. However, for maximum outdoor, direct sunlight gardens, go with larger diameters — 8 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch. The technique is the same. Always go with cheaper DRAIN pipe. Never use thick wall water main PVC. Thick wall can withstand high pressures. Thin wall drain pipe is much, much easier to cut and support.

A redesigned fitting appears in this video. The flood / drain cycle ( ebb / flo ) requires this fitting. To see how to make this input / output fitting, go to:

The fitting and hydroponic rocks make a PVC pipe into a self-contained hydroponic garden.

In this video, I convert a section of PVC pipe into a linear hydroponic garden for a balcony, walkway, or fence.

Fill the large diameter pipe with hydroponic rocks, then water with a drip system or pumped flow.

Chipped brick or rock wool can also be used.

The interior of the pipe creates a closed space for roots.

The upper curve of the pipe protects the roots from light and air.

The length of a single pipe can be twenty feet.

A scrap drain pipe can reduce the cost of the project to less than 0 including the pump.

A superior end cap, with a link to a very price competitive supplier, appears in this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7dU18zsd-w

Go to the website http://hydrosuppliers.com for the hydroponic components, the local plumbing shop for the PVC and fittings.

Federico is now selling American-made Plant!t Clay Pebbles instead of the imported Hydroton. Much less expensive. And his price is less than Amazon:

The Amazon price:

The HydroSuppliers price:

http://www.hydrosuppliers.com/plantt-clay-pebbles-16mm-p-1974.html

The clay pebbles cannot be shipped. Too heavy. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, buy from Federico.
Video Rating: / 5

Homemade Hydroponic PVC Garden. Nutrient Flow Technique. Materials about 0. Simple Design easy to make.
Build Your Own – Parts List Included! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBME3l29G6Q New! Dutch Bucket Video http://youtu.be/FJpxiEXPkXQ?hd=1
Video Rating: / 5

A PVC hydroponic garden — for a balcony, walkway, or fence

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38 Comments

  • Johnny Wewoka

    This is not standard drain pipe-this is schedule 40 pvc(1/4 inch wall thickness) –which is very expensive. Standard drain pipe is about ( 1/8 wall) thickness which is LESS expensive.

  • ECONEWS with Nancy Pearlman

    I showed this video to some Kenyan students and the caretaker of their school. The caretaker spoke almost no English. The students understood the slow, careful English, but did not know how to work with tools. The caretaker understood the techniques, the students gave him swahilli translations of what he did not understand. I've read the comments of the viewers who don't like slow English. Do they work in the world? Whoever made this video didn't know swahilli, yet he succeeded in teaching Kenyans the technique.

  • saber saw

    Do you think that If I were to make something like this but with a drip irrigation system, I could use pvc tubing with a smaller diameter?
    Thanks for your time

  • learninghydro

    The washers for the fittings to tube connections:

    In the past, I used sheets of dense neoprene.  Now I use the foam neoprene of discarded excellent quality wetsuits.  I have an old, old O'Neill wetsuit torn apart by freeway traffic.  I use heavy sewing shears to cut the washers.  The improvised washers serve better than any I have purchased.

  • Nataly Billett

    Hydroponics is a great system but it also have some disadvantage, you need to purchase some "plant food", nutrition and supplements which may be expensive. Before setting up any hydroponics system, you have to consider the benefit of aquaponics system, which can automate 95% of work.

  • rolloverriderpgr

    Design change for you. Instead of buying the end cap get the regular PVC end cap and cement it on then make your cuts. Start the cut with a hole drilled 2" or 3" out from the cap after it has cured for about an hour for better support.
    The PVC end cap adds support to the pipe as it's cut but does what it was made for and seals the end off.Looks better and won't leak like a seal with a screw clamp that can also cut someone. (safer and won't rust either) It's easy to drill your drain hole at what ever height you would like and glue that piece in with PVC cement into the end cap. 
    Wonderful idea for a tight living space idea and the ones screaming about wasting growing medium.
    The unit is sitting on a balcony rail or strapped below another one, then maybe planting closer gives the grower more food instead of a measured distance from each plant as with holes and separate nett potts. Also looks prettier with more plants drooping over a bland looking rail.
    Now that idea about strapping another one below another unit. Instead of making the longitudinal cut all the way the length of the pipe, make then say in 1/4 or 1/3 the sections of the pipe so you have either 2 or 3 support pieces in the pipe so it won't flex or crush as easily. Could make nice carrying handles when you move.

  • Darcy F. Dubois

    Thanks for the movie.
    Also I have some strategies to grows up to 10 x the plants, in half time, with much healthier plants, while the "fish" execute all the work…”
    help1.info/aquaponics-tutorial

  • BrownsABQ

    Airflow, you don't want to have stagnant water, plus you need to be able to recycle fresh water with nutrients back to the plant. You can just float the plants on rafts in a pool of water, but I'd add a bubbler and a way to refresh and drain water.

  • Prancinglion1

    Looks like a good system. Think I might make one and get the wife to work it. I just started juicing and growing my own produce seems like a good idea.

  • Alan Begley

    @perfektolisem no you turn them on for 15minutes every hour of lightibg. And fir 15mins half way through darkness.. That will be enough on any aero/hydro system.. You can have them on for the entire lighting yime but then it will cost more.

  • rsdoctorrx

    @bgreenall01 i just realized u have 42 holes in them vc's n i was reading that many times it is more cost effective to double up on the plugs thus build n host two sets of your pcv construction to share the same lighting. build costs increase with the pvc and possibly an additional water pump but u recoup ur investment faster since u growing more in same share light. im wanting to do something like u have but multi tiered or levels if possible. i need pvc pipe though. i really like your setup!

  • bgreenall01

    Here's the simple economics of it,

    You use a 1000watt bulb to grow 100 heads, consider you want it on for 16 hrs a day, 7 days a week for a month.(because ur smart and used 6500k Florescent lights to start your plugs which cost very little).

    Cost
    1000 watt bulb @ 16kWh x 30days = 480 kWh per month
    Electricity price = 0.10 to 0.15 per kWh
    Between $48 – $72 bucks a month
    Cost per head of lettuce if you don't screw one up = .48 -.72 per head

  • rsdoctorrx

    @bgreenall01 thats why i been scouring the internet for ways to do it cheap. i dont want my mom flippin out when she gets the electric bill n i dont have money to buy equip. i collected cell phone batteries n a few solar panels n have an idea to do it with LED lights if possible but mostly use natural lighting n just extend the light day with some leds from cheap 9 led flashlights they r pretty bright n use 3 AAA batteries. which is 4.5 vdc so i figure to use the batteries from the cell phones.

  • rsdoctorrx

    @bgreenall01 i think lettuce is about 2.50 a head so if u can grow and eat 10 grow months (30 heads a month) thus 300 heads of lettuce then u break even at 2.50 a head (1.50 a head for electricity and 300 bux for initial equip investment) i see people growing these under less light with great success though with their electric needs amounting to less than 4 cent per head at 10 cents per kwh thats pretty amazing. dont get me wrong i love hydroponic idea and concept i wanna do it but cheaply XD

  • rsdoctorrx

    @bgreenall01 well idk if u looked at ur electric bill lately but if u figure in all the taxes n other bs then do the math here in rhode island we r paying 16 cents per kwh. i figure u r figuring this on 30 heads of lettuce based on your math u shown so if the system cost 250 just for the lights? n u also have pvc piping n water circulation equip etc then u r initial investment of at least 10 bux a head plus 1.50 a head for electricity throughout the grow. how many grows can u do a season?

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