Plastic containers are a crucial component of most home hydroponics systems. They can be used as plant containers, reservoirs, rain barrels, and even humidity domes.
Plastic buckets for home hydroponics systems can be expensive and counter productive to the project at hand; saving money and eating healthier in the process. If you are willing to ask around you can probably find what you need for free.
5 Places You Can Ask For Plastic Containers
1. Deli – Have you thought of using pickle jars or other deli containers?
2. Grocery Store – Sometimes the different departments of the grocery store will be tossing out buckets, see if they can be tossed to you.
Pura Vida is a pretty well known brand of hydroponic nutrients, and has been tried by a lot of different gardeners. Pura Vida hydroponic nutrients are great for indoor gardening because they come in liquid format. You measure out the desired amount of nutrients, and pour them into a gallon of water. After mixing the nutrient solution, it is ready for use.
You apply Pura Vida nutrient solutions with normal irrigation. The best time for feeding is usually in the morning, when the plant is just starting its metabolic processes for the day.
Note: The Pura Vida Organic Solution was OMRI Certified Organic. The Pura Vida Grow was not organic. The plants did not seem to notice the transition.
The first things you need to know about the Pura Vida combo is there are micro nutrients built in. It is a two part solution, but only one part per phase. One part per phase is talking about the growing phase of the plant, Grow or Bloom.
You only need to use the grow for the first part of their life. You only need to use Bloom for the second part of their life.
If you are new to hydroponics, I recommend starting with that type of simplicity. You are making up for the simplicity with the quality of nutrients.
Advanced Gardener’s Box: There are instructions for an aggressive two part formula on the back labels of these bottles. The PPM of the nutrient solution is MUCH higher than the one part formulas. Only experienced gardeners should attempt the aggressive formula once you know how to grow your particular variety of plant. It is very easy to salt lock your plants with this aggressive formula. You need to do frequent water changes to ensure balanced PH.
The Negatives:
I tested the nutrients in a large variety of hydroponics systems including three different drip systems. On the drip systems that used drip emitters, about 1 in 10 drip emitters would clog from the organic material. One way to defeat those clogs is to mesh out the chunks of fertilizer before you pour it in your reservoir. There are also pre-filter systems that can catch some of those pieces.
In open-ended 1/4 inch tube drip systems, with no drip emitter, the nutrients worked beautifully. The key to success with the open-ended tube system is to lower the ppm of your nutrient solution while buffing the number of regular feeding times as the plant grows and expands it’s root system.
The open 1/4 inch tube allows the root systems to get optimal amounts of aerated water. Use an aeration stone in your reservoir so the nutrient solution stays oxygenated and moving. The open ended 1/4 inch tube allows the water to connect with more air molecules before landing in the plant container. This system works for hydroponics, soil-less, and even soil growing methods. Talk about versatility.
Overall
Consider trying these nutrients if you have never used them. The bottles cost a little more than the lower end hydroponic nutrients, but thats for a reason. Do not under estimate the strength of these nutrients. Make sure to lower the ppm of your nutrient solution so you do not get salt locked plants. These nutrients can go up to three weeks with no water change in a 15gallon + reservoir. However, you should monitor your PPM for optimal conditions. Water changes every 12-14 days with a standard plain water rinse out is typical.
Look for the OMRI Certified bottles at your local hydro shop or you can order them online.
Its good to be back! I recently visited California to meet up with some other indoor gardening enthusiasts and check out some west coast hydroponics stores. Sacramento hydroponics stores are on point! I visited a couple different hydro shops in the Sacramento and San Francisco area and every shop that I went into had good prices and a good selection of hydroponic equipment. The ‘vacation’ is what has kept me from posting new articles so I’ll be sure to post some good information tonight to make up for it. Be sure to check back through the next week to see my hydroponics DIY guide. I’ll be posting a pretty detailed guide on how to construct some simple and cheap hydroponics systems.
A common confusion can arise about the difference between a nursery and hydroponics shop. A nursery will sell things geared mostly towards outdoor gardening and flowers or trees and shrubs. These shops usually will carry things like simple trays, drip pans, some pest control, moisture meters, shovels and gardening tools. Nurseries will also have things like trellis, trimmers, stakes, gloves, soil, and usually low quality fertilizers. Although some nurseries carry very high quality nutrients for outdoor gardening.
A hydroponic shop carries the most advanced gardening tools available. A hobby indoor gardener would get most of their supplies at a hydro store. Hydroponic stores carry the best tools for indoor gardening and hydroponic setups. Hydroponic stores will have high quality hydroponic nutrients, water pumps, air pumps, carbon filters, inline fans, circulation fans, cloning supplies, Co2 enrichment supplies, grow lights, timers, and full hydroponic systems. A lot of this stuff is usually on display so you can see how it works before you buy. Never be shy to ask questions. The clerks at the shop should be happy to explain the products to you to make sure you get the most efficiency out of your indoor garden.
The possibilities at hydro shops are endless. If you have no intentions of setting up a hydroponic garden there are still things at the shop you may find interest in that you could not get a nursery. For instance if you know you are going on vacation for a week or more but don’t want to lose your beautiful hard work to a drought – your solution may be a hydroponic based solution. At the store you may want to buy a water pump and tubing to set up a hydroponic drip system for your outdoor garden, indoor garden or even your window garden! The folks at the hydro shop should be able to point you to what you need to set up an automated watering system. An automated watering system means less time needed by you for the care of your plants. That allows you to free up time for more plants or less time per day in the garden. I’ll be posting some articles about hydroponic drip systems in the future.
