The steps on how to build a hydroponic greenhouse are simple; they’re as easy as determining the location, assembling the system, combining water and nutrients, just to name a few.
Growing crops in water might be ridiculous. But, it’s not, and it’s fun to do. So, if you want a hydroponic greenhouse, you can always do it yourself. Just read on and be amazed at how you can actually build a hydroponic greenhouse.
Contents
Building A Hydroponic Greenhouse
There are eight steps that you must follow on how to build a hydroponic greenhouse. All of the steps are simple and easy to understand. By the end of your read, you will have all the needed knowledge to build your hydroponic greenhouse properly.
#1 Determine the location
Location is very critical before you try to build your hydroponic system. Inside your greenhouse, the floor should be leveled so that water and nutrient coverage even.
#2 Assembling the hydroponic system
The hydroponic system comes with six PVC growing tubes, a 50-gallon nutrient tank, a PVC trellis, and stand, a manifold, and a pump. You can locate the nutrient tank below the growing tubes. Inside the tank, you can see the pump. The pump is responsible for pushing nutrients to the plants through a manifold.
For every growing tube, there is a drainpipe that brings it back to the tank. On top of the PVC pipes, there is a manifold that sends pressurized water to the growing tubes.
Nutrients are being brought to the plants through a simple process. Water passes through the PVC pipes, then as it reaches the manifold, it pushes the water to small plastic tubes that are inside the larger tubes.
These small plastic tubes are called nutrient tubes, and they have tiny holes in them. The tiny holes in the tube are directly underneath the plant site. The holes are where nutrients spray out to the plants.
#3 Combining water and nutrients in the tank
To start this process, you need to fill up the 50-gallon tank with water. Don’t forget to read the fertilizer label. The amount of fertilizer to be mixed in the tank differs from one another.
After you have figured out how much you need, pour it inside the tank. The next step is to turn on the pump. It will start to mix the water and nutrients thoroughly. After 30 minutes, the mixing system will stop, and you’ll have well-combined nutrient water to use.
#4 Place plants in the growing tubes
Using seedlings is the easiest way to plant in your hydroponic system. It best works for people who don’t have the time to grow seeds. To start, you must choose the healthiest seedlings and clean the roots from soil and dirt. Do this gently, or else you will harm the roots.
Make sure that no soil is left on the roots because it clogs up the spray hole for the nutrient tubes. As soon as you’ve entirely removed the soil, it is time to pull the roots through the planting cup. Keep the plant in place by adding expanded clay pebbles.
#5 Tie the plants to the trellis
Grab a plant clip and string to tie the plants to the trellis. This string acts as a support for the plants to climb up straight. With this, space is maximized, especially when your plants are in a confined area.
Do not tie your string on to the trellis too tightly. On the base of each plant, attach the string and the clips. The next thing to do is winding up the tips of the plants gently around the string.
#6 Turn the pump on and do regular monitoring
You must monitor the water level daily. There are also some instances in other places where they check up on it twice a day. If you live in a place where the weather is particularly hot, we advise you to check up on your water level twice daily.
For the pH and nutrient level, you can monitor them every few days. The pump runs all day long, so be aware that your tank must not run out of the water, or else the pump will overheat.
#7 Check up on plant growth
In just a couple of weeks, your plants will grow and entirely cover the trellis. Keep a close look at your plant growth, and every few days, try to clip or tie the plant stalks.
#8 Inspect the plant for diseases and pests
Check the leaves and see if there are holes or chewed up areas. Look around for bugs and insects as well that might have landed on your plants. If you do find an infected plant, remove it immediately from the rest. A diseased plant can easily infect all others that come near it.
Since the leaves of the plants in a hydroponic system do not get wet, common diseases that land on them are molds, leaf fungus, and mildew. You must be cautious about these.
Hydroponic plants are great with battling diseases because all the nutrients they need are constantly fed to them. Most of the problem lies in pests. That’s why you must monitor your plants regularly.
Conclusion
Building a hydroponic greenhouse is easy as long as you followed all the steps properly. The successful growth of your plants relies heavily on your daily monitoring. Hopefully, you’ve learned how to build a hydroponic greenhouse from this article.
You cannot leave the hydroponic system to keep on feeding your plants without monitoring the water levels and looking out for pests and diseases that might have infected your plants. More than the actual building, maintenance is what will make your hydroponic system successful.