A Cheap Alternative Kratky Hydroponic Method!
This Video is from the Youtube channel: “Hoocho”.
Hoocho demonstrates Cheap Alternative Kratky Hydroponic Method!
Hoochos explores the worlds of Hydroponics, Aquaponics, Permaculture, Homesteading, Fermentation, Technology and DIY Builds to look at the world through a larger lens that can incorporate the best of everything into a rich and rewarding lifestyle.
Through self sufficiency we can reduce consumption and increase our hyperlocal household production.
I love Kratky primarily for introducing people to hydroponics because they don’t have much to lose. It’s also nice to just have a couple of jars sitting in windows that you top off from time to time.
That’s correct. You can even get going with your usual fertilizer and tap water for a really cheap entry. People wouldn’t believe how easy it is and how easy you can move from Kratky to DWI for example.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peD78s38cTQ First attempt in hydroponics was amazing with Kratky. Next year I ‘ll go bato bucket for slightly more production. Kratky rocks!
I used some old soda and water bottles pulled from the recycling bin. I had more sprouts than space and put the extras into the single serving 20 oz bottles. The solution lasted long enough to grow a small head of Romain lettuce in each bottle. I had so many lettuce and bok choy that they are going to seed before I can eat them all. That’s easy sucess.
Amazing! Thank you once again for an affordable and well though through design!
Super excited to see your future Kratky experiments!! Kratky is what got me into hydroponics! Excellent video
As someone who is solely an apartment grower, Kratky and a variant on the rain gutter grow system with one of those dog bowls with a three gallon reservoir have been my growing systems. I just don’t have room for an nft and lights set up. I can’t grow quite everything I want to, but my greens grow like weeds. I’d love to see your experiments with some sort of passive hydro (either the rain gutter grow set up or Kratky) with a five gallon bucket and potatoes. I haven’t quite figured those out yet, and I want to grow them for my partner ❤. And thanks for being willing to see the beauty of Kratky!
Great video, i love the root system 🙂
I have been following your channel quite some time and i never understood, why you would not like the Kratky method. I always liked the simplicity and productivity of the Kratky method. I am happy to see that you want to do some experimenting in this field now and i am looking forward to your future Kratky videos. 🙂
Dude you are awesome thank you for sharing this to the world I believe everybody has the ability to grow their own food at home and you are absolutely just showing them that it’s possible
Great video❣️ I LOVE your learning process and honesty. It keeps me inspired to try new things.
As someone who has grown aquatic aquarium plants for many years, your PH issues are likely due to using PH up/down. These products are temporary fixes used for emergencies in the aquarium hobby and often lead to disaster because once they wear off the PH jumps drastically. What you should use are PH buffers. Buffers change the water chemistry and will maintain a steady PH level. For my planted aquariums I use SeaChem’s Alkaline buffer and/or Acid buffer.
Holy ravioli Dave, praise, you boys certainly know your Juju.
Ph bottles come buffered, at least from the brand i use Plagron
proper nutrients should contain buffers to stop ph run away.
@bigredinfinity 4 sure
@bigredinfinity the netherlands buddy
I grew a head of lettuce on a scrap of fabric suspended over an old used 1 gallon pickle jar. I used a twist tie to hold the fabric with just about a 1/4 inch dip in the center of the opening. As you said, lettuce takes about 3-6 liters, so a 1 gallon jar is almost perfect for smaller growing varieties when directly seeded. . I placed the seeds right on the fabric, with the water level just touching the fabric. No net cup is needed at all, and I only used about 2 tablespoons of fine coco.perlite mix over the seeds to keep them moist while they sprouted. And I don’t think the soil was needed. So my total cost for the seed and the nutrients was about 5 cents- US. I grew radishes the same way, and grew basil in a bottle with a 1 inch opening with a scrap of old fabric shoved in the opening to support the seed. For true low cost, eliminating the net cup, and the tote, and using old scraps of cloth and ‘recycled’ containers leaves only seeds and nutrients to buy. I only tried it to see if it was feasible, and it definitely is. The radishes grew especially well, with 4 planted in the7-8 cm bottle opening. The radishes din’t even use a full gallon.
Awesome post
That’s brilliant!
The idea of ds is seductive.
Hi it is very interesting. Can you share some pictures about the setup for better understanding?
@Péter Tóth I don’t think I can post pic here. But I can describe more details.
First, take a wide mouth container of at least one gallon. Fill with hydroponic nutrient solution mix as directed for greens. Fil to within about 1/4 inch/7 mm from the very top.
Next, take an old washcloth, or other fabric and stretch it over the top and secure it in place with a rubber band or wire tie. A fabric roots can grow through easily is important- cheesecloth, or cotton sheet or towel fabric, or loose woven gauze, etc. After securing the fabric to the top, press down center of fabric over the container top, so fabric just dips about 1/4 inch into the water in the center, but edge of fabric in the opening is still above water. I like the rough surface of the washcloth for holding seeds in place.
Fabric should wick up some water and most of fabric should get damp. I used 4-5 lettuce seeds around the perimeter of the fabric, just above where the fabric was touching the water. . Then, I took maybe 2 tablespoonfuls of fine sifted seed starting mix and sprinkled a dusting over the seeds just to hold them in place and help them keep moist while they sprouted. Due to a little evaporation, I had to mist the seeds about 36 hours after seeding before they sprouted, but after that, they didn’t need anything until harvest. I don’t think the seed starting mix was necessary, and I think a cover, maybe the original lid to the container, could be placed to help keep seeds moist while sprouting, and maybe if you germinate seeds on a paper towel, you can then place directly on the fabric. if you like.
I grew ‘Bibb’ lettuce, and also ‘Sparkler’ radishes that really surprise me. The 1 gallon pickle jars have about a 4 inch/100 mm opening, and I got 4 nice radishes and one skinny one, . I thinnned the lettuce to one plant after maybe 4-5 days in one container, and 5 radish seedlings in the other. The single head of lettuce used all the water/nutrients in about 6 weeks, and the radishes used about 80% of the water. The head of lettuce was really close to the maximum size it could reach, compared to other heads I have grown. Daytime temps were in the 50-65* range for highs, getting into the upper 30* range at night in late January/early February in central California, so near ideal temps
In warmer temps, bok choi, or bush beans, or really any fast growing plants can be grown without worrying about refilling
I did this to see just how cheap I could be and to prove that ANYONE almost anywhere on the planet could grow healthy food for almost nothing even if they have no yard or garden space, without needing to buy containers, or net pots, etc.
The pickle jar was free, the old washcloth was already faling apart and was ready for the trash. The rubber band came around some mail. I bought 800 lettuce seeds for $1.88 delivered, so 4 seeds cost about 1 cent. The 2 grams each of Masterblend and calcium nitrate were about $2 lb bought in 25lb bags, so another couple pennies, and the sifted seed starting mix was fron some used potting mix, so almost free.Because I grew them under natural light, no electricity was used, so a head of lettuce literally cost only maybe 5 cents US.
Just getting into this hobby and I have been lead to believe most things on the internet. You have absolutely changed my view and I now regret buying a bunch of crap from Amazon. Should have found you much sooner and started my diy for much cheaper. Love the NFT videos and hopefully I can one day move into that rather than the standing water units sold on Amazon. Love your vids! Keep it going. From Michigan
@Lucas Johnson your comment is shadow banned fyi
I am having so much fun with the Kratky method. I have to share my produce. And herbs. With the herbs I cut it all back, stuck them in a food processor, added oil, (lemon juice for basil and sage. And lime juice for the cilantro), the poured into ice cube trays and froze them. I just pop one or two out for salad dressing, pesto, or add to sauces. I still need to practice with tomatoes and peppers in larger containers. Thanks again for another great video!
And what about the taste of the veggie? Is it good or did it change a bit compare to veggies or herbs that are planted on soil?
@VICMAR ABROGAR I think better. But I’ve only grown lettuces, herbs, spinach, and Swiss Chard. I know when I’ve bought hydroponic veggies from the store they’re weak in taste.
One of the best things in the video is seeing what happens when things are not done perfectly right, and learning why and how to fix it.
Great video. I’ve been struggling with battling root rot in mine, and moved to needing some air stones. Is this just not a big problem with lettuce because of the nature of harvest vs constant growth?
Thanks for the video, it’s very detailed and I like that you show different container methods. . For the average or new Kratky grower I recommend using a pre-mixed liquid nutrient solution. It’s just much easier to work with and is already balanced. I’ve taught classes for beginners and one of the big takeaways is that a good pre-mix liquid gives them an easier entry point into growing for themselves. The one for the Aerogarden is pretty good. There’s also the one for TowerGardean as well as a few easy A+B solutions you can buy online or at your local hydro store. It’s more expensive to do it that was, but unless you’re doing large scale I think it is worth it. I’ve been growing successfully with several different hydroponic and aquaponic methods for aver a decade.
You should try to match the container to the root zone dimensions ie. small roots = shallow container / long roots = deep container.
This allows the use of all the nute solution without having to fill the container with an excessive amount of nutes just to reach the roots.
For those who are upset that I mistook the colloquial term for ‘cooler’ as ‘chilly bin’ (I’m looking at you USA)
The people ‘across the puddle’ I was referring to are the New Zealanders
Who refer to, what we in ‘straya call ‘eskies’;
…as ‘chilly bins’…
Which is a ridiculous term.
And we should all give them grief for.
That and their inappropriate treatment of sheep.
how on earth have you managed to keep roots so white without a bubblier system was it something in the water ? please tell Im captivated
haha you should pin this 😀
Hi hoocho can I ask what model ph/ex unit u r using & where to get it mate 👊🏻🙏🏻
people got upset over chilly bin? how silly, I like it.
Good one on the sheep joke. But remember, their PM was a horse so she was probably looking the other way with the sheep abuse.
I wish I could give this video TWO likes! 🙂 I kept saying “that is so cool!” through the whole thing. 🙂 LOVED seeing that big massive root system out of the “cooler.” (Yes, I’m from the USA 😂)
That is a really clever idea to keep the peat pellet on and skewer it through the middle to hold plants in the hydroponic container! I am growing a bunch of stuff from seed in peat pellets right now and was wondering how often you have to dump out the old water and nutrient solution from the containers, as I would think the peat would eventually dirty the water. Also once the plant gets really heavy are the skewers strong enough to hold the plant or do you have to replace them with something heavy-duty?
Also, I was wondering if you have ever tried growing corn with the Kratky method? I am considering trying to grow corn in large containers outdoors in such a way that I can move them if I need to.
Love this .Thank you for taking time to share your knowledge . We’re so blessed to have the opportunity to learn from your timely experimentation.