Deep Water Culture vs Kratky Hydroponics
This Video is from the Youtube channel: “Hoocho”.
Hoocho tests DWC vs Kratky trying to find out the Definitive Answer: Which is best?
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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.
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Happy Hydroponicing!
The episode I wanted. Thank you.
The buckets are looking great mate, but you’ve got to upgrade to one of gathera’s new netcups! Made for 34mm diameter holes, will solve all your algae issues!
Nice 1 Mr Hoocho. Excellent results on the least hassle Kranky system
Hi Hoocho, new here, loving the channel. You’re correct about 3d printing being cheaper, I wanted a hydroponic tower but in the uk a decent one is around £800. I brought a secondhand p1p for £300 and some filament and designed my own. Currently printing it at the moment and I recon with the coast of the printer and filament it’s going to coast me around £400 for the tower and I’ll have a 3d printer out of it to make more stuff.
And you’ve got everything you need to print replacement parts or upgrades! Ordering replacement parts from the manufacturer can be a huge and expensive PITA
It’s actually cheaper than your calculations, because you have to amortize the cost of that 3D printer into its entire lifetime and all of the things you print with it. Over the course of, let’s say, 10 years, that 3D printer’s cost goes pretty much to zero.
Im doing lettuce in a foam broccoli box it has four holes net cups have biodegradable nursery bag in them filled with coco coir and perlite and then topped up with anarchy nutrients
Thanks for inspiring me to design and 3d print my own net cups. I never realised bunnings buckets were so cheap!
Great video! How many days did take until maturity?
My lettuce is in DWC. I keep my water level the same through the entire grow.
I grow lettuce Kratky style for our farmers market. I always wondered if adding air stones would be beneficial, but we are off grid and don’t have the spare power for it. Even though I am a huge fan of Kratky, I am surprised at the results. Thank you so much for running this experiment!
google “Solar air pump” there are a bunch of solar air pumps for under $30.
A suggestion that may interest you, you can purchase solar powered air pumps relatively cheaply. I too have concerns about electricity use, so thats what I use. I have done a comparison of kratky vs DWC growing napa cabbage outdoors, and the DWC method using solar powered air stones does actually produce a healthier plant for me that grows slightly faster and gets less pests, at least when it comes to cabbage. With kratky I get brown roots, with DWC I get a much denser and crystal white root system with no chance of algae growth. One solar powered air pump can oxygenate multiple buckets fairly well, in my experience one $20 solar air pump can do up to 4 buckets if your hoses are short enough.
@@MouldySponge how long is your cabbage growing? For me, the lettuce is harvested after 8 weeks in the kratky tanks., and the roots are always beautiful white. I’m wondering if something that stays in the system longer would have darker roots over time.
@trishapomeroy9251 my cabbage in dwc took 10 weeks, and kratky about 15 weeks, to achieve a full head of cabbage. If you’re not having any issues with your lettuce, then hey do what works for you, just thought I’d suggest these solar air pumps because they really helped me.
@@MouldySponge that’s a significant time difference! WOW! Thanks for the info
Do you have a nutrient blend you created or one you would recommend?
There are a few ac/battery powered air pumps, when the ac/grid fails the battery pump takes over and will supply air during outage. Simple plug in air to a one way valve and tee it into current air system. Also one way valve the ac/grid pump to keep from leakage while batt pump is operating 😉
Further improvement, add a hole to the 3D print lid, so you can insert a support rod for veggies that require it. Can start off with a small hole. So if someone needs a larger one for a garden stake, they can take a large drill bit, and the small hole would be a good guide.
Fantastic video as always.
Thanks for doing this, basil grows really well in a Kratky system…
Dude, this is not DWC. In a DWC system there is no air gap above the roots. The roots always fully submerged into water and receive all the necessary oxygen only from the bubbler.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_water_culture
You built the Kratky system, only with bubbles.
I love this channel but was thinking the same thing.
What filament do you use? Nice video!
Always keep your air pump above the water line. No additional parts needed. And ya, you need to top up DWC.
The Kratky system can be far superior to Deep Water Culture (DWC) if you can master two key aspects:
1. **Fine-tune the nutrient EC to the specific plant you are growing.** Since the plant roots are soaking in the nutrient solution 24/7, “less is better.” Start with an EC of 0.5 (250 ppm on the 500 scale) and evaluate the results at the end of harvest. Then adjust the nutrient solution to EC 0.6 for the next crop and evaluate it again at the end of harvest. Continue this process, increasing the nutrient solution by 0.1 EC for each successive crop. The end-of-harvest evaluation should include the physical appearance of the plant and the taste of the produce.
2. **Use large containers, as “more is better.”** You want to avoid running out of nutrient solution before harvesting your crop. For crops like lettuce, use a 5-gallon container and limit your grow to one plant. Evaluate the plant at the end of harvest, noting how much nutrient solution was left in the container and the physical appearance of the roots. If you have more than half of the nutrient solution remaining at the end of harvest, you can increase the plant count by one for the next crop, with a maximum of two plants per container. Avoid topping off or adding nutrient solution during your grow, as this will cover the air roots that develop as the nutrient solution decreases, potentially drowning and killing your plant.
Great explanation! Thank you! I love growing with the kratky method and your detailed tips are very helpful.
No chance. DWC is effectively Kratky with a constantly oxygenated nutrient. The two “key aspects” you mention are both applicable to DWC as well.
@@hodgeac When people don’t have years of experience growing with both Kratky and DWC, they tend to believe that DWC is far superior because it’s what is pushed in social media.
How labor intensive and a pain it is to change out the DWC bucket’s nutrient solution every 2 weeks? Try changing the nutrient solution of 20 five gallon buckets every 2 week, that’s 100 gallons of nutrient solution. Have you tried running DWC outdoors or off grid?
Have you experienced air pump failures?
Have you experienced pH fluctuations and constantly had to adjust the pH.
Have you experienced Pythium root rot because you didn’t sterilize your air stone and air tubing?
The Kratky system has none of those shortcomings.
kratky is great and you can refill, i do it all the time, just make sure you dont fill it too high. Some plants are more forgiving then others.
Yeah, you can refill Kratky systems to a degree. Dr. Kratky even has his diy float valves made from yogurt containers and foam that keep the solution at about 50%.
I’m getting .7 ec with masterblend tomato formula and tap water. Seems too low but it’s working so far. Sets are a few weeks from harvest.
As always , thanks for the great vid! I live in an apt with limited indoor grow space. Kratky has been my go to for ease of setup and ease of maintenance. For much of what im growing a no refill set and forget Dr Kratky special hits the sweet spot of space and ease. I do have a few aeroclone/dwc boxes and those are great for longer growing projects but those need more care across the grow.
I recently 3d printed the Hooc Vertical Light Saber Of Leafy Greens and am about ready to set it up, im curios to see how that fairs.
Thanks again for the inspiration.
im hoping u see this comment hoochoo! one test i did was running the air pumps 24 7 vs only having them pump on a couple times a day. the couple times a day is basicly what i call kratky+ becuase i got really good results doing this and it even saves energy 😛