>>1253502No, we're in a downtown loft apartment so everything we have is indoors, in pots or hydro setups. There is also only 2 of us, so what we have is sized for our typical consumption, a full family would need a lot more going at the same time.
Pic related is all you really need in the way of parts - start your seeds as normal in a seed tray, we prefer to have them in rock wool cubes so they can move easily later. Let the seedlings get to the point they would be ready to transplant, check the root lengths - they need to be about 1-2" long so they can get down into the solution.
Take one clear cup, one clear lid (painted black is a good idea as noted above), cut the lid in the center to seat the 2" net cup so it won't fall in. Place your seedling in the wool cube down into the net cup, threading the roots down through the bottom. Fill the inner clear cup with nutrient solution, make sure not to cover the entire root, you have to leave an air gap. Place the clear cup, lid, and plant assembly inside an opaque party cup, this is to protect the solution against algae blooms.
As the plant grows, if it starts to get lopsided you can place some clay pebbles in the remaining space of the net cup in order to prop up and support the stem. Place under lights of your choice, we use T5 6400 florescents.
For solution, we're blending our own based on recipes we got from Youtube growers:
- 1 gallon water
- adjust pH with pH-down treatment until it is between 6.0-6.4
- Epsom salts - 2g
- Calcium Nitrate - 3g
- 4-18-38 fertilizer - 3g
(You can tailor the fertilizer to specific plants if wanted)
Dissolve everything in a cup/bowl with hot water and mix thoroughly, make sure no particulates are left. Dump into the larger water and stir. We make 2 gallon batches at a time in a water cooler with a spigot on it, and dispense into a 1L bottle at a time to top plants off. The cooler makes sure your batch is protected from light and air. Keep it at room temp.
