"Hydroponics project, Sustainability through engineering.

sree

"Hydroponics project, Sustainability through engineering. Do not touch"

Diagnosis: Saplings not getting enough light, that's why they're all so spindly.

There will be some valuable lessons learnt here.

Kyle Davis

@sree kratky method?

sree

@linux_mclinuxface
I had to look that up.

The one in the pic is using an aerator/circulator, so it is a more simple system, kinda like the AeroGardens minus the grow lights.

The Kratky method is very interesting as a low maintenance method. I had a similar variant -- water at the bottom, a permeable barrier, and coir to grow the plant in, with a 20W grow light at the top. Initial watering was at the top, until the sapling grew long enough roots to reach to the permeable barrier. Since I was growing basil in the Texas heat, I needed to replenish water quite often.

There are pots with similar water reservoirs at the bottom, IIRC, which inspired my take.

But I gave up since the energy cost of running grow lights can never compete with that free sun in most parts of the world. But with the explosive growth of renewables, maybe time has come to reexamine this...

Kyle Davis

@sree for the right plant it’s hard to beat kratky.

In my last place I had a setup growing constant salad green year round with minimal lighting. The key was the distance from light to plant. My use case was about quality, not cost. We can’t get fresh salad greens up here - they’re just half dead by the time they get to northern Canada.

Kratky is awesome it just can’t support slow growing or long-term growth (with a few exceptions).

Anyway: good luck!