Planter to hydroponics

Converted this basic planter to a hydroponics system. The base plate is cut to hold the net pots. The drain holes have to be closed with m-seal. Plants grow happily in this SIP.

Deep water culture. Just had to add the water plus nutrients once in the whole lifetime of the plant (seed to harvest). As the roots grow the water goes down with it. This creates an air pocket which helps in air circulation.

Hydroponics in PVC pipe

Wanted to grow in PVC pipes. Got a 3inch diameter pipe. Cut holes, added end caps. For the water intake added a smaller hole (you can see that on the left). Added a C ring cut from the same PVC pipe to cover the hole so that it can slide for easy access and also save from algae growth in the nutrient. This pipe has 7 grow ports. Also holds a little more than 1.5 L of nutrient. Single set of nutrient runs for an average of 7 days.

Sustainable agriculture / Eco farming

The concept of sustainable agriculture has come because yields from modern farming technique (modern commercial agriculture) reaching a plateau and the environmental problems due to excessive use of chemicals and fertilizers and pesticides residue in food chain.

Sustainable agriculture is that form of farming which produces sufficient food to meet the needs of the present generation without eroding ecological assets and productivity of life supporting systems of future generations. Natural farming is an excellent illustration of sustainable agriculture. It is also known as ecological farming / ecofarming or organic farming or Permaculture. It is called eco-farming because ecological balance is given importance and organic farming because organic matter is the main source of nutrient management. It is a system of cultivation with use of manures, crop rotation and minimal tilling. Sustainable agriculture also involves agroforestry and multilevel cultivation and integrating animal husbandry.

Grow yellow pea shoots

Use yellow pea shoots as an addition to salad. They are milder than the raw peas. They also don't have the lectins which is a natural toxin which is contained in the peas. You can eat the pea shoots for added protein and crunch to your food.

Grow your own wheatgrass for juice

Wheatgrass is:

• High in Nutrients and Antioxidants
• Reduces Cholesterol
• Helps Killing Cancer Cells
• Aid in Blood Sugar Regulation
• Alleviate Inflammation
• Help Promote Weight Loss
• Easy to Add to Your Diet

Wheatgrass can be easily grown at home with handful of wheat from the grocery store. You get lush grass within 10 days and you just need small amount for your juice.

Pet bottle planters

Pet bottle planters are the best thing that can happen to one who is trying their hand on home hydroponics for growing plants st home. Here is a small step by step for how to make your own planter from old pet bottle which is thrown out.

Hydroponics poster

I had a workshop and sale for home hydroponics system. This happened in Pune at Tilak Smarak Mandir. Conducted this under the Maker's Market initiative. Here is the poster for that.

Mini Hydroponics system

A friend started a mini home hydroponics system last week. Started with an ice-cream container, cutting out holes for the 2 inch netpots. Simple box cutter worked like a charm.

Holding as much as 250ml of water. This much water is sufficient for a few set of mustard. He wanted to start with something. Proposed mustard from the kitchen spice rack. Every Indian house has mustard (even if it is a bachelor's condo). Mustard greens start within 2 to 3 days.

He is happy with his greens now. Wants to grow them to fully grown mustard plans. Roots have not come out of the baskets. Some of the tiny greens are dying out. May be due to the root congestion.

Difference Between Tulsi and Basil

Main Difference – Tulsi vs Basil
Aromatic medicinal plants are primarily cultivated for the edible leaves, stems, barks, flowers or fruit components and they are essential flavoring and/or ayurvedic agents mainly used in South Asian countries. Tulsi and basil also belong to the aromatic medicinal group, and they share a similar taste profiles as well as features. As a result, tulsi is often referred to as basil or vice versa by the most of the consumers in the world. But tulsi and basil are two different plants; the botanical name of tulsi is Ocimum tenuiflorum whereas the botanical name of basil is Ocimum basilicum. Both tulsi and basil belong to the Lamiaceae family. The edible basil leaves are mainly used for culinary dishes whereas tulsi is mainly used as an indigenous medicinal ingredient. This is the main difference between tulsi and basil. Although, both tulsi and basil belong to the same family, tulsi and basil have different sensory properties as well as different applications and this article explores the difference between tulsi and basil.

What is Tulsi
Tulsi is an aromatic herbal plant, and its leaves are highly scented. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, and it is a blessed plant in Hindu belief.  Hindu people believe that it as an imaginable appearance of the goddess Tulsi, a wife of the god Vishnu. Therefore, Hindu people have tulsi plants growing in the center of the central courtyard. This plant is mainly cultivated for religious and Ayurvedic medicinal purposes, and for its essential oil extraction. It is believed strongly that tulsi has health beneficial effects against headaches, inflammation, common colds, malaria and heart disease. It is also important to prevent food poisoning.

What is Basil
Basil is a culinary herb mainly used as a flavoring agent in various  types of dishes in the world. Although it is originated in India, basil is mainly used in the Italian cuisine. People in Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia also incorporate basil into their cooking. Leaves of basil have a pungent and strong taste.

Difference Between Tulsi and Basil
Tulsi and basil may have substantially different properties and applications. These differences may include,

Scientific Name
Tulsi is known scientifically as Ocimum tenuiflorum.

Basil is known scientifically as Ocimum basilicum.

Alternative Names
Tulsi is also known as Holy basil, Tulasi.

Basil is also known as Sweet Basil, Saint Joseph’s Wort, Thai basil, mints.
Basil grows beautifully in home hydroponics system. Basil heavily absorbs nutrient hence works best for home hydroponics with full concentration of nutrients.

Sowing calendar

We always seem to know when a vegetable is available in the market. And we think about why did not we know this 3 months earlier what to sow. Here is a sowing calendar for the whole year throughout India. Follow this and you are never to fail. This may not be a part of home hydroponics.

Liquid Seaweed Fertilizer

One of the best fertilizers you can use on your hydroponics plants is liquid seaweed. Yet this is probably the last fertilizer people think of buying when they go to their local garden center or shop online. Liquid seaweed fertilizer is not only organic, but comes from a sustainable source and can be harvested without damaging the environment.

Most seaweed-based fertilizers are made from kelp, a variety of seaweed that can grow to lengths of over 50 meters. Trace elements found in organic seaweed fertilizers include magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron and nitrogen—all of which are beneficial to plants not just for hydroponics. Nitrogen, for instance, is essential to the production of nitrate, a key component needed by plants during photosynthesis.

Impressive results have been found when applied to hydroponics and also that this is a natural product harvested in a way that won't have any negative impact on the environment or the sustainability of the seaweed itself. This makes the hydroponics system semi organic for those who think hydroponics is all chemical.

Where to use Liquid Seaweed Fertilizer?

Seaweed has more than 70 minerals, vitamins and enzymes. Some of the benefits are mentioned below:

• Liquid seaweed solution promotes additional budding if applied as the plants are beginning to bud.
• It extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables if applied 10 days before harvesting.
• The extract lengthens the life of cut flowers if they are sprayed with it a day or two before cutting.
• It can also be used as a rooting solution. Place cuttings in a solution of liquid seaweed and water until roots develop, then plant. When planting seeds or transplanting, water with the solution.
• If applied to pasture crops, the algae increases the nutrient uptake, the protein content and overall quality of the crop.
• Seaweed extract also boosts crop yields, improves resistance of plants to frost and disease, increases uptake of inorganic constituents from the soil, bolsters resistance to stress conditions and reduces storage losses of fruit.
• It promotes vigorous growth and helps deter pests and diseases on fruit, flowers, vegetables, lawns etc.
• Seaweed fertilizers are especially useful in organic gardening. They contain almost every micro-nutrient in a fully chelated (immediately available) form. The algae is also full of carbohydrates, which plants use as a building block. Numerous beneficial microorganisms also use carbohydrates as a food source.
• Liquid seaweed fertilizers (especially the alginates in the seaweed) act as soil conditioners. The alginates react with metals in the soil and form long, cross-linked polymers in the soil. These polymers improve the crumbling in the soil and swell up when they get wet. They also retain moisture for a long time.

Research on the Beneficial Effects of Liquid Seaweed

Numerous studies at major universities around the world have yielded various findings about the positive effects of liquid seaweed as a fertilizer, including:

• Seeds soaked in seaweed extract germinate more rapidly, have larger root mass, stronger plant growth and higher survival rates. Soaking plant roots in the extract also reduces transplant shock and speeds root growth.
• When plants were fertilized with seaweed researchers found that: geraniums produced more flowers per plant; grapes were sweeter; gladiolus corms grew larger; and cucumber yields increased 40 percent (and the fruits suffered less often from softening and rotting).
• Improved yields after seaweed treatments were measured in potatoes, sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, apples, strawberries, okra and oranges.

Liquid seaweed fertilizer can also be added in a home hydroponics system for replenishing the micro nutrients.

Disposable cup hydroponics planters

If you have ever attempted to start plants indoors, you probably know what it is to get a root bound plant. No matter the size of your growing container, it does not take the roots too long to find its outer boundaries. This method uses the benefits of home hydroponics growing to keep those roots thriving, while preparing your plant to live.

Take 2 disposable cups. Used ones are better. Don't worry! Nobody will judge you on what was in the cup prior to this project.



Make holes with a hot pin in one of the cups.
Put cocopeat in the cup with the holes and plant seeds or live plants in it.
Put water and nutrients in the other cup.
Stack the cups and you are done.
Your simplest hydroponic planter is ready.

Greenhouses in India

Why are the greenhouses in India failing to reach optimal produce? Most of the green houses we see while travelling are scrapped or abandoned. Green houses are the invention of the west that we are copying as it is. They use green houses because most of the time there the weather is cold and frosty. In India we have a weather that is totally opposite to these thing.
If you ask any grower in India who uses greenhouses, two things come up.

1. They want to grow lettuce
2. They want to use grow lights.

This is because this is what every one of them seen or heard about what is been done in the west. India needs spinach, mustard, fenugreek, chilies, lentils, tomatoes and other such things. These things don't need green houses as the weather in India is concerned.

We in India don't consume lettuce in bulk. We need to look towards the local produce which can be used to grow hydroponically, but surely will not require greenhouses.

As the lights are concerned, India has surplus light source considering the 8 hour of direct sunlight that can be used to grow the above mentioned staples.

If we considering cutting down on these to costly resources, there is no reason we can not grow hydroponically and get a profit out of it.

Considering growing lettuce in case, you do have an assured market for the supply of lettuce that comes out of your farm, through B2B rate contracts or otherwise, please go ahead and set-up a lettuce factory. But if you are doing it just based on assumption that you will find the market later, better go small and test the hypothesis first.