Hydroponic Greenhouse Ideas

Have you longed for a greenhouse in your yard or attached to your house where you can grow all year long? If so, it's a great way to produce both food and cash crops year round. A hydroponic greenhouse is especially adaptable where a garden is too rocky to work the soil. Even in harsh northern climates, commercial hydroponic growing operations churn out many of the bright green and red vegetables you see year round at your local grocer. Read my blog on hydroponic tomatoes.

Get Out Already

Actually, adding hydroponic capability is just one step up from what most traditional gardeners use their greenhouse for already. It really isn't too much of a stretch to mix in different components of hydroponics. Most greenhouses already have similarities to those that grow only using hydroponics or aquaponics. They are sheltered from the outside climate and generally maintain interior conditions within a range healthy for plants. They have most always have a clear view of the sky; available electricity for lights, fans, and heaters as well as a steady water supply. By using available sunshine to augment grow lights, power costs can be mitigated. Planting in pots of special growing mixtures under lights is exactly what greenhouse science is all about. Growing plants from seed to harvest indoors is a newer phenomenon. Most farmers move plant starts outdoors while hydro farmers stay indoors.

Similar but Different

There are ways the two greenhouse designs could differ, even while looking similar from the outside. With hydroponics, everything a plant needs can be artificially supplied just as it is in an indoor growing operation. You could just as easily locate your hydroponic greenhouse in the shade, use a garage, a shed or any structure, even one without windows, even underground. While it may stretch the definition of a greenhouse as we have always envisioned it, so does hydroponic growing when compared to terra gardening. You'll find plenty of hydroponic greenhouse ideas on the web.

Hot Stuff

No doubt, a gardener using his greenhouse as a hydroponic greenhouse can reap extra benefits not generally available to most terra farmers. Many gardeners only use their plastic or glass covered greenhouse in spring, to start plants for their flower and vegetable plots. Internal temperatures often get too high under greenhouse coverings to grow plants. This may compound the heat problem as HID hydroponic lighting throw off quite a bit of heat that must be moved away from growing plants. When the value of the crop is high, farmers will be more willing to spend money to solve problems.

Getting Started with a Plan

Some people are more capable of designing and constructing a greenhouse alone while others depend on pre-designed kits. If you have the money and/or the skill to build whatever structure you need, go for it. However, there are still many ways to create a greenhouse without breaking the bank. They sell those tent-like portable garage kits at Costco and many big box stores. You don't have to look in too many backyards as you drive down the street to see many down to a simple skeleton. All you need to convert them to greenhouses is either some 6 mil UV plastic or plastic sheeting and some lengths of wood, an old storm door, and an old window. Or you could start from scratch and use PVC pipe, PVC fittings and glue, some rebar, plastic sheeting, and a plan. This way you aren't constrained to a 10x20 greenhouse. You could conceivably build it in most any size. Make sure to anchor down your creation or it may fly away on you, possibly destroying your crop on the way. There are plenty of low-cost alternatives. On the higher end, here is an example of a commercial greenhouse:

Riga V 9.67 Ft. W x 17.5 Ft. D Commercial Greenhouse Heavy duty Dutch barn door that with a key lock//First class insulation R or K-value 3.0//UV coated twin wall polycarbonate over main body and twin wall polycarbonate in front and back walls for extra strength//Although a foundation is not required it ...

Start at the Bottom

No good structure worth its salt will last for any length of time without a solid base. Now, in a greenhouse, you could but wouldn't necessarily build a wooden floor for it with so much water involved, so most home growers simply use crushed gravel or pea stone. It allows water to drain while giving a satisfactory surface to walk on. Commercial setups may use concrete as a floor because it can be washed and may also be part of a hydronic floor heating system. Heated water or glycol is run through Pex type tubing that transfers heat to the slab. As for other foundation types, piers or blocks may serve as a base with long wooden runners on top along the length as attachment points for poles and plastic.

Anchors Away

Are you thinking about creating a hydroponic greenhouse? If so, make sure you have a plan on how to keep it from blowing away. Many a lightweight greenhouse made of PVC and plastic sheeting have met their demise from a single gust of wind. Rebar, or reinforcing bar, is often used in concrete to help prevent cracking and movement in cement, but they are also used for anchors. Be sure to pound them in at least a couple of feet deep and securely attach your structure in the corners and at least in the center of the long way of your greenhouse. Before finalizing things, check for square by measuring diagonally corner to corner both ways, as both measurements must be equal or your foundation won't be square. A good structure starts with a square foundation.

Check Please

I can't stress enough the importance of having written plans and following them as a skipped step may cause you to have to destruct just to construct. Have a partner help and have them read and understand the plan. Sometimes a second set of eyes can see something important that was missed. Have you considered your possible future needs? Have you visited a working greenhouse to see what you may be forgetting? How will you get power to the site? Extension cords may work temporarily, but if you plan on running pumps or grow lights, you'll need a ground fault circuit inside. Make sure you work safely and follow local codes. There's no use in dying before you get to harvest your crops. Water from a garden hose may suffice in summer, but what will you do if the hose freezes up? Perhaps a water line dug below the frost line is in order. Also, check local building codes just in case your structure doesn't fall under the "temporary structure" rule.

Now Get Going

These are just basic ideas, and you should spend more time researching than building your hydroponic greenhouse if you expect to use your greenhouse for years to come, spend a bit more or spend the time to make it tight and secure.

What is Hydroponic Growing?

Hydroponics is the science of growing plant matter without the use of traditional soil. If you’ve never tried to grow indoors without soil, you are missing out. Some people do it because they have physical limitations that don’t allow them to spend hours weeding and digging. Some do it because of short outdoor growing seasons. Some do it to make a ton of money selling their product. Instead of soil, growers generally use a mixture of inert organic and inorganic materials. The composition isn’t as important as the real use; to anchor plants to give them a solid place to send roots and grow strong.

The Waiting Game

For the vast majority of casual gardeners, the growing season runs based on calendar dates. They wait until mid to late winter to even start to plan that years’ garden. Some folks are more serious about their hobby, planning the next year’s plot even before that years’ harvest is gone. Traditional farms operate much the same way, although they may use plant starts instead of seeds to get a jump on growing. Not all farmers in cold climates limit themselves to a short season any longer. They grow in huge greenhouses with or without additional grow lights. Those cute red tomatoes with the bright green stems you buy at the grocery store are an example of hydroponics. Read my blog article about hydroponic tomatoes. Much of the lettuce is now grow in this manner. More product in less space using fewer hours of labor equals higher consistent profits.

Enter Hydroponics

With the hydroponic method of growing, the month or season makes little difference. By growing indoors under as near ideal conditions as possible, calculating future yields accurately is possible. While every crop may be slightly different, even under similar conditions, once a gardener learns basic hydroponics, they can reasonably expect to be able to enjoy year-round crops, no matter what they plant. By using mother plants, cloning methods can be used to continue planting after planting, for months and even years, all from one mother plant. More on cloning in a future post.

LED Grow Light Sales Surging

Hydroponic equipment dealers are reporting sales of LED grow lights "heating up" with  KIND LED Grow Light sales surging, saving indoor growing enthusiasts up to 40% on their power usage!

These award-winning KIND LED Grow Lights are made of the newest LED and growing technology and give growers the best bang for their grow light buck.

Over more traditional HID lamp setups, KIND LED lights use less power and create much less heat, also saving on air conditioning and ventilation costs. The early consensus was that no LED grow light system could ever come close to the high yields of HID lamps, either Metal Halide (MH) or High Pressure Sodium (HPS). Well now that grams/watt records are being broken, many are taking a second look.

Tomatoes: Home Hydroponic Vs. Store Bought

We've all seen those beautiful clusters of red ripe tomatoes in the produce section of the store. They look uniform in size, bright red and blemish-free with bright green stems holding them together. However, if you grow your own hydroponically, there is a much higher chance that your crop will taste far better than those on the rack.

So, why is this?

Remember, tomatoes are big business. Although a vast percentage of tomatoes are for making sauces, fast food meals and more, the hydroponic tomato business is flourishing. However, the tomatoes that the commercial hydroponic greenhouses produce are usually special hybrids they breed for color, uniformity of size and the uncanny ability to all ripen at the same time. Unfortunately, these qualities add up to nothing but profit for the hydro farmer, and bland-tasting fruit on consumer’s tables.

Why isn't taste the first consideration? You would think that would be a top priority, but it's all about presentation. Think about it. Would you rather buy tomatoes that are irregular in size and color, with bruises and spots, or perfectly-shaped and brightly-colored fruit? Taste aside, I'm sure you would go for looks. Remember, they pick those juicy fruits when they are half green and half orange so they can make the trip to the store, which could take weeks. 




MyPotsandPlanters- Best Selection, Lowest Cost.

When you grow your own, you can control some or all of the process; from picking the seeds to controlling the growing medium. You even have some control of the temperature and light levels, along with fertilization, all of which makes for a better tasting tomato. Not having to pick them weeks early, or all at once allows them to mature the way Mother Nature intended, with all the juicy goodness we crave.

In taste tests, most consumers found it difficult to tell the difference in taste between tomatoes grown in soil versus those grown hydroponically. This is because, with the right basic ingredients, such as high-quality seeds, ample water, proper fertilization and plenty of light, nature can make it work.

So, don't worry about competing with the grocery stores. With hydroponics, your tomatoes will win the taste test every time.

Finally Time to Start Working Outside

I've been busy finding supplies for the many garden projects I want to do. I'm very good at shopping and finding materials, but I need to get better at the follow through. This year I feel motivated for a few reasons. I need to get more exercise, I need to eat better quality and organic food. We had a brutal winter. At first, we had almost no snow on the ground at all until late January, then it snowed like we lived in Buffalo NY for over six weeks straight. Boston broke the all time record at over 108". We had close to that as well. Here it was three weeks into it on February 22nd:

The green outlines are where our gardens are in spring. As you can see, we do not have a lack of white. It snowed again throughout the next week after then after a few above freezing days, it started melting.
I have big plans and we need warm ground to plant anything. Lettuce has t have soil temperatures above 50 to germinate while most mid season crops such as peppers and tomatoes prefer 70 degrees or higher.

Now you can see the garden fence so the snow is receding quickly. As of the first of April, all that was left was the larger piles that don't get much sun.

Starting Seeds on the Cheap

With such a long winter here in Massachusetts, I have to start my plants indoors if I expect to have a head start once the ground warms. I've done a few things already.  I set a few old storm windows on top of the thawed grow boxes to help heat the ground below. This serves a few purposes; it warms the soil so I can get lettuce and cold weather plants in earlier but in some boxes, I want to super heat them to kill off any weed seeds before I fertilize or add my compost.

Notice a bit of snow still outside.. Other boxes are still under 6 inches of snow drifts.

So I'm trying to save as much money and not go overboard on spending. One thing I strive for this year is to go completely organic. I have a big box of organic fertilizer to add to the soil once I get ready to mix things up.

 Meanwhile, indoors, I have started over 30 seedlings in a dollar store cake box. I decided to try tomatoes and peppers and three broccoli plants filled up the container. I started them in peat pots. First wet them thoroughly, then drain off excess water once the pots expand. I  sunk each seed just under the surface and covered them up

Once the pots expand, go ahead and insert your seeds.

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Make sure you know what you planted where. I used half popsicle sticks but found they were hard to insert. I'll save the rest for outdoors and use some cut up hard plastic from something in the recycle bin.

In order for them to sprout, they need moisture and warmth. To provide warmth, I simply set the container on my cable box, which was nice and warm. In three days, all three broccoli seeds sprouted but none of the tomatoes or peppers have. So I took the three starts and put them right under one of my grow lights,  3W LED lamps I got from eBay. It is all red and blue lights and since it runs cool, it won't burn the plants.

One problem I noticed right away was that I should have put them under the light in the morning when I noticed them just breaking through, because by evening, they jumped to over an inch each, looking for light. I ended up ordering some heat mats from eBay and those were under $40 including shipping

Here they are under the first LED grow light. My heat mats came in so I'll transfer them to the mats and under my 4 ft. florescent grow lights. It's a standard shop light with one grow light and one cool white to balance things out.  I read that it will work just fine.

Another day and several more seeds popped, only tomatoes. I think peppers take a bit longer, so we'll see. I marked the sticks 1T, 2T, 1P, 2P etc. to keep track of what variety I plated in each. See the picture above to see that I marked each packet. These are now under florescent lights on one of my heat mats.

These heat mats certainly aren't anything fancy, but for $18.99 each shipped, they work as advertised.  The size fits a standard seedling tray. The thermometer on top registers exactly 80 degrees while the house is closer to 60.
I'll keep moving plants out of the cake dome as needed and monitor each variety.

My First DIY Hydroponic Bin Setup

I'm not a fan of just going out and spending more money on something just because of a pretty package. I could always buy a ready built bin system with everything pre-made, but sometimes the journey is more important than the end result. I enjoy learning about the process. It helps to bind me to my goals. Planning gives me time to make changes as I research and end up with exactly what I want.

My first hydroponic project is to make my own grow box. In winter I plan to grow my own lettuce and greens without electricity. Until then, I plan to use the box to start some serious plants for transplant later this Spring.


Today I drilled the holes in my storage bin grow box.  I laid the holes out on the underside of the lid, using a can lid to trace rough circles. I could have spaced the out side ones closer to the outside, but I'll remember that for the next one.

 I didn't have a hole saw and wasn't thrilled about buying one, but I found a circle cutter for $5.99 that worked great.  In order for the cup to not fall through, keep the hole between 2 7/8"-2 15/16". Because the cutters adjust up to about a 6" diameter, I can see this cutter as a must have tool for the home hydro enthusiast.

  I then punched a nail sized hole through the center of each circle to guide the center drill in the cutter. It has a carbon steel center drill and two adjustable outboard cutters to cut soft materials only. I used a drill press but as long as you hold the cutter carefully and clamp the lid down, it can be done on small holes with a pistol drill. Drilling from the top keeps any burrs on the underside.

There were some plastic strings that pulled right off. If the holes come out uneven or a bit undersized, don't try to redrill them with the cutter unless everything is well secured. The center drill keeps the cutters true and from jumping or wobbling.

The net pots are a snug fit but won't be able to fall through. Some light hand sanding may be necessary to get things just right.

I am happy how the holes came out. I'll be doing the same using 2" holes for smaller plants, seedlings, and starts. I think I could easily get 12 plants in one lid.

Gorilla Grow Tents: Tallest, Thickest, Strongest Grow Tents in the World

Next I'll be preparing the tub for plant starts. 

What are Hydroponics?

 hydroponics4u.com

Hydroponics may not be a household word, but it's actually been around for years now, so what is it? Hydroponics is a gardening technique that is a subset of hydroculture. In other words, it’s a method of growing plants by using a mineral nutrient solution suspended in water without the use of soil. Plants, as most of us know, are terrestrial and grow in soil or a potting mix. You have to water them, feed them fertilizer and then you can pick them from the ground.

Hydroponic plants grow with their roots in a mineral nutrient solution or in an inert medium, such as perlite or gravel. We don’t use soil as with plants that grow in the ground or in a pot. For the most part, plants will grow anywhere as long as you meet their basic needs. Have you seen weeds growing out of a crack in the road or in places that seem unlikely, or even impossible?  Plants only need air, water, light and the proper nutrients in order to grow. 

What about the Dirt?

Sun energy chemically changes water and carbon dioxide into sugar. We call that process photosynthesis. Expelled oxygen is actually a waste product of photosynthesis. That's why trees and plants are important in our world. As long as the basics of these components come together, growth can take place. However, without proper soil and fertilizer, or in the case of hydroponics, the media and nutrients, growth may not be optimal.

In nature, we assume that plants depend on dirt or soil to grow, but not so in hydroculture. With proper nutrients instead of soil, hydroponics uses an inert growing medium such as sponges, clay, rock or any substance that doesn't affect the plant’s pH. Since the plant's entire food source is water, soil serves no purpose and would actually cause more problems, just as it can in terra gardens. Soil can alter pH, introduce disease and unwanted bacteria, as well as pests and other problems that water and air gardening avoids.

How Does the Garden Grow? 

The plant grows suspended in a basket or cup over the water source below. In hydroponically-planted seedlings, the roots grow downward toward the water naturally, then seem to explode when they get to the minerals. That finishes the necessary chain, and the plants thrive better in water than soil under the same basic conditions. By starting plants indoors for later transplant, hydro farmers can get viable plants in the ground and then harvest them sooner than gardeners who depend on Mother Nature to provide the light and nutrition for sprouts to get going.

What Holds the Plants Up?

In hydro growing, the roots don't anchor the plant, as in soil; so they get the support they need from the grow media. That way, more energy is redirected to the foliage, and ultimately the flowers and fruit. The water is where you add the nutrients, to enable the small tubing in the reservoir to deliver essential nutrients to the grow chamber above. As time goes by and the plants grow larger and consume the nutrients, you will need to add more, or else the growth will slow and eventually the plants could die. Nearly constant circulation is necessary in order to deliver two of the required needs to your plants: water and nutrition.

So Nutrients are Like Vitamins?

The nutrients are generally a different formulation from crop to crop, depending on the needs of the particular plant. A lettuce plant, for example, doesn't need the same flowering fertilizers as much as a tomato. For example, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium are necessary for flower production, but starter plants and foliage growth depend mostly on a steady heavy dose of nitrogen. Flowering and fruiting plants will also consume more calcium, sulfur and micro nutrients, such as iron, manganese, boron, molybdenum and copper.

With all these factors working together, only one more thing is absolutely necessary to grow plants: light. Proper lighting, whether natural or man-made, is the main component of plant growth, whether hydroponically or soil grown. The light in a hydro system comes from above the plants. In fact, you have to block the light out from the reservoir, so algae doesn’t build up and compete with the plants for nutrition. Algae can also clog pumps and filters, causing a failure that could be catastrophic.

This is just a quick overview of the main difference between a soil and water based growing system. In future articles, we will branch into other methods using hydroponic equipment.

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