Hanging Basement Hydroponic System - Why don't more people do this at home?

After trying several different ways of growing with a hydroponic system at home, I found a simple, fairly inexpensive, way of growing in your basement. No need for a greenhouse and you don't even need to build a stand or structure for the system to rest on, it hangs from the joists in your basement.
This hanging hydroponic system is easy to disassemble and move if needed, and because it is off of the floor, it is easy to clean under and you don't need to worry about basement flooding issues or risk wood rotting that is touching the floor.
All the money you save on building a greenhouse can be used to buy a nice set of lights for your system...I use these: amzn.to/39L51aT
I have made a full list of the items I use for my system in a blog post on my website here: www.driftlessi...
I don't consider myself a greenthumb and thankfully this system is pretty idiot proof, so don't be too intimidated by trying to build it.
One of the best things about this system is that it is weather proof, even in the coldest days in Wisconsin. Few things are better than fresh salads from the basement in the winter!
driftlessinwi
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[@bobhuber6628]

Just came across this video. Very nice. I realize the video is old and that’s probably why the affiliate links no longer apply. What size net cups are you using for your strawberries? Thanks.

[@driftlessinwi]

2", sorry about links, I really need to cleanup my channel, been away awhile building my house

[@chadtitan4159]

Cheers I’m also living in gods country WI. My NFT system grows many types of lettuce and herbs. I call mine the “Salad Bar”. Keep er growin...

[@kristendeal]

I also live in WI and want to do this in my new house. How much did your electric and water bill increase after starting the system? Which pump would you recommend? How to you change out your water system or do you just add more water into it with the nutrients? I know you said tomatoes were hard to grow hydroponically, are there other plants you have tried that you would not recommend?

[@driftlessinwi]

I didn't really notice the electric bill change, maybe $20/ month, really depends on the number of lights you are using. The pump is pretty small and doesn't use much electricity. I would cycle out water every few months, just adding water and nutrients into holding tank as needed (again depends on how many plants and their size, a lot of tomatoes will use more water when big than a bunch of lettuce when small). I used an 800gph submersible fish tank pump and it worked great for the size of system. You could probably go half that size and still be fine. Lettuce (all kinds) was my favorite thing to grow, super easy and the spider mites were easier to control since you cut down and replace often. Hope that helps!

[@kristiryan5866]

This is great.

[@kylehenning]

What's your basement temp at in the middle of winter? I'm thinking of doing this in MN in an unfinished part of the basement, but it's pretty drafty and probably is closer to 60 degrees (or less?) in there during the winter.

[@driftlessinwi]

My basement roughly stays around 60 degrees in winter, and high 60s to 70 in summer. The strawberries and lettuce I have grown, don't seem to mind a bit.

[@davidchillton1744]

The key is to try and grow hardy plants

[@janetsmith9610]

What kind of PVC are you using? Is it food grade and are worried about chemicals leaching into the nutrient solution?

[@driftlessinwi]

I used regular pvc drain pipe from the big box store. I made sure I rinsed it before use, I didn't use pvc glue, and since I wasn't putting hot water through i figured any leaching would be minimal. There is a lot of conflicting info out there on pvc use in hydroponics, but if you can find food grade pvc in 4" it would be best to use it in my opinion. The reservoir is food grade hdpe, which I think is most important since the nutrient spends most of its time there. Hope that helps. Thanks!

[@janetsmith9610]

@@driftlessinwi Yes, you helped me a lot. Thank you for replying!

[@WendellWcrozier]

Thanks for the idea , I was looking for a method to grow my special herbs in my home , as planting them outside is quite legally troublesome . . . . . . . Jk 😝

[@devilghost]

sloppy