The Ultimate Self Watering Seedling Propagation System

[@willulearn]

Of course you release this a month after I bought 5 trays and domes! Nice design!

[@Hoocho]

Hahahaha sorry mate! Let me know your next purchase, I’ll overshoot that too 😂🤣

[@yousefbouchfar2585]

​@@HoochoI have a question, can I grow pumpkin in hydroponics? Will it produce large 15kg fruits as in soil cultivation?

[@dertythegrower]

@@yousefbouchfar2585 Possible, but you need a wide area of LED.. i have huge vines myself(community photos last week proof of garden pumpkin and melon vines)... its possible but you difficult compared to just planting a patch in the woods away from human discovery

[@dertythegrower]

@@yousefbouchfar2585 better of making a patch or asking someone next spring to plant one (community garden grant also possible, but you might have to plant more stuff besides pumpkin.... you need a lot of area because the vines spread super fast and have large surface area... issue is cost of electric, youre going to be spending 50s extra per pumpkin in electric even with led samsung diodes.. i know indoor growing more than most heh)

[@julianmilanesi2778]

What printer do you have ?

[@Charles00-xj3kz]

If you put verticle ridges inside the cells they will act as root trainers and encourage roots to go downwards. You see that design in some tall seedling pots.

[@aoverhage5181764]

For sure. I was surprised at what a difference this made.

[@MB-co6qj]

Or use the slits like the Epic Gardening trays for airpruning

[@samuelowen4457]

Looks great! Possible addition is something that would enable air pruning of the roots, for a person who diligently waters seedling.

[@NoneOfyourbusiness-ob2yz]

Wonderful, I bought the same type of propagator years ago and the trays were polystyrene. Of course in the shortest time they cracked, broke, it was expensive too. You are a pleasure to watch. Sitting here Sunday morning drinking my first coffee in a rainy cloudy village in northern Germany you absolutely brighten my day. Much love from us here.

[@Fabian3331234333]

Buddy you are really awesome :) Great work and thanks for releasing it to the community

[@Bbluenight]

very well thought system! I already think of one adding: you could make an extra piece similar to the one that helps keeping the seedlings up and helps popping out the seedlings but with pointed open cones instead to do the hole for the seedlings and also be like a sort of guide for putting the seeds in. This would add an extra piece to the system but as it's 3D printed, everything is optional. The piece could also stack with the other intermediate piece (if possible) so it doesn't take any extra space. Hope you get the idea and maybe find it useful Keep up the good work! 😉

[@simboodamn]

Guy so proud of himself! That's pretty cool actually to build something yourself for your needs! I'll be buying this print for sure because I suck so bad at watering my seedlings lol!

[@matthewlewin9690]

Awesome. I have been watching your channel for a while and with the way you look at the problem and then design a solution. From the beginning to how you have worked through and made hydroponics a simple process to achieve amazing cost effective solution. Keep up the great work and THANK YOU for your time in developing these amazing ideas. One day I would love to contact you and talk about your products

[@Magrath]

Great to see this. I've actually designed something very similar to this after I tried your ice cube trade method. It basically looks like an ice cube tray with the same large holes and a reservoir for the it to sit in. I'm going to keep with my design because I don't want to get coco in to my NFT system, the cottons balls are working great for me. Thank you for the inspiration.

[@michellecolledge2355]

I'm soooo excited. Can't wait to boot up the 3D printer. Thanks Hoocho!

[@sambagamb]

Legend! Ridiculously awesome idea, can't wait to get a printer and run through all my filament immediately because of the backlog of Hoocho prints I have to catch up on...

[@Hoocho]

🤣 ❤️👌🏻

[@ctjameson]

I literally started on a design similar to this a month ago and never finished. Looks amazing. I’ll be printing up a few today for sure. You implemented every idea I had plus tons more.

[@rracnosaj]

I use melted wax to seal the 3D print and make it waterproof. Works really well and isn’t so toxic

[@Swissindoorgarden]

Great idea makes me want to get a 3D printer.😊 you put a lot of thought into making "Hoocho Propagation Trays"

[@Nar1117]

This is a great piece of engineering and design! I love the thought you put into each element. Will be printing on my own soon!

[@michaelnath519]

for a 210mm print bed, setting the scale to 80% on the x and y, but not the z axis, worked really well! The top shell warped a bit, I assume because I don't have an enclosure. It's still perfectly usable, just doesn't look as nice. Wonderful work, thanks man!

[@Charles00-xj3kz]

Great build. The seedling cells with big botton holes are great. Pleanty of area for the coir to contact the wick and big enough to put a finger in to push out the coir plug.

[@GmamaGrowz]

Self watering is my jam 😎 Nice seedling propagating trays, TFS!

[@karlc1952]

BRILLIANT Hoocho.

[@MikeParentLeap]

That seedling system looks Boss and Groovy. 👏

[@OrganicGreens]

This is awesome. I really need to get a 3d printer. Its crazy how cheap you can make such awesome trays. It would be even better if we could shorten the deign so we could fit more on rack space. Maybe we put a water reservoir and run tubing to a shorter water tray. It would be cool to make slightly bigger ones to for medium size plants to. This would be a game changer for me. I currently keep all my mother cana plants in solo cups and hand water them. If I could get theses style trays and pots re fill from an external reservoir it would take a lot of work of my back.

[@MassiveReactive]

damn, that's a lot of innovation man! Well-done.

[@bmorlan50]

Oh oh OH!!! I know what my next 3d print will be! this will be perfect for the vertical grow system in my kitchen for herbs and lettuces! YAY!! Note to self… must… buy… MORE…. Filament! Lol. you can’t have too much right? Lol🥰😝🤣

[@afmedwards]

Great project! I was thinking something a bit similar but you beat me to it :) little suggestion - make the ‘watering corner’ round rather than angled for a bit more space to water easier and look a little smoother. Your translucent lid may help create nice diffuse light for seedlings. I just recently bought a load of large trays and domes, with mixed results - they don’t fit well and ‘bend’ in middle when full, which creates wet and dry patches killing young plants. More rigid trays etc could well fix the problem. Thanks :) Oh - something you may be missing is most propagation trays have holes at each cell’s corners. I believe these are to help humidity rise from the water tray up into the dome (maybe excess water to escape too). There’s a chance you may not need wicking material if the dome humidity is already 100%. I guess you may need a ‘lid’ on your watering-corner to stop humidity escaping though.

[@hashmetric]

Dude. You’re outro music rocks but this is my jam. I’ve needed this but need a couple mods that might be of interest to you.

[@trishapomeroy9251]

I really love this design! Great job!

[@ChiTownTino]

I use rockwool as a base in something similar it wicks water nicely too.

[@michellecolledge2355]

It would be great if the cells had vertical spaces on their edges for air pruning/prevent seedlings from becoming root bound. It would likely reduce the stability of the structure but not by much.

[@samcreamer]

Well done, sir.

[@MrWozito]

Got a great idea for you. Make the seedling compartments detachable so you can pop the compartments straight into hydroponic system like a little netcup without having to take the seedlings out.

[@willulearn]

I use the sensor as well, but I submerge it right into the water. It’s a good medium that doesn’t fluctuate as much as soil. The outside of trays will be warmer than the middle

[@farmchannel1231]

Good idea

[@cindytaylah-barics406]

Fantastic!!! I need 1! Ps? It needs a lazy house m8 attachment? A bottle attachment to keep the plants hydrated! Just a suggestion

[@genshiin1]

keep cooking hooch... you the best👌🏿

[@antoniosanford4675]

I would love to see your take on the paperpot transplanted system, especially the seeding tray system. I would also like a 3d printed "soil blocker" for coco coir!

[@t1mmy13]

That is a super cool project, really well thought out. Maybe you could parameterise the model so it's easy to change the size of the cups, how many there are etc etc

[@DanDannyDanielleBob]

Sized to take advantage of the full depth of standard wire baking rack would be good

[@davidn7795]

Nice Design

[@doublep1237]

oh boy I am going to steal so many of your ideas

[@Hoocho]

@@doublep1237 you can’t steal what I freely offer 🤣👌🏻

[@jeremiahbullfrog9288]

This is great, how about break-apart trays that become net cups?

[@steevo101]

How 'bout a deep tray for propagation of trees? 8" deep maybe 3-4" square? For fig tree propagation or other fruit trees.

[@HeatherVafidis]

Look at Foodcube systems - a mini version of them would be great. Winstrip style air pruner trays would be good. I’d like the bottom tray to be much deeper if using the wicking tray so it is hidden and not open to room temp fluctuations. Vertical grooves would stop circling roots. Love it - except I don’t have a 3D printer and probably never will. ( too old to fiddle faddle - paper printers are bad enough - 😂😂. Good work.

[@dertythegrower]

Genius, boy!

[@CanOfCatfood]

The translucent plastic is probably better for distributing the lighting especially when using LED

[@richardpaczkowski2064]

Question for @Hoocho.. I love the design and I'm thinking we could use a few of these at our school! I was wondering though with the coco planting material, wouldn't that kill a vertical tower garden type of hydro system? Any suggestions on using your progagation system for hydro towers?

[@Hoocho]

@@richardpaczkowski2064 rockwool, jiffy pellets and oasis cubes will be what you want.

[@pixelrancher]

Modular design would be great. Check out the open-source "Gridfinity" printed storage system. Perhaps a design based around 10X20 trays so leakage wouldn't be such an issue and could accommodate different cell sizes and heights and fit wire racks and heat mats. If instead of a block of 20 cells, do single cells that could sit in a frame, that could then transplant to larger cells (like the DIY soil blocks makers where one block fits into the next size up) - net pot sized? Then the larger cells could be the size to drop into your Katky buckets or gutter system. (Didn't notice if the trays are stackable). Instead of a hole for a probe, maybe a notch on the lip for the wire (or wires if you're doing moisture and temp) so the probe can be placed anywhere on the cells. (edge or centre). Great concept. Think it'll be a winner.

[@sockerfreek07]

I see that you used PETG for the base. I know with PETG there are some concerns with moisture absorption. Have you had any problems with this?

[@G-3-A-R-Z]

If humanity goes to Mars they are going to need a Hoocho and a 3d printer! lol

[@Hoocho]

@@G-3-A-R-Z and a still…

[@bmorlan50]

@@Hoocho 🤣😂

[@Emmanuel_LL]

Would you consider adding a nutrient/water level indicator(can be coloured) which would go up and down with the level of nutrient/water in the tray. Should make it easier to identify which one needs topping up.

[@michaelbreeze4292]

Hey everyone, what colour PETG was used for the top? Is it translucent or is it thin walled white?

[@yousefbouchfar2585]

I have a question, can I grow pumpkin in hydroponics? Will it produce large 15kg fruits as in soil cultivation?

[@dertythegrower]

@@yousefbouchfar2585 Yes. Issue is surface area.. you will meed to make a large grow tent and spend loads on electric per pumpkin.. and need much space, each pumpkin would need large area of samsung lm301B or lm301H grow lights, costing you a lot of electric. Better off growing a guerrilla grow pumpkin patch in the woods away from others seeing it (i did it with herbs in florida.. you can easily do it ha)

[@pixelrancher]

If you build a pyramid trellis, you can train the vines to wrap around the trellis and then support the pumpkin in netting attached to the trellis.

[@yousefbouchfar2585]

@@pixelrancher Really great idea, thanks for your comment.

[@Gemitaur]

I have searched everywhere on your channel and patreon for the 5 gallon bucket lid with holes for 4 netcups. I just cant find them. any help with a link?

[@focoagrotech]

Is using 3D printed materials for seedling pots durable and environmentally safe, compared to using traditional plastic products?

[@taurustodd9112]

So… What 3D printer to buy?

[@paddelfreak]

Genius!

[@bluewolf4915]

How about a 4x4x4 or 3x3x4 inch cell tray? I hate potting up. Also will this fit a Creality Ender-3 V3 SE? I don't think I heard you mention the size or I missed it.

[@Hoocho]

@@bluewolf4915 it’s made to fit a 256x256 bed… But you can scale up or down to whatever.

[@soerenkk]

​@@Hoochowould you mind updating the description with that information? I've just spent a lot of money on filament for this, just to find out my bed is too small. I'm planning on getting a bigger printer and can use the filament for other stuff anyway, so in the end, no money was wasted, but it was an annoying delay to my project. You mention it can be scaled, have you tried, since I might have a concern for small details that may be fragile?

[@Hoocho]

@@soerenkk It’s stated in the video that it’s made specifically to fit the bamboo labs print bed size

[@ramitawil93]

​@@soerenkk you can split into parts in your slicer too

[@soerenkk]

@@ramitawil93 how so, do you have any resource or knowledge on this you can share? I haven't found it in cura slicer yet, if it is there

[@joman104]

Amazing! Can you make an ender 3 sized one?

[@Hoocho]

@@joman104 you can, scale it

[@joman104]

@@Hoocho true

[@OrganicGreens]

I wonder how well this would work with a peat pearlite blend. Coco gets quite expensive where I live.

[@Hoocho]

Any wicking substrate mate. Peat is fine 👌🏻

[@dertythegrower]

@@OrganicGreens Will work... especially promix hp bails or proMix hpcc which is all 3

[@OrganicGreens]

@@dertythegrower Pro mix is very high quality peat but its also very expensive. I buy 12 dollar 4 cu ft bales and 30 dollar 4 cu ft bags of perlite. Then mix 1 part compost 1 part perlite 1 part peat. Saves me hundreds over the years

[@toneandersen2944]

I never get to print anything watertight. So are they watertight?

[@exhile3747]

Maybe smth to make also the holes at once

[@denisdb725]

I really do not understand how the stl files are made. Or in other words how large is your 3D printer.

[@sublimal2]

A tray with cutouts for netcups would simplify/eliminate the transplant process

[@user-px2sn8pr5t]

Hoocho - do you need lights to grow lettuce?

[@Hoocho]

@@user-px2sn8pr5t nope, just light.

[@exhile3747]

Now a seeder in one step.

[@Bdub-o1x]

normal 1020 would be awesome

[@larnoldskiful]

I reckon it needs a see through area somehow

[@dragthis2006]

Put handles on it

[@dranon0o]

Not all filaments are food-safe, you should print that with food-safe filaments

[@Gmplolol]

Loving the idea, although I think your price estimates of the existing products is a bit off. Seedling trays are like $1 each, not $5, and the mini greenhouse with the clear lid is $10 from bunnings (which comes with a seedling tray too), not $20.

[@Hoocho]

I was referring to the size dome that fits a nursery tray. But yes, the Bunnings ones are cheaper.

[@Joel-McConnell]

Humans sure do like to over complicate life these days.....lol! I applaud your ingenuity though! I use rock-wool cubes or sponge cubes in trays on a full setting heat mat, in other words no thermostat, and just keep enough water in the tray to keep the cubes moist. Never have I dried out a seedling and humidity domes are unnecessary. I have extremely high rates of germination this way germinating many hundreds of thousands of seeds over the years. My time is far too valuable to be making stuff like this......

[@nunyabusiness7001]

oi cu nt why dont ya just go down to nearly any nursery and ask for the tray theyre discarding theyre always free i got enough trays to last me 7 life times haha

[@nunyabusiness7001]

P.S. still like the project hahahahaa

[@blackswansystem]

Truly amazing 🤩