Weekly Hydroponic Bucket System Maintenance Routine (Hydroponics Series Video #5)

[@terrbare60]

I watched as you drilled holes into the large tub lid. I would recommend laying the lid on top of an old board, helping you control the drill and a possibility of not getting any crumbs in your container. Great video Thank you. I'm thinking about doing a single bucket to do seeds or rose stems.

[@BrightLaneGardens]

Thank you for the feedback! That would have definitely saved me some time getting all the plastic shavings out of my tote :)

[@BigWillie-zy7po]

Very good videos. What i do with my hydro set up is to have a small notch cut into the lip immediately below the lid. this way it is independent from the lid. I can take off the lid and then easily remove the air stone, the same ones that you use, and clean the bucket.

[@BrightLaneGardens]

Hahah this is WONDERFUL - I did it immediately. It's wild how long we put up with little inconveniences, only to discover a quick fix would make life so much easier. Thank you for the tip, and thank you for watching!!

[@garygarski]

I use deep water system also. The only things you may do differently is that it appears you don't time your air to the water. I time my air as 1 hour on 1.5 hours off for 24 hours per day. I don't change out my water for 90 days. As the level drops, I refill using 40% of my initial nutrient. After 90 days, I transfer my plants to my flood drain system outside or I just plant my leftover plants into soil. I've had success doing this for over 25 years.

[@BrightLaneGardens]

Hey I appreciate the feedback - especially on the timed air! You are correct, I was not timing airflow at all. I do hydro over the winter months (just too much outdoor planting going on in the summer!) but I want to try to make my system more efficient this winter and timing my aeration is on my list. What are some of your favorite plants to grow in your system? And which ones do you tend to have the most success with when transplanting outdoors into soil? I want to really start a smoother transition from my indoor setup into my garden in the warmer months!

[@garygarski]

@@BrightLaneGardens I grow tomatoes, bell peppers, Chili's for my outdoor hydroponic garden. I start sunflowers using my deep water system. Any plants I grow can be converted to soil as easily as taking them out of the hydro system and planting them in soil. It works for me.

[@harry8442]

Hi love your setup. You don't have to do weekly water changes until your plants start drinking a lot of water. In fact, you can add water and more nutrients as the plant drinks it up. Once you have added the same amount of water that your buckets hold, then you might need to change the water out. Just wanted to save you some work and nutrients.

[@BrightLaneGardens]

Hi there! thank you for this! It is definitely important to mention (since I'm flying through nutrients as I do this). I should have added in the video but I was struggling with root rot during the weeks this video was filmed, so I was really cleaning everything out as much as I could. I managed to save all but 1 one of my larger plants, but did end up going through way more nutrients than I needed too. Now my plants are so big that a few of them are requiring more water before my weekly routine is even due! Crazy how fast they grow in these setups. Anyway, thanks for your feedback and thank you for watching!

[@matthewtracy9602]

I'm no expert but I do agree you shouldn't need to replace every week. The other people I follow say to let the seedlings grow more before putting them into their final systems. I use some Ikea containers with my herbs and I can get a few weeks with the same nutrient. I also have air and drip irrigation in my system. I use a DC water pump to help with the smaller plants. @@BrightLaneGardens

[@heathersummer]

Can you show how to support the tomato plants when they get bigger?

[@BrightLaneGardens]

Perfect timing on this comment, look back at my most recent short - it shows this tomato plant at its maturity. I used a string to tie the top of the plant to the shelf above it. This is useful for tomatoes since they get so large. But I use small plastic trellis's for shorter plants like peppers!

[@BrightLaneGardens]

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