If you don't mind a critical comment. The ultimate point of an NFT in my opinion is to achieve the maximum conservation of yield using the least amount of resources (nutrient, water, materials, energy). The flow rate for just a 3-row system is a lot and could be conserved to less than that of 30 mL. TBH if you want the trial/error approach (scientific method), I would continue this route to see if you could achieve using the least amount of materials to be able to scale. I for one am making a 4 row / 4 column 11 plants per column (33 per row) system using less than 45 W electricity (LED lights, timer switch, etc) and hopefully less than 1G, this is the ultimate NFT IMO. Most of this is driven by cost and waste conservation. Hence, the need to scale to urban and commercial farming. Keep up the great work.
I just found your channel and have been binging your content, love your approach! thanks for sharing your insights, I especially appreciate the fact that you're so open about mistakes and design changes - extremely refreshing as well as empowering for those of us who are just getting started.
Hi, Hoocho from Ukraine :) Awesome video and awesome setup. Some of my friends have the same system in an apartment, so they could not have such bit reservoir for a solution, so the system a little bit changed for our conditions, and you could use these changes too: 1) For more aeration use a wash machine corrugated drain pipe, but it should be corrugated inside, so the low-speed flow will be more aerated by this form of the pipe. The end of the pipe should be also above the level of the solution in the reservoir. 2) Make the drain hole a little bit lower than the middle of the "pipe", so in case the pump dies or the electricity disappears, the plants will not die without a solution. And lower the speed of flow a little bit, so the drain hole will be filled for 1\3-1\2 of the diameter
Nice! For light blocking, I'm using pond liner around my reservoir. Cut it to size, duct-tape it on, and it folds back out of the way when you need it to.
Love the channel and what your doing, sorry to hear about the recent hardships your going through. Your channel is informative, good natured, and technical. I love the 3D aspect that you bring into this world of urban farming. Have you ever done a live wall before utilizing the hydroponic system? My client mentioned the show Hannibal as an example. Just curios .
Love your build outs there are so many different ways to do hydroponic gardening but you think it through and keep it neat ( hydroponic gardening can be so ugly) keeping lines tucked cladding your reservoir to have a pro look. Love it
I just found this channel and I have watched six videos in a row. I like the 4:56 mark where there is a bottle of Jameson's on the gutter. #Living your best life!
Just discovered your channel. Your videos are great and I can’t wait to start building my very 1st NFT system this week. Thank you for taking the time to create this enjoyable content.
Oh, and this is a great system, I like using the rectangular pvc guttering - recently built something similar indoors using adjustable shelf brackets as the supports. I do like the scaffolds you've used here - was eyeing off the saw horses at Bunnings just the other day, but scaffolds would be much stronger and more durable 👍
Love the setup. I've been thinking of growing strawberries using hydroponics for a few seasons now. Your video has convinced me. Thanks and. Keep the content coming.👍
Looking at setting up my first NFT setup in the next few months... this vid shared alot of insight into the setup and why you done things. thanks for sharing. 👍 New sub
Thanks for all hydroponic videos! I'm a bit envious of your weather for growing as I live in northen Sweden with 6 month of snow but I have ordered everything to try Kratky, NFT, Dutch Bucket, Rain Gutter systems this year. I'm very late with the seedlings as I'n just about to start but this year is most about building and testning, not producing, so I can go all in next year. Oh, and ofc I do subscribe and like every video as I love the easy going but dead serious about the important stuff like price, results, testing AND showing misstakes (so I don't have to do them)!
The best Pucking idea I’ve seen in a looong time. Great MODULAR build mate, looking forward to seeing some great pucking grows. It’s nice see you returning to the outside Hydro grows, maybe an outdoor sound track is required ? 🍻🤙
Question.. Hi Hoocho! At the end he puts the plants into the holes but wouldn’t they want to slide down the square gutter, like a water slide. I guess the strength of the stalk keeps them hanging on. I could understand if he used the round baskets & then put the root material inside so it doesn’t slide down but he didn’t use that 🤔
Great videos. You suggested 3% grade on your pipe, what does that work out to be per ft? Also do you get any shifting of the plants by just laying them in the holes, any problems with algae buildup? Thanks
Is your plastic down spout that you're using as the base made of pvc? If it's made of pvc, ditch the heat gun and just use pvc cement to weld another piece on.
Hi buddy farmer! I wanna thank you for your videos with so much information, this is complet guide. I love your work and results.I am indoor farmer, still using soil, but wanna change that for lettuce and strawberries amd other crops which I will produce in near future. Now I produce just microgreens, but my plans are BIG. ;) Best regards form Czech republic.
This video has been really educational! Once you set up your feeding solution how to you keep the water/nutrient solution in check? I know water will need to be added as it is taken in by the plants along with evaporation losses but how often do you need to check the EC along with the pH? You mentioned keeping the light out of the water/nutrient reservoir. Is this to keep the solution cool during hot months or is this to discourage algae growth or maybe both? I seriously want to try this next year. what are the limits to growing with this setup? Can you grow stuff like okra or possibly corn if it is supported once it gets some height to it? Would it be possible to grow something like cantaloupe and cucumbers with this method? I know I just hit you with a million+ questions but you don't learn unless you ask. I've been growing killer hay bale gardens for the last 4 or 5 years with good results but this looks like it would greatly simplify things if it was set up correctly. I look forward to hearing your reply. Here is a link to this years garden. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jWt-3WTa1no.html
Thank you for the thorough detail of build. Having grown with this type of system, I would suggest not sealing the tube on the elevated end. These systems need cleaning periodically, and being able to use a ramrod makes it much easier.
Very good demonstration. Its a great source. Thanks for your video. I have also setup hydroponic systems in my backyard. I use solid nutrients like you. Unfortunately within a couple of days there will be a thick layer of precipitate of salts at the bottom. I am not sure if this is excess salts or actually nutrient salts that had precipitated to some form. How to solve this? After precipitations can i assume that the water is devoid of any nutrients and the solution is waste? Please can you suggest what to do? Thanks.
Hey man, great video, im planning on building my own NFT system. Do you know if its possible to start growing from seeds (more precise radish seeds, i dont know if its imortant)?
Great system! Like the idea of being able to use multiple medias. I have been watching your videos to learn how to do this. Like the square gutter pipe idea....think it would be very inexpensive. Can you tell me if that gutter tubing plastic is actually food grade? I guess thats what I would need to verify when I buy it in California. Thanks again!!
Fantastic content as always! Great system and where I live there is no square gutters but we do have ventilation channels that are the same dimensions as the ones you are using. I have been stuck in dwc/kratkyland in my thought and this was an eye-opener! I am worried about nft and pump durability though, I’ve experienced pump failures but that was in a ebb and flow so all went well. I wonder if there’s a smart way to have two pumps connected at the same time (one running and one in standby)?
We might live in the same area, I've been searching like crazy here in the Netherlands. The ventilation channels here are only 1 meter long and I cannot connect them waterproof. Did you find longer channels, if so where?
For the pumps you could build something with home assistant. Connect a water sensor in one of the channels, and trigger the second pump when there is no water flowing (and send an sms to your phone for instance). This guy inspired me to build home automation for my greenhouse systems: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Q9fjKeYOyqU.html
@@wimveninga1714 Nope, haven't found anything else but 1m lengths online (or in shops), haven't asked the local building-suppliers though, they might have something. Btw, i live in Sweden så quite close (in the EU at least). :)
@@Marco9K Ah, thanks for your quick reply, I found a special brand of rain gutters in NL just now, they have 4 meters: brand is Nicoll Ovation. It's from Belgium.
Great information in this video, can you please add the list of tubing and fitting require for the tree channel please. I am looking how you reduce from 3/4 to an half inch and cannot find the part. THank you
Hellomhoocho are downspouts safe to use? They are PVC #3. I read that overtime if PVC is exposed to sun it can release cArcinogens coming from the material in PVC
Been reading a lot lately about people consuming chlorophyll, here in Australia there is a commercial grower of the algae it is extracted from near Bowen...I wondered whether it is the same type of algae us hydroponic growers try to limit 🤔
I have read in many places that i should never use normal PVC gutter as it can leach our the bad items it is made from into your plants. That i need to use a food grade UPVC and no gutters are make that way. What are your thoughts on that?
Hello, thanks for the video, very complete information. Anyway I'd like to ask a couple of questions as I'm not completely sure about it. Do you have a on/off cycle of the pump or it runs continuously? Regarding the water tank, how often do you empty and refill? I've seen people going on with same water for several months.
I want to build a system like this to grow lettuce and spinach and other leafy greans. My summers get toasty at 86-90F (30C+). Would this work if I could find a partially shady spot? Worried lettuce will bolt.
Awesome, think I will try something similar. Since you are using the same reservoir for both NFT and Flood & Drain, I'm assuming you are planting something in the F&D with similar PH, EC requirements? Or am I overthinking that part of it?
@@Hoocho that makes sense. In the beginning I was really specific about adding plants with similar requirements together, now I'm gettting lazy and just adding anything together to see if it works or not...lets just pretend its for research purposes and not laziness
My pump has become awfully noisy. I'm using a 6 manifold that you've used in the past I think it creates a lot of back pressure on the pump. Any ideas on how to alleviate this negative effect? It's a 1400lph pump.
In your experience, how long could plants survive in the event of pump failure? For example. Could you run the pump with solar and no battery, where the system would only be running during the day ?
Thanks for your good tutos and informations. Keep on sharing more !!! I have a question: What is the average temperature of your nutritive solution in your nft system? Because I live in a warm country.
How do you deal with algae? Clearly you are not preventing it, do you have a regular cleaning regime, or do you just allow algae to grow through the system? Does it block the pumps etc?
I had always thought rockwool holds way too much water to use where it is constantly touching the water. Be very interested to hear how your go. I’ve had Kraky and DWC plants fail for this reason. Using expanded clay between the rock wool and the water solved the issue for me
At this point I expect the roots to leave the rockwool and explore the nutrient film. That would be a problem if the seedlings were added prematurely. The nutrient film will provide the plants ample oxygen theoretically.
Hey Hooco, where did you get your rectangle pipes from? I'm in South Australia and both my major hardware store chains don't stock it. wondering it you know of any others?
Question: Since scaffolding ends up being several hundred dollars for a 2m * 4m setup, is there an easy way to use star pickets to hold these rails up?
I built a similar system using merbau fence palings, which ended up being about $30 - since there's never much water in the channels at any one time, you don't really need hardcore weight-bearing capacity.
By not using a netcup the hole in the channel allows light into the solution inviting algae growth. Netcups are cheap and last for many seasons, plus they offer the roots a place to anchor making the plant more stable
You know, you have the printer that makes stuff...you should print end caps for your system and then you could cap them off, silicone them and drill the end and run tubing to your retention tank.
