This video is EXCELLENT. This is something I've been wanting to do for some time now and I swear finding good, detailed information on RUclips or Google can be pretty tough. A lot of times I feel like the narrator in the video glosses over a lot of details that they might just consider common sense that someone just getting started in this wouldn't know. This has been very helpful, thank you!
Everest - how refreshing it is to have an educated individual who clearly knows how to captivate the audience whilst delivering great quality information. Keep the videos coming
If the rigid tube is hard to connect with the fittings, have a bowl of very hot water to dip the tube in before connecting. That makes it softer and easier to push over the barbed fittings
Rigid pipe is easier to work with the warmer it gets. Boiling a kettle of water, pouring it into a big pot and dipping your ends of the pipe into it for 10 seconds before working with it makes it incredible pliable and friendly, plus when it cools it shrinks tight again insuring a super tight seal. Can also lube up the ends with Vaseline or vegetable oil (or any other oily substance that doesn't harm your plants). Also, if you go to dripper head that is designed to drip at a set rate (say 1gph) you don't need a ring and it doesn't matter the length of spaghetti line as the rate is set and restricted by the dripper head. Great video, such high quality footage and tips.
+Tark McCoy That's a great tip Tark. Thanks for sharing. I also use an inline filter in my mainline irrigation tubing but nothing beats stopping that gunk getting into the pump in the first place! :)
@@TarkMcCoy I also use those paint filter bags and fill them with kelp and earth worm castings and manure and use them as big tea bags when making my beneficial microbial teas for my plants they work great.
your a saucy bugger sometimes everest. been struggling all day with a diy drip system and trying to keep equal pressure, keeping a complete loop to keep equal pressure seams so obvious now, you the man everest should of watched your video this morning .
You all failed physics. If your lines are large enough to not suffer line loss friction, the pressure will be equal at all points regardless if it is a loop or not.
As I go through my learning process I can be assured to find an Everest Fernandez video to shine the light of knowledge on my path. Thank you sir, thank you.
Hilarious! Unreal! One of your best videos! Finally I understand. WOW! 😯👍 I am no longer intimidated by the concept of dripper systems. THANK YOU for the parts list, too! May all your pipe laying, nipple squeezing go well. ✌
Time sure does accumulate some air miles! I'm in a very good place today, thanks. Setting up a small dripper system is actually on my day's todo list. :) Sending best wishes.
Just clic on "Show More" above. Anyways: Parts List: Fastfit 2 x 4 Grow Tray Stand Botanicare 2 x 4 Grow Tray Botanicare 30 gallon reservoir with lid General Hydroponics Flora Series 3-Part Advanced Nutrients Hydroflow elbows and T-pieces Ecoplus 185 submersible pump Apollo 9 Digital Timer Hydroflow non-adjustable, angled drippers Hydroflow ebb and flow fittings kit Hydroflow flexible mainline tubing Hydroflow dripper nipples Hydroflow 1/8 drip line tubing Grodan Hugo Rockwool Blocks Grodan Unislab Rockwool Mini Slabs
Hey I was wondering if you could please give me a parts list of tubing and fitting sizes (elbows,nipple and all tubing sizes and possibly material of tubing, as leaks are a concern of mine. I want to replicate what you've done here!! I know you get asked that alot but I only seen one exact size and that's the 1/8 spahgetti tubing. I truly appreciate it man and keep up the good videos!!
Hi Jason, sorry to hear about your troubles. How many plants are you intending to connect to this dripper system? What is the size of your reservoir? What is the size of the pump powering the dripper system? Is the water coming out of the drip line, but nothing when you attach the dripper stake? Is this new gear or re-purposed / secondhand? There are no right or wrong answers to the above. Just trying to get a sense of where you're at. Feel free to email me pics and we'll get to the bottom of this!
I would have plumbed that different. I would have drilled a hole through the side of the table stuck a grommet in the hole. To keep the main water line more level. for more even flow. Plus all that green algie On your rock wool cub's yek's. I had the same prob. Light source on wet rockwool is no good. I now but expaned clay pellets on my table first. then you can use a square plastic plater box about an inch bigger around and al least 2 taller. I put my rockwool cube in the bigger pot center it then fill with the clay pellets and cover the top of the cube. And Wal-La no more green crapp. Oh ya I also cut the bottom of the planter pot out so the root's get spread out faster. Cheer's
Oldie, but a goodie....just subbed, from the title, lol. Great video, I plan to watch alot of you're videos...any suggestions on DWC systems. I do have a single 5 Gal bucket with a 6" net pot. Have a 8w airpump with 2 stones. One is a 3" disc the other is just a .75" ball.Using Advanced nutrients M.G.B series I've ordered some big bud, and B-52. Have you used advanced nutrients? If so what should I add to the nutes mix. OH, BTW I'm cultivating some Auto C.O.P from Dutch Passion
Thanks for the sub! Yes, I've dabbled with most of the main nutrient brands, including Advanced. Honestly, I don't find much between them-growing environment is the key thing to focus on, and dialing in a good irrigation cycle with adequate dry-back and flushing of the media. With DWC systems, take it EASY with the nutrient strength - use half what you would normally use-even less. They can be extremely productive if you keep things dialled in. Best of luck with your grow!
Thanks amigo-hydroponic drip systems can benefit significantly from creating a mainline ring, also known as a "closed-loop" or "circular" system. This setup can indeed help equalize pressure across all emitters and ensure a more consistent nutrient and water delivery to each plant. In a linear or "open-ended" system, water pressure naturally decreases as it moves further away from the pump and towards the end of the line. This means that plants at the beginning of the system may receive more water and nutrients than those at the end, which can lead to uneven growth and yield. A mainline ring or closed-loop system circulates the nutrient solution back to the reservoir, maintaining more consistent pressure and flow rate throughout the entire system. This can lead to more even and optimal plant growth as every plant receives a similar amount of water and nutrients. Even with a mainline ring, however, pressure can still vary due to factors such as the physical layout of the system, the height difference between emitters, the size and type of the emitters, and any bends or junctions in the tubing. Regular maintenance and monitoring are essential to ensure the system is working properly. Nb. My current dripper system for 9 plants does not use a mainline ring, so if your system is small like mine, you really don't need to worry. Choose what is simple and practical.
So glad I found this channel! Im 20 years old currently in university taking Production and Management of Medical Marijuana to become an LP and your videos are going to help me so much with setting up my first hydroponic system! Is it crazy to say that I absolutely LOVE drip systems?! :D For my medium in a hydroponic I wanted to start my seeds in Rockwool cubes and transfer them into a mix of GrowRock and GrowStone,but also Coco is a fav medium of mine. Out of those 3 which would you pick as a beginner to get some good plants going?
Hi Nichole, I love drippers too! If you're starting off in stonewool plugs, have you considered simply moving them on to 3" or 4" (my preference) Delta blocks? A dripper in one of these would be ideal-and stonewool is super forgiving as a growing media. Otherwise, a 70/30 mix of coco/perlite is awesome for beginners and experts alike due to its awesome drainage and ability to hold on to water and air at the same time (ahem, a bit like stonewool / rockwool!)
I got to make a new drip manifold. And Iam ditching the soft flexy vinyl tubing and going with the real deal. And Iam rolling drain to waste for coco and rockwool slabs. To hell with recirculating. Pita for me.
Have you experimented with drain to waste Everest? I am curious if using drain to waste you can prevent the need to adjust PH in your reservoir and also be able to control the nutrient levels better.
PH will stay stable if your water temperatures are stable i found whenever my water was warming up when i was a noob my PH would go out of whack. Water chillers work great for that but start at around 1000$.
Hey man. Really need some advice. I'm trying to setup my system and got a manifold setup with drip lines after going to local hydro store. The drippers were rated for .5 gph made by netafim. Im using 4x4 tray so i got a 350 gph pump as per the equation you recommended. After turning on i found no water coming from drippers. Does the equation for the size if the pumo only work if the drip emitters aren't rated for a certain operating pressure if 15 psi and up for example? Very confused sorry. I'm just wondering if a bigger pump would fix the problem.
Awesome showing how this is setup. What would be the advantages of this over the ebb and flow setup? I notice you use several different types of grow media, is there one you like better for drip and/or ebb and flow?
Vegan Vampire Good question VV. Drips vs. Ebb and Flow. I'm thinking that would make a good video in itself! With drippers you have the ability to feed some plants more than others. (Either by using adjustable stakes or putting more drippers in larger plants' sites) You can feed little and often, rather than one big ebb and flow meal, avoiding or at least mitigating the risk of wet / drought stress. With drippers you are moving less nutrient solution around too, so you can get away with smaller reservoirs and there's less risk of a quick n' nasty flood. Also, top feeding is generally considered a better way to avoid salt build-up in the growing media as long as there is sufficient run-off. Ebb and flow advantages: it purges the entire root zone of stale, oxygen-depleted air. It's simpler and quicker to set up. No risk of clogged drippers-perhaps more leeway, then, to use organic additives. As for growing media, it's difficult to pick a favourite for each method. For ease of use, non-restrictive media (like clay balls or grow stones) are hard to beat with drippers. No irrigation cycles to dial in. Just drip constantly 24 / 7. Fast growing annuals are particularly happy in this sort of situation, especially when you use drip rings rather than stakes to diffuse the nutrient solution more effectively through the media. Ebb and flow-you need an easy-draining, light potting mix. Try and 50 / 50 mix of coco coir and perlite. Mix insect frass at 2% per volume at potting up time too for a nice initial boost of broad-spectrum fertility and microbiology. I whole-heartedly recommend fabric, breathable pots for ebb and flow. Try lining the bottom inch with clay balls for even better drainage. Handwater you plants until their roots have penetrated deep enough in the growing medium to benefit from the flood cycle. I have to say, rockwool is for both drippers and ebb and flow. I really am a rockwool-a-phile! You get a lot more with less growing medium. It takes a little bit of prep (pH adjustment) but then you're good to go.
Everest Fernandez Thanks Everest for the very detailed explanation.:) Drip sounds like the way to go with more options available. I like the idea of the clay for easy of use and re-usability, but also like the coco/perlite in grow bags as this would be similar to what I am used too in my rain gutter grow systems that I use outside but, I do love me some rockwool, the stuffs amazing ;P Other than the grow bags, do the roots eventually just grow into the tray or do they air prune themselves? Seems this could be an issue if I need to move stuff around.
Vegan Vampire Hey VV. Only too happy to help out when I can. If you have a grow tray densely packed with plants on drippers, you may find some roots make it out of the blocks and start exploring the tray-however, they can still be moved pretty easily. I really like the growsmart trays by Grodan-they raise your blocks up a little bit and keep your roots well contained within the rockwool blocks.
Hi, do you think it would be possible to use the same design but for a larger scale (32 feet long tray to feed up to 24 big plants)? Any pressure problem? Thank you!
jrdemasi Hi Jrdemasi! Yes-absolutely. By "countertop" if you're thinking of a sunny windowsill, for example, it might be a good idea to position several pots in a grow tray on the windowsill itself, and drain the run off via a short length of tubing to a small reservoir that was positioned so it was out of direct sunlight. (Small volumes of water are obviously more prone to heating up, and warm nutrients can lead to root issues / anaerobic pathogens because it contains less dissolved oxygen.) My suggestion would be to fill the pots with a non-restrictive growing media like hydroton expanded clay balls and drip 15 mins on / 15 mins off, during the day. Use the largest reservoir that's practical and you will also enjoy more pH stability and there'll be less need for nutrient change-outs. Hmmmm ... maybe it would be easier if I just made something like this and put it in a video! :-) Lol. Thanks for the inspiration-and also for subbing the channel! I appreciate it. Peace and happy growing, Everest.
Everest Fernandez Awesome! Thanks for the input. What is the advantage to doing 15 on / 15 off instead of using your calculation like in the video? Is it because of how little water the clay absorbs? Is that a good time for ALL drip systems utilizing clay?? Obviously there are a lot of external factors, but..
jrdemasi Intermittent pump times will decrease the amount of heat the submerged pump transfers to the nutrient solution. With clay pebbles I would recommend either constant irrigation or 15 on / 15 off.
Hey, love your videos. I am looking into building a setup similar to this and I was wondering if I would have to worry about water pressure. I read that fittings can break if they are at 50+ PSI. Also what are the dimensions of your mainline tubing?
+MrUnusables Well, for a tiny set up like mine, you can get away with 13mm for your mainline. There's no need to stress your fittings with unduly high water pressure-that said, it's good to have a fair bit of pressure to mitigate risks of calcium / salt build up in the spaghetti tubing and drippers. I'm planning to make some follow-up vids on drip irrigation and really drill down into the practicalities of scaling up, so stay tuned.
Another awesome video, cheers mate. I'll be watching this a few times over while i build my system. Which do you personally prefer for coco; ebb and flow or drippers?
Spruce....same goes with dwc deep water cultivation. Air stones are placed in a bucket filled with nutrient water. An 8w pump is plenty for a 2 pot system...let the roots hang down to the water and turn on the system. Massive yields from this form of growing.
He said 2-10. With soil I would imagine you'll be closer to 2. If it's a young/small plant that's not using much water yet I'd start at 1. The next day check that run-off amount to see how much is getting absorbed. Consider adding perlite to your soil when using a drip system to prevent over-watering. ✌
You can absolutely use GH Flora Series with drip irrigation. It is 100% ideal for this application. GH also make a great product called FloraKleen which is great for cleaning and maintaining your drippers.
Hey Everest, Great video as always. Would you say that drip irrigation is superior to ebb and flow simply due to the fact that you do not waste as much water and nutrients? Or is drip irrigation a more efficient delivery method for water and nutrients? Thanks
Both have their advantages SlowCheetah. Ebb and flow is simpler to set up and maintain. Drippers can be dialed in more precisely and even per plant with adjustable drip stakes. You also need less water as you point out. Drip irrigation delivers more precise amounts more regularly so when dialed in right it is arguably the superior method but there's more room for error.
Hey, I'm pretty late to this video, but I'm setting up irrigation to my plants I grow indoors(Milkweeds, peppers, tomatoes, and more) and the pump/timer I got off amazon just isn't cutting it so I'll have to run something like this I think. Curious if this pump would work for me..I am growing on a rack(vertical) so my setup will be alot different, and I'm not doing hydroponics, using soil
@@Just4Growers I don't know if my reply sent, cause it's not showing up :/ But basically I have a pump I got from amazon that has a timer built in, called the "Kollea Reliable Automatic Watering System" on amazon. Anyways; it all uses 1/4" so I don't have any "mainline" which I think is why the pressure is low and why I'm wanting to build something like you have. My rack is 6ft tall, and I'm wondering how I can use a timer with a sump pump; as I see you have it in the description but I'm not sure how to set it up. I'm also wondering if I can find some diverter valves for the setup so I can water each of my racks or one rack at a time, etc. My plan would be a 5gal bucket with the sump pump since I'm in an apartment and have no access/room to fill a large bin of water. Any advice is welcome! Hope you make more videos again, I gotta binge watch the channel!
@@Spencerrcr Thanks Spencer. I'm coming out of "retirement" very soon and making new videos; at the same time starting a new project-so that will drive the new content. 1/2" or 3/4" tubing is typically used as mainline-with 1/8" feeder tubes-aka spaghetti tubing-conveying the water / nutrient solution to each planting site. The larger your res, the easier it will be to manage. If you can manage 25 gal, that will be better.
+Duhn Fuhr hey ,if anyone else trying to find out diy aquaponics system plans try Morundan Total Aquaponics Mastery (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my neighbor got great success with it.
Is hydro more work? I'm looking to limit how often I have to make food for my plants in 7 gallon. 7 liters of water per plant is getting to be too much work for how many plants I have.
+Oscar Larin Yes Oscar, it could work for a soil-based potting mix. I'd make sure the mix was pretty light, with at least 30% perlite, but you'd probably still find that you don't have irrigate so often. Definitely use fabric, breathable pots. And finally, be careful with using organic liquid nutrients with drippers and the combination is prone to causing clogging. Perhaps stick with a mineral feed.
I need a led do you recommend anything better than a mars - 700 watt hit me back let me know what you think and I really would appreciate your time and a place on helping me get a decent light for a fordable price can't use HPS or metal halide too much electricity consumption hit me back as soon as possible thank you vic
jacqueline goudelock Hi Vic, thanks for your question. It's hard to recommend a specific grow light without more details about your space and application. You mention the Mars 700 watt - do you mean the "Mars II" ? I found it online and it claims to replace your "400W HPS or MH" with a 700W LED to cover a 3.5'x 3.5' growing area. Errr ... isn't that using 300 more watts and costing nearly $300? You could get set up with a basic HPS or MH system for much less.
+Graphic Audio Hello Graphic. SCROG usually involves vegging up plants more, pruning, and spreading out the canopy. I love this technique and it's the way to go for small-scale hobbyists. The Hugos can support big plants for sure and if you dialled in the irrigation you'd be fine. However, you might want to give yourself a little more margin for error and consider the Unislab instead. goo.gl/PC2lQZ It offers more plant support / stability than either the Hugo or the Big Mama. Just my personal preference. I know plenty of growers who happily complete their plants' whole lifecycle in Hugos.
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
There's no reason to go to the outside with that hose. all you have to do is have a fitting that screws into where it normally floods through them are threaded
If the drip time should be 38-44 seconds but the Apollo 9 timer (and every timer I am aware of) only has 1 minute increments, how do you achieve the precision... or would you just set the timer for 1 minute?
+Steve Frankenbach Thanks Steve for an awesome question. This highlights the need to buy a pump that's not too powerful for the job! You can use TMUs and cycle timers that will allow specification in seconds, but the Apollo does it by the minute, you're correct.
The downfall of utilizing drippers is that they distribute water/nutrients in a concentrated manner which fails to promote healthy root systems for plants, resulting in lower yields. This is made even worse by the fact that based on your chart you're keeping 'wetness levels' at a solid threshold rather than a cyclical one which is also bad for yield. Of course these are downfalls of almost any and all hydroponics systems - very few actually pay attention to keeping the wetness of the planting medium cyclical through dryer, and wetter stages. Interestingly enough, there is a bevy of evidence suggesting that these offsets in yields can ultimately be reduced by inverting the plants - that is to say, turning them upside down and having them grow with gravity rather than against it.
Hi BLU, thanks for your comments. A single dripper stake delivers nutrient solution at one spot-that's right-but this is fine for restrictive growing media where the nutrient solution will suffuse easily through the media. For non-restrictive media such as hydroton clay balls, a dripper ring would be preferable to deliver the nutrient solution more evenly. For restrictive growing media, drip cycles should be timed to allow the media to dry out. Rockwool, for instance, works best when it dries out 50% between irrigation cycles. The wetness / dryness of the root zone can be used to steer the plants into vegetative / generative production. I haven't ever played with inverted growing systems although I am aware of a few out there. If you'd care to share any of the evidence for inverting plants helping yields, I'd be interested in reviewing it. I'm skeptical (naturally) but not close-minded. Thanks again for stopping by. Hope you're subbed. :)
Typically the idea of inverted hydroponics (or rotary setups) is that by applying the force of gravity in a different matter encourages stronger growth from plants as they're no longer required to fight against gravity (at all in the case of true inversion, or most of the time in the case of rotary growing). The capillary action of plants - how they distribute water - is ultimately limited by the cohesion-tension theory, which is to say the point where the pressure of the capillary action becomes equal with gravity and can no longer progress. This leads to an ultimate "upper limit" on how large a plant can grow, as when it reaches a certain size (depending on the plant's ability to effectively utilize this capillary action) it can no longer distribute water any higher throughout itself. Were we to simulate a truly gravity-free or gravity-reduced environment (Grow plants in space) we'd have a much greater cohesion-tension point, although we'd immediately bump into the problem of convection where we see decreases in airflow, potentially negating any gains - but as we're still doing this on earth and merely inverting the plants the lack of airflow a lower gravity environ would present is a non-issue. True inversion setups (ones that don't spin) also come with the potential downside of unhealthy root growth due to something called gravity tropism - a plant's tendency to have it's roots follow gravity. Rotary systems overcome this hurdle by having the plant alter through states where it's fighting both against, and with gravity at different periods of times - thereby mitigating the gravitropic behaviour of plant root systems. These are some of the basic principles behind inverted hydroponics, and while there is a lot of anecdotal evidence from inverted growers that they've seen improved yields - there is sadly little hard science in the field of hydroponics. The theory is however, solid. As a side note, you could also provide a higher oxygen environment for plants to potentially improve yield, although this is hardly recommended since it would not only require a room with it's own atmosphere, but would also present a major firehazard.
This video has ruined the word "nipple" for me, but it does contain extremely concise but detailed and useful information. please never talk about nipples like that ever again
For all that money you spent on crappy plastic parts, you could have rented a small plot and grown real vegetables in the soil. Why make things so complicated?
This video is EXCELLENT. This is something I've been wanting to do for some time now and I swear finding good, detailed information on RUclips or Google can be pretty tough. A lot of times I feel like the narrator in the video glosses over a lot of details that they might just consider common sense that someone just getting started in this wouldn't know. This has been very helpful, thank you!
Everest - how refreshing it is to have an educated individual who clearly knows how to captivate the audience whilst delivering great quality information.
Keep the videos coming
If the rigid tube is hard to connect with the fittings, have a bowl of very hot water to dip the tube in before connecting. That makes it softer and easier to push over the barbed fittings
+Søren Binderup Madsen nice tip right there.
Thanks excellent to know. :)
Thx for informing
hit it with a lighter for about 5 seconds.
Rigid pipe is easier to work with the warmer it gets. Boiling a kettle of water, pouring it into a big pot and dipping your ends of the pipe into it for 10 seconds before working with it makes it incredible pliable and friendly, plus when it cools it shrinks tight again insuring a super tight seal. Can also lube up the ends with Vaseline or vegetable oil (or any other oily substance that doesn't harm your plants).
Also, if you go to dripper head that is designed to drip at a set rate (say 1gph) you don't need a ring and it doesn't matter the length of spaghetti line as the rate is set and restricted by the dripper head.
Great video, such high quality footage and tips.
enticed2zeitgeist I wish I'd got interested in growing sooner, everyone's so nice around here. :)
To keep crud from plugging up your drippers, place the pump in a fabric pot within the res to filter the water before it reaches the pump.
+Tark McCoy That's a great tip Tark. Thanks for sharing. I also use an inline filter in my mainline irrigation tubing but nothing beats stopping that gunk getting into the pump in the first place! :)
100
@@AAGWproductions PS: I found that the small paint filter bags work GREAT and inhibit the flow very little.
@@TarkMcCoy haha i was just going to suggest this!!
@@TarkMcCoy I also use those paint filter bags and fill them with kelp and earth worm castings and manure and use them as big tea bags when making my beneficial microbial teas for my plants they work great.
your a saucy bugger sometimes everest. been struggling all day with a diy drip system and trying to keep equal pressure, keeping a complete loop to keep equal pressure seams so obvious now, you the man everest should of watched your video this morning .
You all failed physics. If your lines are large enough to not suffer line loss friction, the pressure will be equal at all points regardless if it is a loop or not.
@@slrs3908 so...use a bigger pump is what you're saying?
As I go through my learning process I can be assured to find an Everest Fernandez video to shine the light of knowledge on my path. Thank you sir, thank you.
Hilarious! Unreal! One of your best videos! Finally I understand. WOW!
😯👍
I am no longer intimidated by the concept of dripper systems.
THANK YOU for the parts list, too!
May all your pipe laying, nipple squeezing go well. ✌
LOL... Another fine example!
My nipples are nervous, yet excited. Hehe
Thanks Everest!
Tim Miller I hear "nervous nipples" can be easier to squeeze drip line on to. ;-)
If your lines are large enough to not suffer line loss friction, the pressure will be equal at all points regardless if it is a loop or not.
I wonder where you’re at today. Can’t believe this is 7 years old
Time sure does accumulate some air miles! I'm in a very good place today, thanks. Setting up a small dripper system is actually on my day's todo list. :) Sending best wishes.
Great video! I will comment again once I complete my set up...
+Christopher Ross Thanks Christopher I look forward to hearing how you get on.
thanks for sharing your expertise Everest!! - I couldn't find the part list.
Just clic on "Show More" above. Anyways:
Parts List:
Fastfit 2 x 4 Grow Tray Stand
Botanicare 2 x 4 Grow Tray
Botanicare 30 gallon reservoir with lid
General Hydroponics Flora Series 3-Part Advanced Nutrients
Hydroflow elbows and T-pieces
Ecoplus 185 submersible pump
Apollo 9 Digital Timer
Hydroflow non-adjustable, angled drippers
Hydroflow ebb and flow fittings kit
Hydroflow flexible mainline tubing
Hydroflow dripper nipples
Hydroflow 1/8 drip line tubing
Grodan Hugo Rockwool Blocks
Grodan Unislab Rockwool Mini Slabs
Hey I was wondering if you could please give me a parts list of tubing and fitting sizes (elbows,nipple and all tubing sizes and possibly material of tubing, as leaks are a concern of mine. I want to replicate what you've done here!! I know you get asked that alot but I only seen one exact size and that's the 1/8 spahgetti tubing. I truly appreciate it man and keep up the good videos!!
I can’t get water to come out the drippers it’s coming out the hose but when I hook the hose to the elbow on the manifold it doesn’t do nothing🤷🏽♂️
Hi Jason, sorry to hear about your troubles. How many plants are you intending to connect to this dripper system? What is the size of your reservoir? What is the size of the pump powering the dripper system? Is the water coming out of the drip line, but nothing when you attach the dripper stake? Is this new gear or re-purposed / secondhand? There are no right or wrong answers to the above. Just trying to get a sense of where you're at. Feel free to email me pics and we'll get to the bottom of this!
All that stuff will cost you 2 or 3 times as much at the hydroponics store than it will at your local home improvement store
not way to grow or grow warehouse...
@@matte4123 why not
Online is much cheaper still.
Thats wright
@@daymonn00 thats write
Dip the rigid pipe and the micro tubing in hot water to make it easier to insert fitting.
Ur videos are awesome 👍🏼
Thanks buddy.
You’re cheesy but you do it better than most. Thanks for the video
awolf81 I’ll take that.
Hot water for connections between pipes will help a lot
You and @growmau5 got me cracking up today lol.
I would have plumbed that different. I would have drilled a hole through the side of the table stuck a grommet in the hole. To keep the main water line more level. for more even flow. Plus all that green algie On your rock wool cub's yek's. I had the same prob. Light source on wet rockwool is no good. I now but expaned clay pellets on my table first. then you can use a square plastic plater box about an inch bigger around and al least 2 taller. I put my rockwool cube in the bigger pot center it then fill with the clay pellets and cover the top of the cube. And Wal-La no more green crapp. Oh ya I also cut the bottom of the planter pot out so the root's get spread out faster. Cheer's
Thanks for sharing your insights 👍
In your description you put 1/8 drip line but in the video its 1/4
Love the "ricky" shirt. Good video thanks for the info
Could you please describe how to achieve 10-20% runoff, in a little more detail? great vid btw
I think it has something to do with the ppm value of the run off water
Just means having 10 to 20 percent of what you put in running out
Oldie, but a goodie....just subbed, from the title, lol. Great video, I plan to watch alot of you're videos...any suggestions on DWC systems. I do have a single 5 Gal bucket with a 6" net pot. Have a 8w airpump with 2 stones. One is a 3" disc the other is just a .75" ball.Using Advanced nutrients M.G.B series I've ordered some big bud, and B-52. Have you used advanced nutrients? If so what should I add to the nutes mix. OH, BTW I'm cultivating some Auto C.O.P from Dutch Passion
Thanks for the sub! Yes, I've dabbled with most of the main nutrient brands, including Advanced. Honestly, I don't find much between them-growing environment is the key thing to focus on, and dialing in a good irrigation cycle with adequate dry-back and flushing of the media. With DWC systems, take it EASY with the nutrient strength - use half what you would normally use-even less. They can be extremely productive if you keep things dialled in. Best of luck with your grow!
WOW , new as 25yrs ago lol . Ya did a good job explaining as usual tho hehe . take care bud
Great vid, Does the main supply have to be in a loop or can it have stoppers at the end instead?
Thanks amigo-hydroponic drip systems can benefit significantly from creating a mainline ring, also known as a "closed-loop" or "circular" system. This setup can indeed help equalize pressure across all emitters and ensure a more consistent nutrient and water delivery to each plant. In a linear or "open-ended" system, water pressure naturally decreases as it moves further away from the pump and towards the end of the line. This means that plants at the beginning of the system may receive more water and nutrients than those at the end, which can lead to uneven growth and yield. A mainline ring or closed-loop system circulates the nutrient solution back to the reservoir, maintaining more consistent pressure and flow rate throughout the entire system. This can lead to more even and optimal plant growth as every plant receives a similar amount of water and nutrients. Even with a mainline ring, however, pressure can still vary due to factors such as the physical layout of the system, the height difference between emitters, the size and type of the emitters, and any bends or junctions in the tubing. Regular maintenance and monitoring are essential to ensure the system is working properly. Nb. My current dripper system for 9 plants does not use a mainline ring, so if your system is small like mine, you really don't need to worry. Choose what is simple and practical.
if u warm all the pipe up with hot water the fittings slip on easily
Is 5:44 about determining how often you should water based on how dry they are determined by the runoff speed?
Very thorough, getting enthused to start!
aahhhyess It's amazing what regular irrigation does for your plants-they really enjoy it-like they **know** absolutely that they're gonna get fed! :)
So glad I found this channel! Im 20 years old currently in university taking Production and Management of Medical Marijuana to become an LP and your videos are going to help me so much with setting up my first hydroponic system!
Is it crazy to say that I absolutely LOVE drip systems?! :D For my medium in a hydroponic I wanted to start my seeds in Rockwool cubes and transfer them into a mix of GrowRock and GrowStone,but also Coco is a fav medium of mine. Out of those 3 which would you pick as a beginner to get some good plants going?
Hi Nichole, I love drippers too! If you're starting off in stonewool plugs, have you considered simply moving them on to 3" or 4" (my preference) Delta blocks? A dripper in one of these would be ideal-and stonewool is super forgiving as a growing media. Otherwise, a 70/30 mix of coco/perlite is awesome for beginners and experts alike due to its awesome drainage and ability to hold on to water and air at the same time (ahem, a bit like stonewool / rockwool!)
I run 4 of these spikes per 5 gal pot i have a automated watering and feeding system
Hi Everest great video! Do you have a link for the inline filter?
Do the holes leak that u have to put in the pipe? Regards
Funny and informative. What’s not to love! Thanks dude ✌🏼
just a thought' would it be possible to make a system that doesn't use electricity for,the pump such as a ram pump? curious.
I got to make a new drip manifold. And Iam ditching the soft flexy vinyl tubing and going with the real deal. And Iam rolling drain to waste for coco and rockwool slabs. To hell with recirculating. Pita for me.
Building this as I watch this video again! :)
Have you not tried a manifold
just spit on the tip next time it will go in much easier.
where are the products listed that you display in your videos?
Have you experimented with drain to waste Everest? I am curious if using drain to waste you can prevent the need to adjust PH in your reservoir and also be able to control the nutrient levels better.
PH will stay stable if your water temperatures are stable i found whenever my water was warming up when i was a noob my PH would go out of whack. Water chillers work great for that but start at around 1000$.
Is it dangerous to have a white reservoir? Wouldn't light penetrate and reach the water thus creating algae?
+x2eXu50x the plastic is opaque, the lid too.
Hey man. Really need some advice. I'm trying to setup my system and got a manifold setup with drip lines after going to local hydro store. The drippers were rated for .5 gph made by netafim. Im using 4x4 tray so i got a 350 gph pump as per the equation you recommended. After turning on i found no water coming from drippers. Does the equation for the size if the pumo only work if the drip emitters aren't rated for a certain operating pressure if 15 psi and up for example? Very confused sorry. I'm just wondering if a bigger pump would fix the problem.
Awesome showing how this is setup. What would be the advantages of this over the ebb and flow setup? I notice you use several different types of grow media, is there one you like better for drip and/or ebb and flow?
Vegan Vampire Good question VV. Drips vs. Ebb and Flow. I'm thinking that would make a good video in itself! With drippers you have the ability to feed some plants more than others. (Either by using adjustable stakes or putting more drippers in larger plants' sites) You can feed little and often, rather than one big ebb and flow meal, avoiding or at least mitigating the risk of wet / drought stress. With drippers you are moving less nutrient solution around too, so you can get away with smaller reservoirs and there's less risk of a quick n' nasty flood. Also, top feeding is generally considered a better way to avoid salt build-up in the growing media as long as there is sufficient run-off.
Ebb and flow advantages: it purges the entire root zone of stale, oxygen-depleted air. It's simpler and quicker to set up. No risk of clogged drippers-perhaps more leeway, then, to use organic additives.
As for growing media, it's difficult to pick a favourite for each method. For ease of use, non-restrictive media (like clay balls or grow stones) are hard to beat with drippers. No irrigation cycles to dial in. Just drip constantly 24 / 7. Fast growing annuals are particularly happy in this sort of situation, especially when you use drip rings rather than stakes to diffuse the nutrient solution more effectively through the media.
Ebb and flow-you need an easy-draining, light potting mix. Try and 50 / 50 mix of coco coir and perlite. Mix insect frass at 2% per volume at potting up time too for a nice initial boost of broad-spectrum fertility and microbiology. I whole-heartedly recommend fabric, breathable pots for ebb and flow. Try lining the bottom inch with clay balls for even better drainage. Handwater you plants until their roots have penetrated deep enough in the growing medium to benefit from the flood cycle.
I have to say, rockwool is for both drippers and ebb and flow. I really am a rockwool-a-phile! You get a lot more with less growing medium. It takes a little bit of prep (pH adjustment) but then you're good to go.
Everest Fernandez Thanks Everest for the very detailed explanation.:)
Drip sounds like the way to go with more options available.
I like the idea of the clay for easy of use and re-usability, but also like the coco/perlite in grow bags as this would be similar to what I am used too in my rain gutter grow systems that I use outside but, I do love me some rockwool, the stuffs amazing ;P
Other than the grow bags, do the roots eventually just grow into the tray or do they air prune themselves? Seems this could be an issue if I need to move stuff around.
Vegan Vampire Hey VV. Only too happy to help out when I can. If you have a grow tray densely packed with plants on drippers, you may find some roots make it out of the blocks and start exploring the tray-however, they can still be moved pretty easily. I really like the growsmart trays by Grodan-they raise your blocks up a little bit and keep your roots well contained within the rockwool blocks.
Hi, do you think it would be possible to use the same design but for a larger scale (32 feet long tray to feed up to 24 big plants)? Any pressure problem? Thank you!
Also why not run a like straight down the middle and have staggered dripper lines? Why would that effect the pressure?
+x2eXu50x I prefer a ring because the pressure is equalized throughout it asthe water has a return path towards the source.
Thanks for the video! It's awesome. Could this be scaled down to be very small? Like a counter-top drip system? Any advice?
jrdemasi Hi Jrdemasi! Yes-absolutely. By "countertop" if you're thinking of a sunny windowsill, for example, it might be a good idea to position several pots in a grow tray on the windowsill itself, and drain the run off via a short length of tubing to a small reservoir that was positioned so it was out of direct sunlight. (Small volumes of water are obviously more prone to heating up, and warm nutrients can lead to root issues / anaerobic pathogens because it contains less dissolved oxygen.) My suggestion would be to fill the pots with a non-restrictive growing media like hydroton expanded clay balls and drip 15 mins on / 15 mins off, during the day. Use the largest reservoir that's practical and you will also enjoy more pH stability and there'll be less need for nutrient change-outs. Hmmmm ... maybe it would be easier if I just made something like this and put it in a video! :-) Lol. Thanks for the inspiration-and also for subbing the channel! I appreciate it. Peace and happy growing, Everest.
Everest Fernandez Awesome! Thanks for the input. What is the advantage to doing 15 on / 15 off instead of using your calculation like in the video? Is it because of how little water the clay absorbs? Is that a good time for ALL drip systems utilizing clay?? Obviously there are a lot of external factors, but..
jrdemasi Intermittent pump times will decrease the amount of heat the submerged pump transfers to the nutrient solution. With clay pebbles I would recommend either constant irrigation or 15 on / 15 off.
Hi.. Let me know pumps and water solvents
Hey, love your videos. I am looking into building a setup similar to this and I was wondering if I would have to worry about water pressure. I read that fittings can break if they are at 50+ PSI. Also what are the dimensions of your mainline tubing?
+MrUnusables Well, for a tiny set up like mine, you can get away with 13mm for your mainline. There's no need to stress your fittings with unduly high water pressure-that said, it's good to have a fair bit of pressure to mitigate risks of calcium / salt build up in the spaghetti tubing and drippers. I'm planning to make some follow-up vids on drip irrigation and really drill down into the practicalities of scaling up, so stay tuned.
Another awesome video, cheers mate. I'll be watching this a few times over while i build my system.
Which do you personally prefer for coco; ebb and flow or drippers?
Doesn't ebb and flow encourage air exchange and result in a better yield than irrigation?
Spruce....same goes with dwc deep water cultivation. Air stones are placed in a bucket filled with nutrient water. An 8w pump is plenty for a 2 pot system...let the roots hang down to the water and turn on the system. Massive yields from this form of growing.
if I am using just soil how much times should I water a day?
He said 2-10. With soil I would imagine you'll be closer to 2. If it's a young/small plant that's not using much water yet I'd start at 1. The next day check that run-off amount to see how much is getting absorbed. Consider adding perlite to your soil when using a drip system to prevent over-watering. ✌
Where is the list of supplies?
Hi Everest, so can you use GH's Flora Series (3 part base - Grow, Micro, Bloom) nutrient line with this drip system or will it clog it up?
You can absolutely use GH Flora Series with drip irrigation. It is 100% ideal for this application. GH also make a great product called FloraKleen which is great for cleaning and maintaining your drippers.
What plants are you growing in this vid like, for example, the vines with the lighter green leaves and tendrils?
Cucumbers.
@@Just4Growers thanks for the reply :)
Hey Everest,
Great video as always. Would you say that drip irrigation is superior to ebb and flow simply due to the fact that you do not waste as much water and nutrients? Or is drip irrigation a more efficient delivery method for water and nutrients?
Thanks
Both have their advantages SlowCheetah. Ebb and flow is simpler to set up and maintain. Drippers can be dialed in more precisely and even per plant with adjustable drip stakes. You also need less water as you point out. Drip irrigation delivers more precise amounts more regularly so when dialed in right it is arguably the superior method but there's more room for error.
Hey, I'm pretty late to this video, but I'm setting up irrigation to my plants I grow indoors(Milkweeds, peppers, tomatoes, and more) and the pump/timer I got off amazon just isn't cutting it so I'll have to run something like this I think. Curious if this pump would work for me..I am growing on a rack(vertical) so my setup will be alot different, and I'm not doing hydroponics, using soil
Hi Spencer, what diameter mainline tubing are you using and what is the max height of the upper rack please?
@@Just4Growers I don't know if my reply sent, cause it's not showing up :/ But basically I have a pump I got from amazon that has a timer built in, called the "Kollea Reliable Automatic Watering System" on amazon. Anyways; it all uses 1/4" so I don't have any "mainline" which I think is why the pressure is low and why I'm wanting to build something like you have. My rack is 6ft tall, and I'm wondering how I can use a timer with a sump pump; as I see you have it in the description but I'm not sure how to set it up. I'm also wondering if I can find some diverter valves for the setup so I can water each of my racks or one rack at a time, etc. My plan would be a 5gal bucket with the sump pump since I'm in an apartment and have no access/room to fill a large bin of water. Any advice is welcome! Hope you make more videos again, I gotta binge watch the channel!
@@Spencerrcr Thanks Spencer. I'm coming out of "retirement" very soon and making new videos; at the same time starting a new project-so that will drive the new content. 1/2" or 3/4" tubing is typically used as mainline-with 1/8" feeder tubes-aka spaghetti tubing-conveying the water / nutrient solution to each planting site. The larger your res, the easier it will be to manage. If you can manage 25 gal, that will be better.
great video. thank you very much
Thanks Duhn!
+Duhn Fuhr hey ,if anyone else trying to find out diy aquaponics system plans try Morundan Total Aquaponics Mastery (do a google search ) ? Ive heard some amazing things about it and my neighbor got great success with it.
Is hydro more work? I'm looking to limit how often I have to make food for my plants in 7 gallon. 7 liters of water per plant is getting to be too much work for how many plants I have.
Hydro, depending on the specific system, can take a little more time to set up but you benefit from automatic irrigation.
So if I got 2) 4x8 trays 32sq ft if I use a single pump i need like 1200 gph pump?
No
I can't find rigid tubing can someone post a link
Could you tell me roughly the cost to put this entire kind of drip system together?
Why not just flood the table out a few times a day no chance of leak
Awesome video, where did you get your inline nutrient filters?
+Anthony Nunez Thanks Anthony. goo.gl/3G9Ndz
Bro i just want to say that your videos are very imformative, they are awesome. Keep those videos coming..
+Anthony Nunez Thanks Anthony-plenty more to come! :-) Appreciate the positivity. Peace and happy growing, Everest.
would this work for soil setup and what modifications would be need to make it so?
+Oscar Larin Yes Oscar, it could work for a soil-based potting mix. I'd make sure the mix was pretty light, with at least 30% perlite, but you'd probably still find that you don't have irrigate so often. Definitely use fabric, breathable pots. And finally, be careful with using organic liquid nutrients with drippers and the combination is prone to causing clogging. Perhaps stick with a mineral feed.
timer frequency per day ? or per hour
Awesome video! I can't wait to get a drip set up rocking! Still rolling with training wheels in soil! Great tips! Stop by e channel sometime!
Legal M
Legal Marijuana Thanks LM. I'll be sure to check out your channel too. Thanks for subbing earlier this month. I appreciate it!
Stellar vid!
I need a led do you recommend anything better than a mars - 700 watt hit me back let me know what you think and I really would appreciate your time and a place on helping me get a decent light for a fordable price can't use HPS or metal halide too much electricity consumption hit me back as soon as possible thank you vic
jacqueline goudelock Hi Vic, thanks for your question. It's hard to recommend a specific grow light without more details about your space and application. You mention the Mars 700 watt - do you mean the "Mars II" ? I found it online and it claims to replace your "400W HPS or MH" with a 700W LED to cover a 3.5'x 3.5' growing area. Errr ... isn't that using 300 more watts and costing nearly $300? You could get set up with a basic HPS or MH system for much less.
Great vids man! I have a question, do you think rockwool cubes (hugo) will be good enough to run a scrog style?
+Graphic Audio Hello Graphic. SCROG usually involves vegging up plants more, pruning, and spreading out the canopy. I love this technique and it's the way to go for small-scale hobbyists. The Hugos can support big plants for sure and if you dialled in the irrigation you'd be fine. However, you might want to give yourself a little more margin for error and consider the Unislab instead. goo.gl/PC2lQZ It offers more plant support / stability than either the Hugo or the Big Mama. Just my personal preference. I know plenty of growers who happily complete their plants' whole lifecycle in Hugos.
+Everest Fernandez (Just4Growers) What was the "DIY" part? .. this was as much DIY as assembling a chair from IKEA ..
video was bad ass.love it
Thanks Oliver! :)
What size mainline tubing is that? 3/4"?
+Duval Dread Yes
In your equation for finding a water pump, what does the 8 stand for? Thank you!
+Anthony Noble Hi Anthony-the 8 refers to the square footage of the grow tray, in this case 4 x 2 = 8 sq. feet.
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
Thanks everest. I meant to type what was the 20 for in the second half of the equation? I'm trying to figure out which pump to use for a 55 gallon drum instead of a tray. Thanks again!
thanks for the vid.
DUB ION You're welcome Dub. Thanks for subscribing on April 11th! :) Appreciated!
luv U 2 Everett!
Thanks Baron! :))))
Aquaponic is my life. So much to learn with such poor local knowledge
man, how much money have you dropped on hydroponics? like damn
There's no reason to go to the outside with that hose. all you have to do is have a fitting that screws into where it normally floods through them are threaded
thanks!
Might be better to use olive oil as lube instead of dish soap.
Puut the pipe in hot water jobs a good un
If the drip time should be 38-44 seconds but the Apollo 9 timer (and every timer I am aware of) only has 1 minute increments, how do you achieve the precision... or would you just set the timer for 1 minute?
+Steve Frankenbach Thanks Steve for an awesome question. This highlights the need to buy a pump that's not too powerful for the job! You can use TMUs and cycle timers that will allow specification in seconds, but the Apollo does it by the minute, you're correct.
Thankssss
❤
Does Everest grow cannabis.
ruclips.net/video/CqOvasvZ8-E/видео.html
Cool but I'd just ask my tech buddy to 3d print me the parts
The downfall of utilizing drippers is that they distribute water/nutrients in a concentrated manner which fails to promote healthy root systems for plants, resulting in lower yields.
This is made even worse by the fact that based on your chart you're keeping 'wetness levels' at a solid threshold rather than a cyclical one which is also bad for yield.
Of course these are downfalls of almost any and all hydroponics systems - very few actually pay attention to keeping the wetness of the planting medium cyclical through dryer, and wetter stages.
Interestingly enough, there is a bevy of evidence suggesting that these offsets in yields can ultimately be reduced by inverting the plants - that is to say, turning them upside down and having them grow with gravity rather than against it.
Hi BLU, thanks for your comments. A single dripper stake delivers nutrient solution at one spot-that's right-but this is fine for restrictive growing media where the nutrient solution will suffuse easily through the media. For non-restrictive media such as hydroton clay balls, a dripper ring would be preferable to deliver the nutrient solution more evenly.
For restrictive growing media, drip cycles should be timed to allow the media to dry out. Rockwool, for instance, works best when it dries out 50% between irrigation cycles. The wetness / dryness of the root zone can be used to steer the plants into vegetative / generative production.
I haven't ever played with inverted growing systems although I am aware of a few out there. If you'd care to share any of the evidence for inverting plants helping yields, I'd be interested in reviewing it. I'm skeptical (naturally) but not close-minded. Thanks again for stopping by. Hope you're subbed. :)
Typically the idea of inverted hydroponics (or rotary setups) is that by applying the force of gravity in a different matter encourages stronger growth from plants as they're no longer required to fight against gravity (at all in the case of true inversion, or most of the time in the case of rotary growing).
The capillary action of plants - how they distribute water - is ultimately limited by the cohesion-tension theory, which is to say the point where the pressure of the capillary action becomes equal with gravity and can no longer progress.
This leads to an ultimate "upper limit" on how large a plant can grow, as when it reaches a certain size (depending on the plant's ability to effectively utilize this capillary action) it can no longer distribute water any higher throughout itself.
Were we to simulate a truly gravity-free or gravity-reduced environment (Grow plants in space) we'd have a much greater cohesion-tension point, although we'd immediately bump into the problem of convection where we see decreases in airflow, potentially negating any gains - but as we're still doing this on earth and merely inverting the plants the lack of airflow a lower gravity environ would present is a non-issue.
True inversion setups (ones that don't spin) also come with the potential downside of unhealthy root growth due to something called gravity tropism - a plant's tendency to have it's roots follow gravity.
Rotary systems overcome this hurdle by having the plant alter through states where it's fighting both against, and with gravity at different periods of times - thereby mitigating the gravitropic behaviour of plant root systems.
These are some of the basic principles behind inverted hydroponics, and while there is a lot of anecdotal evidence from inverted growers that they've seen improved yields - there is sadly little hard science in the field of hydroponics. The theory is however, solid.
As a side note, you could also provide a higher oxygen environment for plants to potentially improve yield, although this is hardly recommended since it would not only require a room with it's own atmosphere, but would also present a major firehazard.
dude! the math is very intense.
1:50
nice :)
Not smart to use soap on the nozzles as soap won't be good for your system.
How not to use a razor knife video
This video has ruined the word "nipple" for me, but it does contain extremely concise but detailed and useful information.
please never talk about nipples like that ever again
Thank you for the feedback. I will refrain from any further mentions of "papilla mammae" or their broad equivalents in top feed irrigation systems.
This guy spends 2k on just ph meters... Has a nokia...
Wtf did this dude just say? Am I really that dumb? No clue
You do all that work plant your plants and then you bite into it and it tastes like s*** good luck
I appreciate the info, but you sound like you're speaking to children. Kind of annoying.
tansii Clearly children are not excluded from my presentations.
@@Just4Growers Fair enough I guess. But I don't think I can watch anymore, sorry :(
tansii Please stick around Tansii and I promise to level up :)
Creep
For all that money you spent on crappy plastic parts, you could have rented a small plot and grown real vegetables in the soil. Why make things so complicated?