The drip hydroponic systems operate is similar to a drip irrigation system where water is pumped through tubing and regulated to enable the water to drip instead of running through in a steady stream. The drip system can be used in your hydroponics Dutch bucket system where your water source will be turned into a reservoir within the bucket, while the water will be recovered right after it drips over the plant roots. In order to do the Drip hydroponic systems, below are some of the informations that may be useful to you;
What you need:
- 5-gallon bucket
- Garden pump 1/4-inch tubing
- Back-flow preventer
- Pressure regulator
- Emitter Timer
- Net pot
Method:
- First of all, you need to prepare your Dutch bucket and cut a 1-inch hole at one side of your 5-gallon bucket\’s lid. After that, cut a 3-inch hole in the center of the lid to cater for the net pot. Then, fill two-thirds of the bucket with nutrient rich water.
- Next, to place a garden pump at the bottom of the bucket and run the cord out of the 1-inch hole. Then, you need to attach a length of 1/4-inch tubing that measures 1 1/2 feet in length to the pump and run the other end through the 1-inch hole.
- After that, the back-flow preventer needs to be attached to the tubing and also attach the pressure regulator to the back-flow preventer. Both the back-flow preventer and the pressure regulator need to fit nicely to the 1/4-inch tubing. Then, attach a 10-inch length of 1/4-inch tubing to the pressure regulator, while the emitter needs to be connected to the end of the tubing.
- The next step is to place your net pot which already has seeding into the 3-inch hole in the lid of the bucket.
- Then, you need to bring the end of the tubing along with the emitter up to the net pot. The tubing need to be staked with a drip system to enable the water dripping from the emitter will drip into the net pot.
- After that, you need to plug the cord of the pump into a timer and then plug the timer into an outlet. You have to set the timer accordingly to enable the drip system to be activated for a specific time and its frequency. The flow of the drip water will go to the net pot and over the plant roots and then back into the bucket. You also have to renew the nutrients regularly for example at least two to three weeks.
Additional Reading:
http://www.easyhydroponics.net/how-to-build-a-drip-hydroponics-system/index.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_5132607_make-hydroponic-drip-system.html
Image Credit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hackaday/133031719/
