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Having a DIY mini hydroponic garden right in your kitchen is great for fresh spices and herbs. You can make as many of these as you want. Personally, I made 4 jars to make my 4 favorite herbs to have in front of me at all times. This is more of a tutorial on how to get everything accomplished, please see the original article on jar and fish selection below.
See Fish and Jar Selection: Grow Hydroponic Plants in Your Kitchen
DIY Mini Hydroponic Garden Supplies
(Click Names to See More on Amazon)
- Multiple Mason Jars with Lids
- Net Cups that Fit the Mason Jar
- Clay Pebbles
- Water Prep for Fish
- Spring Water
- Thrive S or Shirmp Safe
- 10 watt Air Pump
- 1/4 inch Air Tubing
- Valves or Splitters
- Bubble Stone
- Bottom Pebbles
- Live Sand
- Plants or Herbs for Ontop
- Plants for inside the Jar
Whole Amazon Shopping List: Mini Hydroponic Garden
** Yes, Fish/Shrimp was removed on purpose. Pead below before you buy them **
Mason Jar Prep
Just like any other project, your prep work lays the foundation for your road to success. The same applies to this project. If you start with a dirty jar, you will end up with an unbalanced ecosystem. Drilling holes ot a requirement, but I tend to have a little OCD. Skip this step if you are not comfortable or do not want to risk cracking or possibly breaking your jars.
Drill Holes
Laying around in the garage I have glass drill bits, so I decided that I did not want my air hose to go into the plant. By drilling a hole, I was able to feet my air hose into the jar without upsetting the plant, or myself! And since I was still in the mood to drill a hole, I drilled a second one to feed my fish through, if I ever needed to. Both of these holes saved me the trouble of needing to remove my lid and plant to service the water. Realistically, I can perform water changes by siphoning through these holes.
Clean
Do not use any harsh chemicals. A few simple drops of warm water and dish soap should do the trick. Make sure you get any glass leftovers out and be careful not to cut yourself on anything.
Lid and Net Cup Prep
Initially, my net cups did not fit. Having all of my supplies in front of me, I needed to come up with a solution. After all, mine was too big. Not too small. After cutting the net cups and removing some of the upper circular edges, I was able to fit everything just as I wanted to.
If you are not using a mason jar and you have a solid lid, you can always cut the middle out carefully. Using a metal file, smooth out the edges to where your net cup can now fit. I like my net cups to fit between the glass lip and metal lid.
Dry Fit Your Mason Jar
Now would be the perfect time to see how everything fits together. Load up your net cup with clay pebbles and place it inside the mason jar. Hopefully, the lid you have will now go over the net cup edge and hold secure everything we are about to accomplish in the following steps.
On the back of the Mason Jar, I made a small line with a marker to mark where your water line should be. This will be your fill line when you add the hydroponic water to your plants. Always make sure you do not pour in more as this will force the roots to drown, creating root rot.
Hyrdoponic Water Prep
The water for your entire setup can all be made now to be used later. Use spring water or use the fish tap water prep as directed. If possible, allow to set out overnight before you pour the water into your mason jar. This will allow any chlorine to evaporate before you add the water into the jar. Also, add your Thine S, once again, as directed.
Setup Air Pump and Air Hoses
Choose a nice place in your place to set these up. Depending on the plants you have chosen, you do not need direct sunlight, but pick an area in your home that gets some indirect sunlight.
Plan and Connect Your Plumbing
Plan where all your air hoses are going to be. Plugin your air pump and ensure all of your measurements are correct, or at least close enough. Starting at your air pump, layout and connect all of your air hoses, valves, and check valves up to your mason jar. Feed-in your air hoses into the mason jar and connect your air bubbler. Give enough air hose to where your air stone is near the very bottom of your jar.
Add Your Soil, Pebbles, and Water
Add one inch of soil into your jar. Add one inch of pebbles to your jar. Using a spool or something else that can divert the water from disturbing your base, pour your treated water into the jar. Only fill to the line we created back a few steps or to the bottom of your net pot. When all is said and done, you want to leave an air gap between your net pot and water level.
Let the Setup Take Hold
You should wait two weeks for your new jar setups to stabilize and begin creating algae. Once you start to see the algae begging to form, you can add all of your fish.
Now Add Your Fish
See Jar and Fish Selection: Grow Hydroponic Plants in Your Kitchen
Enjoy!
