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There are tons of very good articles that describe various systems and even pdf files how to build them. Specific questions are much easier to answer.

Mike

Mike,

Yes..I tried that, and there are quite number. I actually found one that made it very easy to understand some of the basic principals,its called hydroponics-simplified.com (found it through the Garden Bazar)

If you're looking to hydroponics as a hedge against buying vegetables at the market (i.e. saving money), forget it.

If you are going to grow commercially, it's a horse of a different color, but if it's just for yourself, in your own home, go to the market. This is a great HOBBY and as such is certainly no less expensive than say, golf, but there are lots of costs that you don't see until you're well into it.

Of course, there are other benefits. One of the best benefits of growing at home is that you can grow varieties that you can't get at the store. You can let fruits like tomatoes and peppers ripen on the plant perfectly, too. As opposed to being picked too early so they last for shipping. Nothing from the store will taste like your home grown ripened sweet bells. Grizzman mentions a source of nutrients from Southern Ag that can greatly reduce the cost of growing at home compared to buying from a local hydro store.

I find peppers to be easiest. Cayennes are less particular than bells, but bells (for my family) are the more practical option. I'm the only one that eats cayennes and one plant will grow way more than I can eat.

I don't like indoor tomatoes. If you have sun as an option for lighting, try a bush tomato variety. Cherry tomatoes are great for a simple hydro set-up.

I recommend a stand alone water farm set-up. You can use a 5 gallon bucket with a very big net cup (can't recall the diameter at the moment and am too lazy to go measure) and a water farm kit from GH run by a small air pump. It's very easy. Peppers do great in these systems. Not good for plants that get tall. I use them for very tall tomatoes, but the hassle isn't worth it. I'm going to switch to another system for the tomatoes next year.

One cayenne pepper plant would yield enough in one year to last me ten...but I do like the banana pepper, and of course there is always the option of dehydrating. And many of friends are so called chilli heads, who I am sure would love any over-production.

I wonder more about growing those heirloom tomato strains and so called speciality tomatoes (usually hybreds). There is a vast choice of possible air/light growing plants.

I also wonder if you can start certin plants (from seed) in a hydroponic manner and then transplant them to either container or ground. Hydroponics seems to promote a good root system, and strong healthy plants. It's another avenue to explore.

Then of course there are things like salads, herbs, that would probably do well in hydroponic set ups.The grow fast which is a plus, and don't need an extensive rooting area to thrive.

I grow heirloom tomatoes and peppers without any difficulty.

And if you commit to a large quantity of nutrient the price is very inexpensive and feasible for a home garden, as joe eluded to above. For starters though, I would just buy a set of general hydroponics flora series nutrients. They're expensive on a large scale, but for just a few plants for one or two seasons, they're good and not too much money out of pocket.

The easiest system to get your feet wet is a bubbler in a 5 gallon bucket more frequently known as deep water culture (DWC). I would suggest you try your hand at tomatoes and peppers first and then expand from there.if you grow tomatoes in a bucket, please be sure to include some kind of drain at the bottom. once the plants get very large, it's near impossible to lift the lid off without damaging the stem and thus you won't be able to drain and change the solution. Also, do a search on this site about supercropping. this will help keep tomatoes compact.Here is a link to a hydrid DWC/aero system I built. I'm not suggesting you build this system (though is works very well) but it does show how to put an inexpensive drain on a 5 gallon bucket.

If you decide to stick with hydro and want a more elaborate system, I think ebb and flow (EnF) is the way to go. I am currently running that and one pump can water about 20 plants without any difficulty. Since the pump runs continuously, you don't have to deal with timers. The only caveat is if the pump fails, you don't have a lot of time to salvage your plants. I check my plants 3X a day (morning, lunch, dinner) and so far so good.

In the previous post I said Ebb n flow was the way to go. That is incorrect (though it has its place) what I mean was nutrient film technique(NFT)is the way to go. That is also what I described after making that staement. sorry for the misdirection.

grizzman,

Thank you for the link, the DWC montage looks very easy to do, and I will certainly try it. I will use your specs to start ( not knowing what I am doing requires me to start with information gleaned from those who do). I am quite amazed how extensive the information is concerning the various techniques use in this form of culture. Start small and go from there. Since I love tomatoes..I will probably start with that. I will also inform myself about the NTF systems (information gathering is nevver a lost cuase, even if not used in the immediate)