Small Apartment - Need Hydroponic System

11 years ago

I am currently living in a small 2-bedroom apartment with my girlfriend and one other roommate. We all love fresh greens (namely spinach) and would love to integrate a hydroponic system into our apartment to hopefully supply us with some herbs and veggies.

I have about a 2x2 area cleared out for this project, and it's right next to a really sunny window (facing west). I was wondering if anyone had advice as to what kind of system I should look at to get the most bang for my buck. I am kind of partial to the idea of a drip system since it seems more extensible (e.g., I could add another layer on top of the first layer if I had to or wanted to.

Anyway, I'm open to just about any suggestions. Something less than $100 would be great, as otherwise it seems like a more reasonable solution to just purchase something from Amazon or the like.

Cheers,

Jonathan

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Comments (5)

safwat zaki
11 years ago
Any commercial Hydroponics module will cost more than $100.00, the best bet is to DIY if you are a handy person. I would search online under self-watering planters and start from there. You can also email me at safwatzaki@yahoo.com to send you a practical link to grow veggies and herbs in small spaces and at your balcony or windowsill.
GPA O' Sullivan
11 years ago
Hi Jonathan,

Having a herb garden or an indoor window box is a great and rewarding idea and project - especially during winter months. Looks like you have a good area in that it has plenty of natural light.

You can get plenty of indoor vegetable growing kits on amazon or as you say the now popular hydroponic system - check out link below on an insight to indoor gardening

Insight to indoor gardening

Good luck with it and enjoy it - post some pix once done.

GPA
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PRO
None
10 years ago
4x 2' sun blaster t5ho lights

1 x Rubbermaid tub

4 x net pots

=

4 decent sized herb plants for under $100

if you liked it and it worked well for you, you could stack another layer of the same items ontop a shelf above that setup, doubling your gardens size to 4 x 2
ricksindoorgarden
10 years ago
a 2 x 2 space will give you room for maybe 8 plants in a 2 dimensional layout. Think vertical, 4 towers (made from PVC, as in inexpensive) will allow for 3 times the plant space to maximize the available sunlight. Don Porta has a great you tube video to make towers yourself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCwjrnjdzDs
chuckwagon009
10 years ago
On a budget it is hard to beat dwc. If you look at my setup you could get 4-5 gal buckets per lvl. I would go with 2 determinate/dwarf tomatoes, 2 peppers on bottom and do 4 spinach, lettuce, herbs (beside mint or rosemary that tend To overtake)per bucket on the upper shelf.

Lighting is up to you but cheap and easy DIY cfl setups are very effective and super simple to setup.

Check with your local delis and might luck out and get their old pickle buckets free, this gives you the ability to adjust ph/ppm separate for each plants needs. Craigslist is a great resource for finding fish tank air pumps and stones dirt cheap. That brings it down to nutrients and media. Totally up to you on those choices, if you have a local hydroponics store i recommend General Hydroponics products, im having the best success with them out of the big top 3. Hydroton is also my prefered choice for medium, just make sure to clean, then soak in a Ph pre adjusted water at least overnight.