You know it put such a smile on my face to see this. No really. You come on here an look for answers an....really. All you have to do is look at the years people have come on here and left. What's the track record of people actually learning. All you wind up doing is buying an Easy Bake Oven for adults they call hydroponics. Only you get to make messes your great grand kids can't clean up. But it does get you able to grow something. I mean you won't know a dam thing about growing plants. How do you tell some one about seeing your first seeds start to sprout. After 40 plus years I still like seeing a seed tray germinating. But again your looking for knowledge about growing plants.....or...as I said there's many Easy Bake Ovens around.

But sorry seem to using that word a lot. Hydroponics is simply setting the root system of a plant into water containing the N-P-K mined nutrient with a ph that force feeds the using the ph to over come the osmosis barrier. The plants are blown up like a balloon. Looks really nice but you really get little in the way of nutrient value in the plant. But to get that little bit into the plant you have to have a high nutrient soup. But the plant only needs different nutrients at different times of development. So to get that continued growth you have to change that soup every week. EVERYWEEK!!!! An yes there are those here who can help you to learn how to make that nutrient soup last maybe a month. But ( I know) every week you delay dumping that soup it becomes 10x more toxic. you get to the point where your dumping an unknown N-P-K with and acid ph down the drain. An hey your not done yet. You still have to flush the whole system thru and flush that as well. That's hydroponics. It's not new it as constructed on island during WW2 for vegetables. On a desert island who cared what you dumped. Now tho we're faced with millions who are using these Easy Bakes but find their not enough for anything but a monthly leaf on a sandwich. It's an old tried and true method only they didn't go far back enough.

Wow, thank you.. I felt like i was reading a poem xd But seriously this gave me some insight but your words of wisdom were still a little complex for my understanding.

Which words, sentence or paragraph. This is a learning experience for me as well.

Hi Harry, I would take everything George posted with a big pinch of salt. Which is the polite way of saying most of it is BS :)

Harry, if you want to do hydroponics, you might want to take hydroponics advice from someone that likes and does hydroponics.. George is a strong opponent of hydroponics. They are into other methods if you are curious about those.

It's a bit like taking organic gardening advice from someone that decries compost and uses synthetic chemicals. Or lawn advice from someone that hates lawns and likes other gardening instead.

Oh, children really. No remarks for Harry just snide remarks about me. That's why there's so few "members" in this forum. Where are the words of help for Harry? These ego club house Easy Bake experts want to what ...? What are you learning? Ha, ha where in either thread do they say what I do isn't Hydroponics. I grow in water without any soil. It's right there at the top of the board we all sign on to. Just look at the threads that have my name. There's simple instructions for children as well as adults. Ask what instructions have they given you. What lessons are they teaching? What knowledge in those words above have they taught you? Oh, and by the way, I use bacteria to feed my plants, it even works on lawns.

An just for measure your right. I'm a strong opponent of you form of hydroponics.

I dont see why you felt the need to reply to Harry when you have nothing constructive to offer him. It seems you will jump at any opportunity to peddle your bias views and misinformation.

What is this fox news? But since I feel a need for a tickle....ask any plant person around here and they'll tell you George kills a lot of plants. It's a brag of mine. I have nearly 40yrs of practice. What's interesting tho plants started to live. That's the thing Harry. You'll learn, things start to live. Me, tho I wanted to just keep killing them. (always with good intentions tho). Because basically growing plants is what this is about.

In Nature a tree sits in one spot. It can't move. Yet it manages to thrive year after year with no intervention from us. That the idea I'm peddling. Simply copy Nature. The plant feeds the bacteria, the bacteria feeds the plant. It works. What their pissed about is that my methods don't produce waste water. You just refill. No water dumping ever. No flushing (well nearly ever). In fact I have a website that has thirty years of plants, information and pictures that free. But it might be spam to mention it. Even here under Climate change I show you how to make the first type of inserts and containers you make yourself. Nothing to buy, nothing to send for. Try it, no one will ever know.

thanks for the help lads I don't think ill do hydroponics, too much work for me anyways.

And that's why people vanish from this website.

Yes George, you do a fine job discouraging hydroponics in the hydroponics section.

Hey, Harry are you lurking about. Spring is a good time for new growth. I'm showing something that can be learned in an hour. An hour after that you will planting any thing you want, any size plant you want. No need to learn squat. It's just simple Arts & Crafts.

You can do it with anything- anywhere, didn't change the soup once!!!

Hydroponics are so easy and enjoyable or maybe satisfying is a better description. They can be managed just about anywhere regardless of space, terrain type or budget. My mind has an auto delete for non sense, so I have no response for what I don't see. Hard to argue with video evidence.

Let me get this straight. You jump on a thread titled Hydroponics is confusing and offer no help to end that confusion, give no examples of your easy and enjoyable moments. Just scratches on a computer screen. Demanding answers and proof but never give any. I'm still waiting for the tomato guy to tell me when he can get started. But this is Harry's thread so let's move to another.

Okay, I'll bite...How to get started in as few words as many dollars. One of the many great things about starting this hobby is about 95% are one time expenses.

Two main tasks to be achieved in many different ways. I'll call them plastics and electronics.

Plastics are what ever you choose to pot your plants in and the reservoir. For example, you can pot your plants in PVC pipes or a 25 gallon trash bin where the bottom is the reservoir and the top where you pot your plants. An old cooler can be used similarly.

The electronics are you pump and an infinite cycle timer to control the pump.

Here's a way anyone can get started with the plastics from any home center for around 60$

I'm in the USA.

28qtr storage bins, about 6inches high by about 2x3 feet and 1- 28 gallon tote for reservoir. 15$

10 feet of 4inch PVC drainage $14

2 4inch PVC caps for the pipe 5$

10 feet of 2inch PVC 7$

2" hole saw $5

10L bag of hydroton 13$

From the 2" PVC pipe, cut 24 pieces 5 inches long, use a grinder or sniper to clear small bits of one end of the 5inch sections so that they do not sit flush when resting in the 4" pipe.

Drill 12 evenly spaced 2" holes along the 4" pipe after you have placed the caps on the ends.

Drill 24 evenly spaced 2" holes in the lid of the 28qrt container, fill it half way with hydroton place the lid on it and insert the 5" long sections which should now be supported up right through the holes in the lid. Use pieces of paper towel to line the top of the hydroton inside the 5" sections and top it with either starter or potting soil. Drill a single hole on the bottom of this container to insert your hose. Rest this container on top of the 28 gallon container which is your reservoir.

Now, with your pump connected to your timer, check to see how long it needs to run to fill the container half way, and that becomes your run time, when off the the nutrient solution will return to the reservoir creating an artificial heart and lungs as it expels air from the root chamber every time which is replaced by fresh oxygenated air when the nutrients are returned to the reservoir by gravity. Most pumps you can do around 1 to 2 minutes per hour to 50 or 40 minute cycles. After a month or two, you can move the ones that are ready to the 4" pipe. It helps if you have two timers and pumps so you can keep stuff going in smaller one while moving the more mature ones to the 4" pipe.

I'm sure I probably skipped some stuff, but you get the idea.

Btw, I like starting them this way because a duplicate 28qrt clear container can be used as a lid which acts like a green house resulting in a pretty good germination rate as well as making them easier to manage as they will need to be top watered for a week or so after germinating till the roots reach the hydroton. You can probably get away with going straight to the 4" pipe once you get comfortable with germinating this way and knowing when to start the pump.

Full disclosure, I am in the final stages of producing a timer combined with a solar charge controller so this can be set up anywhere just about. It also has a 12V power booster built into the circuit so it only needs a single 3.7v battery to work the 12V motor...pretty niffty if I do say so my self.

They drink enough that a fresh five gallon bucket of solution once or twice a week balances out the pH where you don't need mess with completely swapping out the nutrient solution, if you do swap out completely on occasion, use the old solution to water your soil garden, you'll be amazed at the results.