Thank you Marie! This system doesn't require any electricity, and you can grow in the winter with this sitting in a sunny window. Have a wonderful day😆

Thank you for your kind comment😀 this is really a great way for hydroponics. You can use almost any type of container that can block light and hold fluid. I had an old fish tank that I used and made a top, for the cups to rest in, with the side of an old Styrofoam ice chest😀 have wonderful day!

You are very welcome!

You are very welcome! The water level is the most important so you have that little bit of air space! Enjoy your growing!!!😀 thank you 💗

Thank you Sylvia! These are my favorite size. I move them all over the place! Have a wonderful week😀

You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by😀

You are a sweetheart💗 have a wonderful day😀

That is a great way to do it! I only have cold water access in my greenhouse. It would be nice one-day to have hot water! Have a wonderful week and thank you for the comment😀

If you set up a cover to keep the rain off that works the best. I have my outside Kratky with my covered strawberry hanging garden. So they do not get wet from the rain. Years ago when I did it on the large scale 4×4 foot I built a hoop cover with pvc and greenhouse plastic to keep the rain off. That was a really cool set up and I was growing full size cabbage too. But then I had all my kids at home and we ate a lot! Have a great week and thank for watching!😀

Hi David, are you using hydroponic fertilizer? I use the masterblend and add the cal mag and eps. I mix the master blend first then add the cal mag then the eps last, mixing between additions until each is disolved. I use tap water, our ph is neutral, and I don't bother with messing with the ph anymore. My formula stays clear the entire time. All my dutch buckets have been wrapped in panda film (black on one side and white on the other) to keep algea from growing. My Kratky bins are dark colored also. 😀 try mixing each of the componets in warm water then adding them in order one at a time while mixing. Other than those things the only thing possible might be your water has a high mineral content.

Hi Mike! It depends on the year. Sometimes there is no getting around aphids and they attack everything. Most of the time I don't notice too many. But then I don't kill many insects and I have a lot of friendlies eating the aphids. Love these little buckets for a quick harvest😀 have a wonderful week!!

Hello😀 any hydroponic nutrients will work. They make organic hydro nutrients also. Just make sure that there are micro/trace nutrients in the mix and you will be fine! Have a great day!!

Thanks God bless you amen

I do not use an oxygen stone. The roots grow down and use up the nutrient solution, which will keep an air gap. The air gap will make the plant have air roots ( part of the roots will be in the nutrients and the rest of the roots will be out of the nutrients.) I will only fill the container back 1/2 way and no more to protect the air roots that the plant produced😀. I hope I understood spanish😀

@@pacificnorthwestgardener3511 ok muchas gracias y espero q la pases muy bien

Pacific Northwest Gardener i9

If you are in the states Home Depot still stock them. They are gray now in color. The little totes work well for a few lettuce or pak choi. Thank for watching and the sub😀 have a wonderful day!

Pacific Northwest Gardener thank you! I have a Home Depot near me, I’ll look for it and I’m sure I’ll come home with many other things I didn’t have on my list! 😂 Happy Spring to you.💝

Good luck! I love the clearance sections, our HD adds new clearance on Tuesdays😁 have fun shopping!

Walmart

There's no way those are manufactured for food safety. Not only could the plastic be leaking parabens, the dyes used for non food grade plastic can be toxic when consumed. You should be using food grade plastic meant to be used for long term liquid storage, or lining them with food grade liner.

Hello Amelita. For greens you need at least 4-6 hours of sunlight for a basic grow. I have some in my greenhouse right now that I'm doing an update vlog for. They have not been in direct sunlight but are in a bright location and they are ready to start harvesting. The best thing is to make sure the rain can not flood the Kratky bins if you are going to do an outside grow. 😀 have a wonderful day!!

Hello Lorraine and thank you for the question. I have not found any misquitos in the hydro. I leave no holes open for them to get to the water and also the liquid fertilizer might deter them. We have a lot of misquitos here and any open water they will take advantage of. Hope that helped😀 have a wonderful day!

Hi Barbara. You will need to check the level as the plants get larger. I let the level go down 1/2 way then keep it at that level until I harvest. That leaves a good space for air roots. Search farm supplies in your area. You are looking for horticultural size or exta large. I use both. We have Stubers farm supply up north. Have a great day😁

Pacific Northwest Gardener some questions: how do you tell the water level is half way, how do you add water w/o damaging roots, do you add the same nutrient mix or just water? Thanks!

This method was named after Bernard Kratky. He first published the method of floating rafts in 2009. The article was published the the journal Actae Horticulture. Started in the net cups the plant keeps an air gap between itself and the hydroponic solution. Thus creating air roots so the plant can grow without airstones or electricity. If this system has been used somewhere else earlier way cool but I only know it by this name😀 hope that made sense! Have a great weekend😀

I keep my containers filled at the half full mark as soon as the plants consume their nutrients down to that level. I mix my nutrients in a 5 gallon bucket and fill the amount required per container since each type of plant drinks different amounts and I have more than one container. When I harvest the entire container I will use the left over nutrients on my container or raised bed plants. 😀

Pacific Northwest Gardener hey tks for your reply, but I’m still not clear. When you say you mix in a 5 gal bucket, do you mean your mix rate is for 5 gal so the mix you add has same proportions of fertilizer as is in the tub?

@@olegig5166 I mix the nutrients for 5 gallons. If you only need 1 gallon you would make the nutrients for one gallon. As per directions to the hydroponic nutrients that you use 😀. I hope that makes sense. Due to the fact that hydroponic nutrients are different all over the world I haven't made a vlog about the mix ratio that I use, so not to confuse people.😀

Pacific Northwest Gardener ok, so therefore if you draw 1 gallon from the 5 container, the 1 gal would have the same mix as if you initially mixed 1 gal?

@@olegig5166 yes. 👍👍😀😀

You can try planting a few seeds in soil and if the plant grows in the soil it will grow in hydro. I have grown indoors where my window only gets 3 hours in the winter but I have lights to supplement. Where these continers sit they get filtered sun all day. I use shade cloth that is rated 50 percent block and they grow fine. Experimenting is the best part of gardening! Have a great day!😀

The perlite is only a growing medium. There are other hydroponic growing mediums that you can use but I use the large horticultural grade. It's purpose is to hold your plant in place and the roots will grow through the perlite. You can use all sorts of different things but for me this is the least expensive and lightest material. Thanks for your question I hope this made sense😀

It aslo blocks out light, preventing algae growth.

@@pacificnorthwestgardener3511 I find that perlite isn't heavy enough and doesn't give enough support. Any strong wind would lift the plant straight out. Pea gravel is much better at keeping plants in place.

Hi Jill. The blue ones are 7 gal totes and the green ones are 10 gallon. I keep the fluid level at around 50 percent once the plants drink down and create their air roots. That's if I'm not doing quick crops. Have a great day!😁

Thanks Brady, think I get that from my father who grew up with parents from Arkansas and their parents from Kentucky and Alabama. I try and catch myself as much as possible😀 have a great day and have fun!

@@pacificnorthwestgardener3511 It's all good, i was just teasing. We all say things depending on where we were raised. But your gardening technique is awesome everywhere! I've looked at a lot of systems but you are the one I will copy. Thank you!

Or maybe a Minnesotan. My dad pronounced root the same way--drove me mad--he certainly wasn't a hillbilly!

@@celtglen hahaha dad was born in St. Paul😀 that is too funny. He also pronounced toilet like torelet. My sister still sez torelet! Have a great day😀

@@pacificnorthwestgardener3511When i first moved to California i had a gf who called rubber bands... elastics! I was like WHAT??? And she couldn't understand why i called sodas... pop! 😂

Yes I can. I have to make a couple more small bins today. I will add a short video to be up by Monday. Have a great day😁

You dont have to cut it. Just draw circles on it with a pencil and let it sit for a few hours. The acid in the lead of the pencil will burn the lines u drew. Now just pop the circles out.

A little bit of algae on the top of the perlite won't do any harm. It happens from the light hitting the nutrients on the perlite. You can cut small circles of dark cardboard or black plastic to cover each. I don't worry about it since the growth of algea never effects anything other than the very top and stops growing when the plant blocks the light as it fills the area. Thanks for watching and have a wonderful day😀

This is a number 4 plastic and is considered food safe. The numbers you want to look for are: 1,2,4, and 5. Have a great day😁

It's perlite. I get the largest I can find. Have a wonderful day!!😀

@@pacificnorthwestgardener3511 yes perlite is so good. Best wishes to u

I use sterilized red lava rock, also very cheap

Algae might happen if there is too much light getting through the container. You can mark the fluid level and carefully change the fluid making sure you do not flood the roots and drown the plants. You will have to do it quicky as not to dry the roots of the plants. I have only had that happen once and it was caused from excessive light from the top of the container. Hope this helps. Have a great day!😀

@@pacificnorthwestgardener3511 much thanks for reply

Shiva Maraj I use a black tub, although if clear tub another thing you can do is put a strip of painters tape downwards, the spray it black. After which remove the tape and you will actually have a water level mark!

@@howie6666 much thanks

My area is under cover. Only the sides are open. In this rainny area they would always be rain filled.

No air pump needed! The way the kratky system works is to have a space for air(around the roots) so the plant doesn't drown. Have a wondeeful day😀

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gNV2idxiz8ymfmg.html. Watch this video and use these ingredients. It does work well

Thank you for your comment. They were just fine when I put them back in. Have a wonderful day!!😀

Hahaha you should have to edit my pronunciation on all these hours of video I take and can't use. Sorry about the ruuet for roots. Since the car accident a few years ago some words sound a little off. Have a wonderful day 😀

It's not incorrect. It's a dialect.

I try not to let peoples pronunciation of words bother me. Tomatoe/tomawtoe. There are so many different languages we're just a mix. Have a great day.😀

@@stephaniemichelle9878 head injury dialect? She said he pronunciation is the result of a car accident.

Why does the pronunciation matter? You obviously understood her. If it bothers you so much, watch something else! The lady did a great job on the video.