Your garden tower inspired me. I'm thinking of using a similar system, but true Kratky with no power. Have the 5 holes on the side at the top with no lower holes, fill up the bucket with nutrients, and then stack them on top of each other. No nutrients flow from one bucket to the other, each is in isolation. It should be easy to fill them up and clean them up instead of many smaller bottles.

I love the milk jar idea it’s great. It really works with a lot of small spaces . I would love a video that shows step-by-step on how to set it up and how to maintain it.

Vertical systems are hot right now, especially with limited space for many growers. I like this one better than the bucket tower. Great work Mike!

Love this! I prefer systems that use no power, so this is great!

Mike! Been watching you for a long time. You’re the real deal. We’ve learned so much from you! Keep it up! Set it and forget it for sure!

Just doing mason jar kratky so far this winter. So far so good. Thanks 👍🏼

I love it! Am going to experiment with this method! Thank you!

Still doing old fashioned rain gutters. I found a hard sided cooler i might convert that to a grow tank. Dollar tree has a few planting pots that look like they hold a gallon or two. I might buy some Styrofoam to make a cover for a single plant grow like a head cabbage. I get a jug every month or so from my neighbors recycle bin. I used some soda bottles and water bottles to grow some extra lettuce seedlings. Having a small salad every other night. Anything that can hold water is an opportunity to grow.

I have some pvc pipe lying around from a previous project. I plan to use that.. for the jugs, i am checking out what dollar tree has that i can substitute..also checking out your master blend. thank you for your very informative videos.

This is just what i was looking for! Thabks for this

Love systems like this and that use no power. Those look like awesome jugs. Unfortunately, my milk jugs are not good plastic and deteriorate quickly in the sun. Having good trash is a great asset!

Great Idea just a couple questions. Could you grow 2 plants in a half-gal container or not big enough for roots? Do you fill the nutrients all the way to the very top? As the plant grows what percent of the roots need to be in the nutrients?

I'm wondering if the type of plants that you've grown in the pipe ladder has anything to do with how it grew vs the garden tower. It would be interesting to see which veggies can grow as easily as the bok choy in the ladder grower. Good video.

❤ all your videos

making a stand to hold your 3x4 inch rails , multi layer to use in small porches could be helpful

Hi. Always educational and enjoyable. If possible to post a schematic of the ladder system with components' description.

Holy Cow!! Just found you and I'm hooked. You have so many fabulous video's! I wanted to grow a hydroponic garden for a long time but it was always cost prohibitive. I've grown plants in dirt in buckets but not hydroponics. One quick question, to one who is contemplating hydroponic gardening, and don't laugh, but I have NO idea how to get the seed started as a hydroponic plant.. Please tell me so I can raid my bucket stash and get started in the garage...Thanks for all your video's

In the case of the tower, we could just put the Kratky buckets whit lateral holes stacked. It would be less holes per bucket, but it would still be worth it. Thanks for the video!

Love it

Mike is one cool cat!

love it.

I Just found this Channel. I like the set it and forget it. I want to grow.

Love that rack. I've been working on an idea to do the same thing except with the ability to hang one jug at a time. I realize it will be more expensive, but for some people a 35-40 pound length of jugs can be hard to lift. I've been kicking this idea around. Anyone else ever put any thought into doing kratky this way? I grow Kratky all winter and do an outdoor garden in summer. I have grown a little bit of Kratky outside, and a system like this would be ideal for some areas of the outdoor garden. I'll probably start with a system like this outside, but I'm working on ideas for a similar system I can use inside that only involves lifting 7 or 8 pounds or less. I want my wife to be able to lift the nutrient reservoir jugs. Tomorrow is never guaranteed!

I like both but I want a system that does not depend on electricity. My hubby and I plan to experiment with tote and aquarium pumps this spring outside. I had brought my few downspouts inside, but I ended up with a huge fungus gnat problem. I ditched all of them to eliminate the problem. I am going to try again, hopefully once the gnat problem is eliminated in the house I can be successful.

How did you grow plants with milk jugs on this video?

Would the 3 bucket tower system, with a pump, work if I use solar power & the pump runs when the sun is out? (We are in California & get no rain in summer).

New subscriber now that you've freed me from plugs and pebbles. Have you ever tried germinating the seeds in the hockey pucks directly? TANSTAAFL when it comes to electricity. My immediate reaction for the tower was to suggest that you put it on a timer. I doubt you need to have the pump running all the time. The wet pool noodle slices and the inside humidity give you a buffer. Try running it like an ebb and flow system. I have a water feature in my yard and I don't want to run it when I'm not home. Who wants to run a 1/3 HP motor 24/7? I use a cool gadget from VeSync that is programmable thru wifi. I have it set to run for 30 minutes every 12 hrs to keep the system from getting clogged. You can even set it to turn on at sunset. I can turn the pump on or off manually using my cell phone via Wi-Fi. The VeSync timer costs about $13 or you could use a good old-fashioned analog timer. Having done hydroponics since 2008 I have a whole drawer full of those for indoor lights and ebb & flow and you probably have a few lying around. That doesn't address the power failure issue though. You'll need some kind of battery backup. I have led lights and a 3 foot fountain that have solar power. The panels charge batteries. Most systems I've seen use a small panel and a couple of rechargeable AA batteries because they're driving low loads. My leds typically dwindle down after a few hours with 3-5 led lights per panel. I doubt you'd be happy with the lift and duration. You could go off into the weeds with a battery backup with or without solar power but that would be relatively expensive given the initial investment and the goal of the project. Solar is also dependent on sunshine. I have a 1500W battery and two solar panels. It can run my TV and speakers for about 10 hrs and also charge phones and batteries. However, it can take 8 hours or more to recharge with solar panels. If we get several consecutive days of clouds I have to put the TV back on house current or recharge the battery from house current. Looks like Kratky using the jugs and rack is the way to go for what you're growing.

Hi, New here. I think I figured out he used Almond milk jugs. Can you use amber glass jugs for this ?

Love the no power needed

Have you ever tried a solar pump? That way you wouldn't need to turn it on and off. Maybe check every now and then about the roots not clogging it.

Is the 5 gal bucket pump free? How high do we put the nutrients in the container? I've never tried hydroponics

HOW DO YOU START YOUR PLANTS. ? I JUST STARTED WATCHING.

So put the nutrient water to the top once and no need to refill the nutrients after that? Awesome content btw.. 🌷

Are there plans on how to make your metal tower?

Doing some research and the local produce stand said the owner would surely like to buy microgreens but by law it has to be from a business, not just some person in their house. What I didn't find out yet is if it is sufficient to be registered as a business or are there going to be requirements on where the product is grown, i.e. not in a residence. Do you have any knowledge of this subject? I am in FL, thanks.

I live in Utah, so I would have to do things in the winter indoors. If I have space indoors, would this work? Can I grow things that I think normally need to grow down? IE potatoes, carrots, Onion, garlic?

Does the water get stagnant without the air flow or a pump? Does bacteria get in there? How often do you have to change the water? I would like to start one but my husband is skeptical about the water conditions and safety without air flow.

Like it but - everything I do MUST Abe indoors!

wHERE DID YOU GET THE MILK JUGS? GOING TO GET THE MASTER BLEND.

do start them as seedlngs slips or do you start them as seeds

Thanks!

do you grow anything other than leafy greens?

Do you fill the milk jugs with water all the way to the top?