2019-08-09T11:38:39+00:00

Build A Deep Water Culture (DWC) Hydroponic Garden in Less than an Hour

August 9, 2019October 23, 2022/Matthew Horgan, NYC/2 Comments

Ever have the urge to grow something green? Since most of us live in cities, access to space to grow plants is practically non-existent, and soils are often contaminated with heavy metals and other industrial pollutants. Despite these conditions, people are using creative hydroponic growing techniques that do not require soil or much space to grow nutrient-dense food in their homes.

Hydroponic systems are unique in that they do not use soil to grow plants. Instead, plants use nutrient-rich water (nutrient solution) and growing media (like coco coir, made from coconut husks) for nutrition & root support.

Recently, I created a container deep water culture hydroponic system by re-purposing an old storage container (10 gallons). In deep water culture (DWC) systems, plants sit directly in nutrient-rich water, and an air pump & air stone keeps the water from getting stagnant by blowing bubbles into the water.

It was super easy, and I’ve outlined the steps here so you can construct your own DWC hydroponic herb garden for your home today!

Step 1: Gather your materials (see links at end of the post):

-10-gallon storage tote (or bus box with lid),
-Drill,
-2″ hole saw drill attachment,
-Net pots (2″),
-Coco coir plugs,
-Dry nutrients part A and B for lettuce (also good for herbs),
-Digital EC meter & pH meter,
-Measuring spoon (1 teaspoon),
-Air pump,
-Air stone,
-Herb & lettuce seeds

Step 2: Drill holes into the lid of your storage tote.

5-8 plant sites fit well per 10-gallon container, this spacing will allow your plants to grow to full maturity. Lettuce takes 4-6 weeks to harvest, and cooking greens & herbs take 8-12 weeks.

@Hydroponics.NYC

Step 3: Fill the container nearly to the top with tap water & add dry nutrients.

A simple method for making nutrient solution is to take a quart-sized container and fill it nearly to the top with tap water (you can use the water that is already in your tote.) Then, mix a teaspoon of part A and a teaspoon of part B of the dry nutrients until all nutrients dissolve in the water. Add nutrient solution to your 10-gallon container and fill it with tap water until it is nearly full. Measure the electrical conductivity (EC) using the handheld digital reader.

You want the EC to measure 900-1300 ppm (1.5-2.5) to grow most herbs and lettuce, and you can add 1/4 of a teaspoon of each part A & B and then measure the EC again, repeat as necessary until you reach the desired EC level. After each harvest, check your EC and add nutrients & water when necessary to maintain the 900-1300 ppm (1.5-2.5) range.

*For cucumbers/peppers/tomatoes, desired EC range: 1500-2500 ppm (2.5-3.5).

Step 4: Installing the air pump and air stone

The air pump attaches to the air stone via a small plastic tube (usually provided). Place the air stone in the nutrient solution and the air pump at a higher elevation than the level of the water in your deep water culture system (to prevent a siphoning of water out of your system).

@matthew_gerard_

Step 5: Insert the net pots and coco coir cubes into the holes you cut for each plant site.

You want the bottom of the net pots to be submerged in the nutrient solution, then add a coco coir plug to each plant site.

Step 6: Plant your seeds & place them under a light source.
Now you are ready to plant your seeds in each plug (Ideally, 1 lettuce seed per site or 3 herb seeds per site)

*Be sure to place your system under sunlight or an artificial light source to ensure your plants can photosynthesize!

@matthew_gerard_

Suggestions:
-If it’s summer, consider placing your DWC hydroponic garden outside under direct sunlight, or if one of your windows gets a ton of sun, place it there.

-If you have space under a coffee table, consider using this lamp or installing these lights on the bottom of the table and placing your DWC hydroponic garden under there.

Links to Materials I used:

Storage tote or bus box with lid
Drill
2″-3″ hole saw drill attachment
Net pots (2″)
Coco coir plugs
Dry nutrients Part A and Part B for lettuce (works for herbs too)
- *If you are growing flowering plants, replace Part B with these BLOOM nutrients

IG accounts:
@Hydroponics.NYC
@Matthew_Gerard_

A Shirf Towards Ecological Agriculture

February 20, 2018February 21, 2018/Matthew Horgan, NYC/Leave a comment

The way we view the world is often a reflection of the paradigm of the day, that is the deepest set of beliefs and assumptions a culture has about any given topic at any moment in time. Needless to say, paradigms do shift over time to create the unique circumstance we see on a daily basis, and sometimes this happens rather quickly.

The new shift in thinking seems to be towards sustainable urban food production. Photo taken at AgTechX @matt_horgan

Paradigm shifts: Thinking in cycles not lines

One paradigm of today seems to be the perception of our lives as a series of linear processes. We seem to idolize cause and effect relationships whenever possible in daily life and tend to view most of our experiences through this narrow lens without analyzing the entire picture.

However, thinking of systems in terms of lines tends to be characteristically more predictable and simpler, while systems as cycles are naturally more complex.

Nature’s Cycle by Virginia Lee 2001

Shift towards interconnectedness

A personal shift in assumptions I experienced was while I was taking an ecological agriculture class during my time at SUNY Binghamton. My perception of self shifted from the individual, separate self to a more interconnected sense of identity.

Ecological Agriculture: Nature as model

Ecological agriculture is a term used to describe a type of farming that raised food without any chemical or synthetic fertilizers, to create an agricultural system that mimicked ecological systems that sustain in nature.

By: permacultureprinciples.com

The general trend in agriculture since 1950 has been towards large-scale industrial farms that use synthetic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers, but a recent surge in interest in local, organic produce by consumers is causing a paradigm shift in the way we consume and produce food.

Ecological agriculture can be seen in the increased interest in urban farming in recent years. By incorporating sustainable food systems into the built environment, we can improve food security in urban environments.

Sky Vegetables February 2018 By @matt_horgan

We can also use underutilized spaces, like basements, to produce food on land to support the health and to educate our local communities
An example of a hydroponic food system, and what my neighbor calls a “permaponic system”, is seen below (Top: after 6 weeks/Bottom: the before picture).

By @matt_horgan

The potential for ecological agriculture to foster a more harmonious coexistence between human beings and the earth, as well as the practical implications for food security and positive impact on local economies leads me to think that this will become ever more present in our city in the near future.

By @matt_horgan While walking to class at CUNY Brooklyn College, I saw this incredible urban food garden someone created on their front lawn 🙂

I look forward exploring ecological agriculture more on this blog in the future 🙂

Relaunch: New Blog Name “Sustain Everyone”

February 1, 2018July 12, 2020/Matthew Horgan, NYC/2 Comments

Hello there! I recently decided to change the name of this blog (Sustainable Future through Food) to Sustain Everyone with the intention to explore existing urban farming throughout NYC and to inspire people to become actively engaged in organic urban food production. I hope you will follow along with me on my journey as I discover the beauty of small-scale organic urban farming in New York City.

I’m an aspiring environmental writer, who was born and raised in Rockaway Beach, NYC and I’m passionate about finding a healthy way to live sustainably within the natural world. My studies in the environmental field brought me to Upstate New York, Texas, France, Vermont, and Costa Rica. During this time, I grew to see the potential for urban farms to increase people’s access to healthy and nutritious food within cities. More recently, I became fascinated by hydroponic systems and their ability to produce food quickly using no soil, little water, and marginal nutrient inputs. Urban agriculture is an ideal solution for the issue of food security in cities, which is why I see it as more crucial today.

Follow me on Instagram 🙂 @Matthew_Gerard_ @Hydroponics.NYC

Sustain Everyone

@SustainEveryone

Tag: urban

Build A Deep Water Culture (DWC) Hydroponic Garden in Less than an Hour