5-Gallon Kratky Buckets

[maskedsonnet]

Finally decided to put my 5-Gallon buckets to work!

Using AG nutrients  - going off the Getting Started Kratky thread, planning to use 5 mL per gallon. I've only had very limited experience with Kratky, but I'm looking forward to trying more!

Doing (left to right) 1 bucket of Red Velvet Tomatoes, 1 bucket of Easy Pick Gold Zucchini, and 1 bucket of Mini Munch Cucumber. Doing the cucumber and tomato as follow-up experiments to successfully growing both in AG, and the zucchini as a side-by-side experiment with the Cavili Zucchini experiment I'm doing in my farm. We shall see how it goes, as I am very much a newbie to Kratky!!

[airscapes]

I do not understand how you will grow a tomato with only 5 gallons of water and one small feeding.. Will be interesting to see how far it will go.

[campingcorgis]

Good for you and exciting projects to watch!  And learn!  I'll be keeping my eye on these!  

[maskedsonnet]

Jan 25, 2022 20:17:40 GMT -5 airscapes said:

I do not understand how you will grow a tomato with only 5 gallons of water and one small feeding.. Will be interesting to see how far it will go.

I plan to re-fill and re-feed as necessary. Not the traditional Kratky method, but doable so long as I don't refill too much and drown the plant

[ERR0R1755]

Congrats! I haven't tried any Kratky projects larger than a gallon, I will be interested to see how this goes.

[Shawn]

WTG!  I look forward this watching

[airscapes]

Have you cut holes in the lid for refill?  Could not tell from picture?  I think I used a 2.5" hole saw and made a rubber plug for the hole, but duct tape would work just fine for the cover.  You don't want the refill hole too much larger as the lids will become very unstable with that much plastic removed (to support the weight of the plant)
Good luck!

[maskedsonnet]

I was just going to lift the lid up to refill, so I could see the water level a little better. I don't have the lids pressed all the way down because last time I did that I nearly didn't get the dang thing back off the bucket lol

[maskedsonnet]

The cucumber is up, just pulled the seed cap off the leaves!

[lynnee]

Jan 26, 2022 23:59:38 GMT -5 maskedsonnet said:

I was just going to lift the lid up to refill, so I could see the water level a little better. I don't have the lids pressed all the way down because last time I did that I nearly didn't get the dang thing back off the bucket lol

That's MY trick!

[lynnee]

Jan 29, 2022 20:43:56 GMT -5 maskedsonnet said:

The cucumber is up, just pulled the seed cap off the leaves!

I'm dying to see how the cucumber does, and how you handle the supports.

[maskedsonnet]

All three buckets are up!

The tomato actually had two plants come up, but waiting until they're a bit bigger before I thin down to one:

Zucchini:

Cucumber:

[Sher]

I will enjoy following this, maskedsonnet.

I have a huge closet that I hope to eventually turn into a Kratky garden.

[maskedsonnet]

Plants are all getting bigger!! Thinned the tomato down to one plant

[airscapes]

I realize this method of growing is popular due to it's off-grid no power required, but since lights are being used, why not add an air stone and make it interesting.  Maybe add the bubbles to just 2 of the the buckets to see how much difference it makes?

I now have 3 pumps.  The expensive one Mike uses and 2 of these  They really are very very quiet.  You would also need a couple of air stones and black hose.  2-3" stones would probably be fine, I use 4" with the more powerful GH pump in the bucket system


Tetra Whisper 60-100 gallon air pump
Hose

[maskedsonnet]

I figured the popularity came from being an easy way to grow food with no special equipment, just a grow light and whatever container you have around the house - the off-grid thing never really occurred to me tbh. I was just looking for cheap methods that work well indoors, non-dependent on the weather, and not necessarily something that would do well off-grid. If I already had air stones and pumps I might add them to the experiment, but I don't really want to buy something I may never use again. I know I'll always have a use for grow lights, seeds, and buckets, but pumps and air stones not so much.

[airscapes]

Feb 8, 2022 19:33:51 GMT -5 maskedsonnet said:

I figured the popularity came from being an easy way to grow food with no special equipment, just a grow light and whatever container you have around the house - the off-grid thing never really occurred to me tbh. I was just looking for cheap methods that work well indoors, non-dependent on the weather, and not necessarily something that would do well off-grid. If I already had air stones and pumps I might add them to the experiment, but I don't really want to buy something I may never use again. I know I'll always have a use for grow lights, seeds, and buckets, but pumps and air stones not so much.

No worries!  Just thought I would mention it to speed things along!  For sure if you have a pump, use it, it will help a lot! 

[lynnee]

airscapes, I have a pump and airstones (purchased ages ago from AG), but haven't ever understood how to use them. AG discontinued the model that used them before I ever got an AG.

Do you just put the airstones into a water container, connect the tubing to the pump, and plug it in?

[ERR0R1755]

Feb 8, 2022 23:36:27 GMT -5 lynnee said:

I have a pump and airstones (purchased ages ago from AG), but haven't ever understood how to use them. AG discontinued the model that used them before I ever got an AG.

Do you just put the airstones into a water container, connect the tubing to the pump, and plug it in?

This isn't my diagram, but here is how you set up the pump and airstone:

(airstones vary in shape and size, but as long as it is at the bottom and creating a good amount of air bubbles, you're good to go)

You can even add a pump and airstone to an AeroGarden through the port normally used for the Aerovoir, which is how I got roots like this (and I even removed the normal water pump so it was just the airstone):

[lynnee]

ERR0R1755 , am I reading the diagram correctly, that the tops of the root balls are above the water?