Homemade hydroponics setups are not just for growing marijuana and other illicit drugs. People are attracted to the hobby of hydroponics for a variety of reasons. Some people live in apartments and do not have a dedicated outdoor growing space. Others reside in harsh climates with short growing seasons—or just want to be able to grow their gardens year-round. Still others are attracted to the scientific experimentation of hydroponics—mixing and optimizing your own homemade hydroponics solutions takes a lot of effort, but yields great rewards. Some people are attracted to hydroponics because of the nutritional value of the organic plants, which avoids toxins that might be present in backyard or commercial soil.

Types of Hydroponics Setups That Can Be Homemade

There are three basic types of hydroponic setups: drip, air pump, and ebb and flow. Each of these methods can be used to grow virtually any plant by anyone from beginners to advanced hobbyists. In addition to the three basic types of homemade hydroponics setups, more advanced methods include aeroponics and the nutrient film technique.

The most basic type of homemade hydroponic setups is the air pump, or bubble bucket system. Bubble buckets are a homemade hydroponics setup that uses a static nutrient solution to grow plants. The key part of this basic system is its use of an air pump, which aerates the water and consequently helps the nutrients bond with root hairs. The nutrient solution needs to be changed at a minimum of once a week, in order to maintain the correct balance of nutrients for optimal growth.

Drip feed systems, also known as trickle feeds, are a homemade hydroponics setup that can be made by drilling holes in PVC pipe. This is a bit more advanced, but improves on the design of the air pump system, and can be used with various setups. In this design, a tube pipes the nutrient solution to each plant individually, and then leftover solution drips down into the reservoir for reuse.

Ebb and flow systems are a bit more expensive, and while they are more complicated to build initially (unless you buy expensive, pre-fabricated kits), they require relatively little maintenance and grow very nice plants. Similar to the air pump system, this homemade hydroponics setup uses a reservoir filled with a nutrient solution, which is kept below the pump roots. Periodically, a pump on a timer draws the solution to the plants roots. As the solution is withdrawn from the roots, oxygen-laden air is sucked into place, providing needed oxygen to the plant roots

At one time or another, most dedicated hobbyists use all three of these methods in their homemade hydroponics setup. In order to get the most of your hydroponics addiction, try all three setups for maximum enjoyment.