Design
A setup you can check, isolate, clean and repair without taking everything apart.
DWC, NFT, towers, aeroponics, growing media: what side-by-side trials show
Which hydroponic system grows best? Six university trials grew the same plant in several systems at once. Their results, why the winner changes with the crop, the nutrients and the criterion (yield, water, energy, space), and a calculator to compare the electricity use of your setup.
Wick systems: the simplest passive hydroponics, its limits and how to set one up right
A wick, a pot of growing medium, a reservoir: the solution rises on its own by capillary action, with no pump and no electricity. What the research says, the plants that thrive and the ones that are too thirsty, choosing the wick and the medium, the salt buildup trap, a step-by-step how-to and a reservoir autonomy calculator.
Indoor aquaponics with aquarium fish: guppies, platies, danios, barbs
An aquarium of guppies or danios can feed plants set on top of it. Which small fish to choose, at what temperature, what pH, how many plants they can really feed, and how to set up an aquaponic aquarium without making anyone suffer.
Drip irrigation and Dutch buckets: the system for large plants
Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries: large plants thrive in a bucket of growing medium fed by drip irrigation. The principle, the hardware, a bucket cross-section, closed loop or drain to waste, setting drainage with a calculator, building four buckets step by step, and dripper maintenance.
An energy-independent hydroponic garden: power use, small solar, mini wind turbines and low-cost tips
Pump, air pump, grow light: how much power does a hydroponic garden use, and can it run without the grid? What a small panel really produces in Belgium month by month, the 12 V solar kit step by step, a panel and battery calculator, the truth about mini wind turbines, “plug and play” panels and zero-watt solutions.
Ebb and flow (flood and drain): flood, then drain, for well-fed, well-aerated roots
A grow bed filled with clay pebbles, a reservoir below, a pump and a timer: ebb and flow floods the roots, then lets them breathe. The principle, the plants that thrive in it, the equipment, step-by-step assembly, cycle settings, the bell siphon to do without a timer, maintenance and mistakes to avoid.
Natural light or LED: how much sun your plants really get, and when to supplement
Belgian sunlight month by month, how much of it is left behind a window, how to measure the light at your spot with a simple phone, and when to add an LED grow light: how much light, what wattage, how many hours. With a calculator whose results you can save to your account.
A hydroponic garden in 40 m² with a small balcony: where to set it up, what to grow, what rules apply
A studio or one-bedroom apartment, a window, a ten-foot balcony: enough to eat salad greens all year round and cherry tomatoes in summer. Where to put each system, how to handle light, humidity, noise, weight on the balcony, neighbors and building rules, and what calendar to follow in Belgium.
DWC and air pumps: growing in oxygenated deep water, from bucket to tub
An opaque bucket, a lid, a net pot, an air pump and an air stone: DWC (deep water culture) is the simplest active system in hydroponics. The principle, oxygen and water temperature, choosing the right air pump, the step-by-step tutorial, settings, summer, the RDWC and raft variants, cost and the mistakes to avoid.
Aquaponics: Growing with Fish, from Setup to Maintenance
Fish supply the nitrogen, bacteria convert it, plants clean the water. Method, sizing, species suited to Belgium, feeding, water quality and maintenance routine.
Balcony and patio: wind, heat, load, electricity
A patio adds constraints you don’t face in a greenhouse. Ignoring them costs more than planning for them.