Hempy Buckets are a simple DIY hydroponic system that can be set up by anyone who has a bucket and perlite (hydroponic growing medium).  Dark coloured buckets work best especially if you are using grow lights  as it helps to stop algae from growing.

About a inch from the bottom of the Hempy Bucket you will need to create a hole to let excess water drain out, this should be about half a inch in diameter.  You may want to put metal gauze or netting over the hole to prevent any perlite from falling through.

Once you’ve create the hole and covered it with metal gauze or suitable material you can fill your Hempy bucket with perlite and add water until the excess runs out of the overflow hole that you have created.  The perlite has capillary properties so it will absorb the water and spread the moisture until all of the perlite is damp.  It won’t feel wet to the touch but if you press a few pieces of perlite between your fingers it will leave a small wet mark behind.

Once you have damped the perlite, add in your plant.

You would water your bucket every day with a suitable nutrient solution, the aim is to let the water dry out from the bottom of the bucket, allowing the plants roots to come into contact with the air before you water again.  However it is nearly impossible to over water your plants with this DIY Hydroponic system as the perlite traps air within itself allowing the plants roots to always be in contact with oxygen.

You can scale down the hempy bucket by using plastic bottles cut in half, plastic cups, pretty much any thing you can find from around the house.  Remember though to scale down the water flow hole to compensate.

We’ve added a whole section on HPS Grow Lights. Our High Pressure Sodium (HPS) Grow lights are available in 1000w, 600w, 400w

Buy clicking the links below you can view our HPS Grow lights by wattage and find the cheapest HPS Grow Lights available on the Internet.

Follow these simple tips to ensure that your hydroponic garden is safe
1) It doesn’t help in anyway to continuously leave the grow lamps on in your garden, unless for those plants and/or a plant growth stages that really call for a 24-hour lamps requirement.

2) Make sure you periodically check for any damaged cords; worn out cords with wires exposed can increase the risk of fire and even electrical shock to the operator.

3) See that the grow lamps are not exposed to water as several grow lamps accidents reported are because of the same reason.

4) Organizing the cords of the grow lamps and keeping them away from fire is always advised. Tangled cords pose tripping hazard so bundle them and tape to make the place more organized.

Hydroponics is best described in simple language as a method to grow plants in a soil-less environment using Hydroponics systems that use mineral nutrient solution to grow both terrestrial as well as crop plants. The word Hydroponics is derived from Greek roots, ‘Hydro’ meaning water and ‘ponos’ implying labor. It is noteworthy that Hydroponic gardening dates back to 3000 years and examples of this type of farming can well be seen in these two wonders: Hanging gardens of Babylon and Floating garden of the Aztecs of Mexico.

Educate your children with hydroponics

Plants grown via hydroponics grow substantially faster than
those grown in soil.  Plus it’s difficult for children to see how the
roots of the plants grow in soil, but the can easily be seen by using a
hydroponics bubbler system.  There is more detail about bubbler systems
here, but I’ll give a very quick overview.  In a bubbler system, plants
are grown on a medium such as rock wool with baskets.  The roots of
plants which fill the baskets are submerged in a hydroponic nutrient
solution which is aerated by a air pump and often a air stone which
sits at the bottom of the nutrient solution.  The aerated solution not
only delivers water and nutrients
to the plants roots but oxygen as well, prevent root rot.  Because the
plans don’t need to use their energy locating nutrients and water they
can place all their effort into growing upwards.

We know that children have very short attention spans; by growing
plants hydroponically a child can see clear growth in the plant most
days once it is established.  They will also have a better
understanding of the plants requirements as they will be adding
nutrients, water and light to their plants and will be able to watch
the effect this has on the plant.  While traditionally this is the sort
of basic science lesson a child would learn a primary school, place a
seed into soil and watch it grow.  Using hydroponic methods
enables a child to see quick results.  By growing plants hydroponically
in the classroom children can experiment with the effect each necessary
elements, light, water and nutrients have on the health of the plant
and its root system, turning the simple action of growing plants into
an exciting science lesson.

As we attempt to teach our children a better way to look
after our planet and its population, hydroponics can have a starring
role.  Hydroponics can increase the amount of food grown within a
specific area, there is no need to strip soil of its natural nutrients
and fewer pesticides are necessary resulting in less damage to our
environment.

Hydroponics is the next generation of farming,
hydroponic methods could decrease the amount of the worlds population
that die from starvation while helping to convert excess carbon dioxide
we have created into oxygen.  It’s our children who will be the
generation who make the greatest leap in fixing the planet so why not
teach them from an early age the hydroponic information they need to
make a difference.

LED grow lights have good and bad reviews, there’s no doubt that LED grow lights are a forerunner for future indoor growing, they out compare other grow lights in terms of light degradation over time or their total life time.

With LEDs it possible to create the exact wavelength of light that the plant need to grow or flower. HPS grow lights and Metal Halide lights waste a lot of their energy producing some light which is not beneficial to the growth of the plant.

LED grow lights don’t create much heat as a byproduct, so they can be placed extremely close to your plants without burning them. They would also work extremely well in confined spaces due to the lack of heat produced so would be beneficial to those who use hydroponic grow tents or poorly ventilated spaces.

However the setup costs for LEDs can be quite high depending on your grow space and the number of plants you’re wanting to grow. My research suggests that plants typically need 150 - 200 watts of LEDs lights. That’s a lot of lights, so for those who want to venture into the world of LED grow lights you might want to use them for seedlings and cloning and then decide whether the outlay of fitting your entire grow room or tent with LED grow lights is feasible or not.

You can view a wide range of LED grow lights here at Buy Hydroponics. Click the link below to see what options are available for LED lights, such as colour, wattage, shape, type and plug and grow LED lights.

LED Grow Lights

Some hydroponic growers prefer to keep what they’re growing away from prying eyes. For other having a hydroponic tent such as Hydrolabs or BudBox enable them to control the growing environment more successfully. Of course if you don’t have the money to buy a hydroponic tent, then you could always use an empty cupboard but you will need to make it light proof, feed in a light supply and ensure circulation of air. You may have the problem that while your plants start off fitting inside the cupboard, they might out grow it, so you will have the added complication of re-housing your plants.

Hydroponic tents come in various sizes and we stock different makes of hydroponic tents in our shop. They are totally light proof so you know that you won’t have a problem with light spillage from inside the tent and outside light will not intrude during necessary dark periods.

Hydroponic tents can be quite expensive due to the light containing material they’re created from, but here on Buy Hydroponic we have some of the best deals on the interest so you don’t need to pay more than you should.

Hydroponic Grow Tents

Maintaining a hydroponic garden may seem a little to technical compared to throwing a seed in some soil and hoping it grows. But it can be easier than regular soil growing and both methods enable the most 3 important elements to reach the plant, light, nutrients and water.

In a true hydroponic garden there will be no soil, other mediums such as rock wool are used to enable the plant to anchor it’s roots.

With all hydroponic gardens the pH nutrient level is an important factor, too much and it becomes toxic to the plant, to little and the plant begins to starve. Your hydroponic garden will not use water and nutrients in equal parts as it just takes what the plants need which causes the pH level to fluctuate. Keeping an eye on the pH levels will ensure your plant roots are surrounded in a solution that is optimised for plant growth. The recommended pH level for hydroponic gardens is 5 to 6.

Generally the optium temperature for hydroponic gardens is between 71-76F. There are of course plants that will thrive at slightly different temperatures is it can be helpful to the optimum growth temperature for each plant that you grow.

As previously mentioned hydroponic gardens just like regular gardens need light. Natural sunlight is best for plants but since most growers have hydroponic gardens indoors, they will need to compensate for the lack of natural light with grow lamps such as HPS lights.

Growers like having a hydroponic garden as it can be automated, so growing your own plants is easier for the lazy gardener. There is no need for weeding and pests are less likely to be a problem if your growing indoors. Hydroponic Gardens can be a feature in your home where you can grow tropical plants or kitchen herbs.

Hydroponic Gardens can be grown using many different types of hydroponic systems, you can read more about the different hydroponic system in this article. Hydroponic Systems

The Bubbler method is a easy way to step into hydroponics, it is very cheap to set up but requires constant monitoring.

The plant roots are feed via a nutrient solution which is mixed by bubbling air through it with the use of an air pump and air stone. The water nutrient solution should be at a level which is high enough to wet the air stone. Once the plant has developed a good root system the water level can be lowered enabling some of the roots to hang in the air between the net and the bucket. Air needs to get to the submerged roots constantly meaning that the air pump will need to left on constantly, otherwise the plants will be starved of oxygen.

Generally you will need a separated bucket for each plants otherwise the root system will cover the air stone preventing it from aerating the water and the plant will die.

The Bubbler system needs constant attention as plants take different amounts of water and nutrients from the mixture resulting a ratio that could poison your plants and dry them out. Constant checking of CF and PH of this water is essential for healthy plants.

Plants grown by using the Blubber system will need support and this system is not very suitable to growing large plants.