Since Covid-19 has closed the schools in most areas, many parents are looking for meaningful activities for their children. Growing a plant from a seed is a great lesson in life. You can make this activity as cheap or expensive as you wish. I’ll give you free versions. If you would rather buy a pre-made kit, check amazon or your local garden store.
All of the methods will require that you supply nutrients to aid the plant’s growth. Hydroponic nutrients are not the same as the nutrients (fertilizer) used for dirt plants.
Sprout Your Seeds
Before you construct your system, you should set your seed(s) to sprout. An easy method, and great for children to watch, is the paper towel in a baggie method. If you need help with this method, check out my page How to Germinate a Seed Using a Paper Towel.
Mason Jar (Kratky Method)
This is by far the easiest hydroponic setup ever. You will need a one quart mason jar with a lid. Actually, almost any food grade container that holds at least a quart of water will work. However, you may not be able to see the roots growing.
Use an old sock to fit around the jar to keep the light out. Cut about an inch and a half off the end of a pool noodle, to hold the seedling so that it doesn’t fall into the jar. Cut a section out of the pool noodle so that it is a secure fit in the jar opening. Use the section you cut out, trimmed as necessary, to hold the seedling in the noodle without crushing it.
Fill the jar with water and nutrients. Place the noodle with the seedling into the top of the jar. Make sure that the roots from the seedling touch the water. Pull the sock up from the bottom of the jar and you are done.
You can slide the sock down each day to allow your children to observe the root growth and compare the root and plant sizes. Have fun.
If the water gets down to the last inch or so, you can add more nutrient solution.
The Wick Method
The basic theory for the wick method is simple. A Wick System uses one or more wicks to deliver water from the reservoir to the roots via capillary action. Simply suspend a plant in an inert media such as hydroton, then run a wick from the media to the water container below. This method can also be done using soil to hold the plant, but it will require different (dirt) nutrients.
Soda Bottle Wick Systme
One way to make a wick system use a clean two litre soda bottle cut into two pieces.
Use a sharp knife or a pair of scissors to cut the bottle carefully about 1″ to 2 1/2″ below the fattest point below the curved top of the bottle. (note: the illustration shows the smaller top.) Throw away the cap. Make a wick or two from a clean piece of cloth cut into strips. Push the wick through the neck of the bottle. Make sure that it fills the neck, but is not so tight that water has a hard time flowing through it.
Invert the top section (growing pot) of the soda bottle into the bottom section (water reservoir). Fill the bottom with water. Do not overfill. The water with nutrients added, should not be higher than 1 1/2″ into the neck of the pot section. The wick(s) should reach right to the bottom of the water in the reservoir.
Next you need some inert media in which to grow your plant. You can use almost anything that will not dissolve in water. If you have the budget, you may wish to purchase suitable media like rockwool cubes, coco coir, or hydroton clay pellets. Should you prefer, you can use free stuff that you have available. Use clean, small pebbles – a collecting activity for the children; marbles are also great.
Fill around the wick(s), but leave about 1 1/2″ of space to put your germinated seed. Ensure that some wick is sticking above the media so that the roots can get water immediately.
You can use some types of Styrofoam, but you will need to add some pebbles or marbles on top to keep the plant stable. Styrofoam can be quite messy, so be warned.
Planting Your Seed
Once your seed has an inch or so of roots, it is ready to plant. Be careful not to damage the roots when you transfer your plant to the growing pot. Place the media carefully around the plant with the roots as close to the wick as possible, without damaging the roots.
Watch the plant grow. Note to parent – drip a little water around the stem of the plant for the first couple of days just to ensure that the plant gets a good start.
If you have some potting mixture, you could use it as the media and save buying nutrients.
Kits for Purchase
If you are still unsure about starting a hydroponic garden, you can get everything you need in a little kit called a plug-and-go hydroponic gardening kit. These little kits have everything you need to get you up and running with this fascinating hobby. The typical kit includes a module for holding your plant cubes, seeds, nutrient solution and a heating pad. If you have a larger budget, you might consider one of the Aerogardens.
History and Notes
The word hydroponics comes from two Greek words, “hydro” meaning water and “ponics” meaning labour. This concept has been around for thousands of years. Many countries, including China, Holland, Germany, and Australia have used hydroponics for crop production with results that are quite amazing.
Decomposing organic matter is rarely used indoors because of the odour. It is also unsanitary because of the bugs it attracts. It can be used outdoors in a greenhouse; but the bug problem and their potential diseases need to be addressed in order to save your plants from their adverse effects.
Some of the positive aspects of hydroponics include the ability to produce higher yields than soil-based agriculture. They allow food to be grown and consumed in areas of the world that cannot support crops in the soil. Hydroponics also eliminates the need for massive pesticide use, which makes the air, water, soil, and food much cleaner.
The environmental good that hydroponics produces with its decreased water consumption is somewhat negated by the amount of energy needed to support hydroponic growing. Much hydroponic growing happens in greenhouses, where significant amounts of electricity are used trying to give the hydroponic plants all the light the need.