Home Hydroponic Garden

As urban living spaces become more compact and the demand for sustainable food sources rises, hydroponic gardening is emerging as a popular solution for home-based agriculture. This method of growing plants without soil cultivates fresh produce all year round, right in the comfort of your home. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the essentials of setting up your own hydroponic system for growing lettuce. Regardless of your gardening experience, you can transform any small space into a thriving, sustainable garden, and enjoy the benefits of fresh, home-grown produce regardless of the season.

• (1) 4” x 4” Square Fence Post Jacket - 100 inches long
• (4) 4” x 4” Vinyl Fence Post Cap
• (1) 1⁄2” Double Threaded Bulkhead Fitting
• (1) 1⁄2” Barbed x NPT 90 Degree Elbow
• (3) 1” Double Threaded Bulkhead Fitting
• (1) 1” Barbed x NPT Male 90 Degree Elbow
• (1) 1” x 4” PVC Riser
• (1) 18 gal Heavy Duty Tote (reservoir)
• (1) Submersible Pump (sizing varies)
• 5’ of 1⁄2” ID Vinyl Tubing
• 5’ of 1” ID Corrugated Vinyl Tubing
• Aquarium Silicone
• Thread Tape
• Support Structure and Light Source
• 30 - 1.5” Net Cups
• Seed Plugs
• Hydroponic Nutrients

Cut the 4" Square Fence Post in half, creating two 50" sections. A miter saw works great but we have also used a circular saw or a hand saw. The cuts should be as flat as possible to allow for the end caps to fit on nicely in a future step.

• CAUTION: When using a hole saw with PVC, turn the drill to reverse before drilling the hole. Without using reverse, the hole saw teeth will quickly dig into the PVC and lock up the drill, which at a high enough speed could injure your wrist! Please be kind to your wrists and use caution in this step!
• On one 50" section of square tubing, use a 1.75" hole saw to drill a hole on each end with dimensions as shown.
• On the other 50" section of square tubing, drill a 1.25" hole on one end and a 1.75” hole on the other with dimensions as shown.

What's crucial about this step is to make sure your square tubing is oriented correctly. In Step 3, you drilled holes for the connecting tubing, to connect the two square tubes to one another. This means you'll want those holes (drilled in step 3) to be facing each other before drilling the holes for your plants. The two holes on the right side should match when each rail is rotated since they will have a connection between them.

Rotate the PVC so that the drilled holes are facing each other, sandwiched in the center, as shown above.

Mark each plant site hole location with a permanent marker. Below is the hole pattern we like for lettuce, with the interior circles representing the holes and the exterior circles representing the outside of the lip of the net cups.

Using a 1.5" hole saw with the drill set to reverse, center the drill directly on the mark you just made, and carefully drill out each hole.

CAUTION: Be careful when cutting holes very close together as the PVC can crack. Just go slow and add gradual pressure as you're drilling. No worries if it does happen, just use a small amount of super glue to repair.

Once all holes are drilled, use a piece of sandpaper to smooth out the edges of each hole

Install the 1” double threaded bulkhead fittings into the connection holes in the rails. The large threaded section of the fitting should be on the outside of the rail, along with the collar. For bulkhead fittings with just one gasket, the gasket should be on the inside of the rail. Apply at least one wrap of thread tape to threads of PVC riser. Screw one end of the PVC riser into one of the connection bulkheads. Tighten the collar on the bulkhead fitting. Loosen the collar of the 2nd connection bulkhead fitting so that the bulkhead fitting can rotate freely in the connection hole. Screw the other end of the PVC riser into the 2nd bulkhead fitting by rotating the bulkhead fitting. Once the bulkhead fitting is attached securely to the riser, tighten the collar on the bulkhead fitting. There should now be a solid connection between the rails. To disassemble the rails, perform the operations in reverse: loosen the collar on one of the bulkhead fittings and rotate it to release the riser.

Insert the 1/2” bulkhead fitting into the 1.25” hole drilled in Step 2. The large threaded section of the fitting should go outside the rail. The flexible plastic gasket for the bulkhead fitting should go on the inside of the rail. Tighten the collar until the bulkhead fitting can no longer shift or rotate. Screw the 1/2” elbow into the outside of the bulkhead fitting. Use a wrap of thread tape to seal the threads from leaking. Orient the elbow to point down and out. The 1/2” inlet tubing will attach to this fitting from the reservoir.

Install a 1” bulkhead fitting into the exit hole, similar to the installation for the connection holes. Apply a wrap of thread tape to the 1” elbow. Install the elbow into the bulkhead fitting. Rotate the elbow to point down and out, similar to the entry elbow. The exit tubing will attach to this elbow and flow down into the reservoir.

Apply aquarium silicone caulk along the entire inside bend of the end cap with extra in each inside corner. It is very important that silicone is spread along the entire inside bend and corners of the cap to prevent leaks and create a tight seal. Press the cap onto the tubing. Allow silicone to cure for at least 24-48 hours before running water through the system.

Set up a support structure, such as wire shelving or a table, and hang grow lighting above. The lighting should be approximately 14 inches above the top of the rails, or 18 inches above the surface the rails will be placed on. The lighting can be plugged into a timer to automatically manage the lighting schedule. 14 hours of lighting per day is a good target.

The reservoir is used to hold nutrient solution as it is circulated by the pump. For this system, a 15-20 gallon (US) tote works well. A tote with an opaque lid is best to prevent light from entering the reservoir and causing algae growth. If you have a tote with a translucent lid, you can either use black spray paint or cover the lid with a blanket or other cloth to block light. Drill two 1.25” holes in the lid of the reservoir. Place the submersible pump inside the reservoir and thread the power cord up through one of the holes in the lid. Connect 1/2” tubing to the pump and thread that out through the same hole in the lid. This tubing will connect to the inlet of the rail system. The other hole is for the 1” outlet tubing to return to the reservoir from the exit of the rail system.

Place the rails in the growing area and screw together the PVC riser and bulkhead fittings, creating a solid connection between the rails. Connect the inlet and exit tubing to the rails. Make sure that the tubing is pressed tightly onto the barbed fittings so that they don’t fall off over time. Partially fill the reservoir with water and turn on the pump. Look for leaks or loose connections. Tighten the collars on the bulkhead fittings or apply more thread tape if you notice leaks. Congratulations! Your system is ready for plants!