Hydroponic Bar Table

This instructable will show you how you can make any bar or table into a visually pleasing hydroponic garden. You will still be able to use the bar for its original intended purpose, to put drinks and such on..

First start by making the lip for the Plexiglas making sure to recess it enough so the Plexiglas is flush with the surface of the table. Depending on the thickness of the wood on the table will determine the thickness of the lip you can use. Reinforce the lip with wood glue and nail into place. I used nails because flake board likes to crack when using large screws.

You can use a scrap piece of Plexiglas to measure the recession of the lip. I had to make two lip mounts for the front lip. This is the left side.

I just glued in the front lip.

Cut your Plexiglas to size and test fit it. Its always good to leave some extra material as you can always use a jigsaw to cut away the extra for a snug fit. My fit is so snug that I feel I do not need screws to hold it into place.

I installed a 2 foot florescent light enclosure with a plant light. I was able to use the preexisting bar outlet wires that ran right above the light.

Next I installed a mirror to reflect the light to the plant and reflect the plat to anyone who looks at it, giving it a more aesthetically pleasing look than just a plain non-mirrored reflective surface, which you could use.

I used chains to hold the garden unit up. Just drill them into hardwood with screws on both sides of the enclosure.

The garden unit was made with a 4 inch fence post with the ends caped with goop and a cap. 3 inch holes were drilled for 3 inch pots. Hooks for the chain were drilled and screwed in the ends. Wait at least 24 hours for the goop to dry if you don't want a mess or to poison your plants.

This is my finished product for now. Notice I did install another mirror on the left side. The right side would have had one too if I had not broken it. I am pleased with the result. The gaps inbetween the two mirrors, soon to be three mirrors, will be filled with two small pot enclosures with hoses hooked up to them to easily fill and drain them. you might want to install a drain spout on the main garden unit as well, I will be doing this later.

Hope you all enjoyed my first Instructable, as I am looking forward to posting many more.