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hydroponic Homemade Hydroponic Coffee Tin Kratky System (Khang Starr)

obeychase

obeychase

I'm totally new to hydroponics, and after watching a video from Khang Starr I decided to try out his homemade Kratky style hydroponic system out of a spare coffee tin and a small nursery cup container instead of a net pot. I haven't been able to leave the house lately due to being sick, so I used what I could find around the house.
 
I used some black electrical tape to light proof the lid, cut a hole big enough to fit the cup, and voila! Kratky system was made.
 
I didn't have access to clay pebbles so I used some perlite as a medium for supporting the plant. Speaking of the plant, I have no idea what it is. I believe it's a random pepper seedling that sprouted outside in one of my containers, so I plucked it out, washed the roots and placed it in my grow tent for an experiment. Let's see what happens!
 
My nutrient mixture in a 1 gallon container:
2 tsps BioThrive 4-3-3 liquid fertilizer
1/2 tsp Dolomite Lime
1/2 tsp lemon juice
 
This is all trial-and-error, but I would love to hear everyones input.
 

 
 
Goofing with aquaponics, mainly reading.  I think what I am seeing is called deep water culture and thought that requires air to be bubbled into the nutrient solution.  How do your roots get air?
 
ajdrew said:
Goofing with aquaponics, mainly reading.  I think what I am seeing is called deep water culture and thought that requires air to be bubbled into the nutrient solution.  How do your roots get air?
Click to expand...
 
I know nothing about aquaculture, so let's see what happens. I've seen Khang Starr have great success with this exact same type of setup. Check out this video.
 
 
dragonsfire said:
Hope the tin does not rust :)
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Yikes! I googled if tin cans rust, and I discovered that 'rust' is iron oxide. Tin cans do not rust because there is no iron present. We shall see 
 
I also tried Kratky system it works well but felt my plants in soil were growing much quicker. I used the same flora series nutes as khang did. Its fun to experiment with new methods. Keep us posted. Nice job and good luck!
 
obeychase said:
I know nothing about aquaculture, so let's see what happens. I've seen Khang Starr have great success with this exact same type of setup. Check out this video.
 
 

 
Yikes! I googled if tin cans rust, and I discovered that 'rust' is iron oxide. Tin cans do not rust because there is no iron present. We shall see
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Nice catch there on the tin can!
 
ajdrew said:
Goofing with aquaponics, mainly reading.  I think what I am seeing is called deep water culture and thought that requires air to be bubbled into the nutrient solution.  How do your roots get air?
Click to expand...
As the nutrient solution draws down, the roots hanging above the solution perform gas exchange. Here's a video that explains how this works.
 
Last season was my first hydroponics experience, tried DWC. Equipment cost was $75/$100 so I'd interested in your Kratky experiment. Pix from last year.
 
 
IMG_0489_zps2b6wztfn.jpg
Roots1_zps53ojf05x.jpg
7.15_Plant_zpspft1qjqq.jpg
07.24.15_Roots_zps8ifdaqmz.jpg
IMG_0910_zpsjnamdouw.jpg
8.5_Roots_zpsuxi7ryem.jpg
 
This Kratky Ghost Pepper experiment got me interested in the fill and forget system...
Matt Garver on Google+ PepperLovers community is on his 3rd season of kratky experiment and probably has 12-24 plants growing in 18-32 gallon totes and garbage cans. Check him out...give it a try.
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/56550-kratky-non-circulating-outdoor-hydroponics-fill-and-forget-2015/?hl=%2Bkratky+%2Bghost

The idea is plant roots just touch the nutrient and develope roots whose specific job is to transport water and nutes, the roots in the moist airspace above the nutes differentiate their function to do gas exchange to breath. I'm going to try it out next season.
 
Peter S said:
As the nutrient solution draws down, the roots hanging above the solution perform gas exchange. Here's a video that explains how this works.
Click to expand...
Excellent, so like soil growing the biggest problem is watering too much.
 
The_NorthEast_ChileMan said:
Last season was my first hydroponics experience, tried DWC. Equipment cost was $75/$100 so I'd interested in your Kratky experiment. Pix from last year.
 
 
IMG_0489_zps2b6wztfn.jpg
Roots1_zps53ojf05x.jpg
7.15_Plant_zpspft1qjqq.jpg
07.24.15_Roots_zps8ifdaqmz.jpg
IMG_0910_zpsjnamdouw.jpg
8.5_Roots_zpsuxi7ryem.jpg
Click to expand...
Things look great... I can't ever get crazy nutes like that unless it's tomatoes. Do you use airstones....water pump? Or kratky?
 
obeychase said:
I'm totally new to hydroponics, and after watching a video from Khang Starr I decided to try out his homemade Kratky style hydroponic system out of a spare coffee tin and a small nursery cup container instead of a net pot. I haven't been able to leave the house lately due to being sick, so I used what I could find around the house.
Click to expand...
Thanks for sharing the video. Only one suggestion. Forget the drill when trying to put drainage holes in plastic. Use a soldering iron instead. You don't run the risk of cracking the plastic.
 
I have an experiment that I started this year. Basically, I have an Organge Cherry Bomb plant that I planted in a hydro basket - the big ones that fit over a 5 gallon bucket - and for my medium, I planted in a 50/50 mix of rabbit poo and pine bark. Much to my surprise, the plant is quite healthy, and is fruiting. I have given it no other nutrients, but I'm thinking of just adding a bit of organic fertilizer, and covering the top of the basket, and letting it go Kratky-ish for the rest of the season. Where this differs, is that the water in the bucket is the leachate from the pot. (that was the initial point of the experiment - collect and re-use the runoff) I have been taking the basket off once a week, and letting the roots air prune. However, maybe I'll reconsider.

The real boost for plants that are grown in this style, seems to be the humid build up of nutrient laden moisture at the root zone. Obviously, that's the point with hydro and aero - but with this method, we don't have to worry about complex things like temperature and oxygen saturation.

Good thread.
 
sobelri said:
Thanks for sharing the video. Only one suggestion. Forget the drill when trying to put drainage holes in plastic. Use a soldering iron instead. You don't run the risk of cracking the plastic.
Click to expand...
Or drill in reverse to prevent cracking and that horrible burning plastic smell..
 
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