Trying to plan my outdoor garden
 

Hello,
I'm new to the forum and have been searching some existing threads to try to fill the gaps in my understanding of hydroponics. There are still some things I just can't quite wrap my head around, though, so any help is very much appreciated.

I have been interested in hydroponics for about a year, but am afraid of spending the time and money on a system only to find out that maybe I should've just used some dirt. I like the idea of using less water, which I suppose is my main reason for wanting to use hydroponics.

I'm in New Mexico, and planned to have the system outside on one of the two balconies of my apartment. Both are east-facing. I'm looking at either buying a drip system/vertical tower or making a NFT pipe system.

My main two questions are:

1. Which kind of plastic is safest to use? An over-asked question, I'm sure. I know that #1, #2, #4, and #5 are generally considered safe and stable, but with the intense heat added into the equation, are ANY plastics safe? I get conflicting information all over the place on this. Very little mention on whether even the most stable plastics will not leach into the water when heated. I read that HDPE is the most heat-resistant, but that stuff isn't really available for pipes. I absolutely love this plan for a nice-and-tidy system, but just want to be sure about which plastics to get for the trays. Using this design is not set in stone...it's just near the top of the list.

2. After reading some other threads on here I realized the water in the reservoirs will get very hot...and the chillers on Amazon are $100+. This is an expense I hadn't taken into consideration...Is this definitely important to have?

I have a few other concerns (like the intense NM sun that fries everything that's green), but I think they're manageable and just a matter of getting my hands on things once started and figuring them out.

Thanks for any advice—
Steph

Hello stephaniejmccloud,
First, I wouldn't recommend buying any hydroponic systems. You can if you want, but their simple and easy to build yourself for a fraction of the money.

Second, as far as what plastics are safe to use, any plastic that doesn't smell strongly of chemicals. If your trying to grow certified organic plants, you would need to use food grade plastics.

Third, don't worry about the plastic being exposed to heat, if it is the water temps will be to high and the plants wont survive long anyway. In other words, you will need to keep it cool in the first place. I attached a couple picture of what happens when the plant is exposed to high water temps. I just finished writing an article about "nutrient solution water temperatures," and I'm in the process of inserting and sizing images for the web page before I upload it to the website. If your interested I can e-mail you the article now without images if you send me a private message with an e-mail address you want it sent to. Or I can post a link to it when I get it uploaded.

Forth. I gave the link you posted a quick look, and it looks like they have two different designs listed. One a water culture system, and the second a recirculating water culture system. Either way their easy and simple to build. But before you do, I strongly suggest you design the hydroponic system for the plants you intend to grow, and space you have to grow them in. Most people build a hydroponic system to grow plants in, then find out what they did wrong only after they spent their time and money to do so. My approach to building a hydroponic system is to always start with the plants first, design the system to accommodate the plants needs, and for the space the plants will be in through their entire life cycle. There's a lot more to consider when designing the system for the plants needs and space you have than most people think at first. I'm also working on an article about this subject as well.

As an example: while lettuce plants (like they have pictured growing in the system) grow well in water culture systems. You said you have heat issues in New Mexico where you live (that I know all to well, I live in Arizona). You would need to modify or even change some things about that system to accommodate that issue and keep the water temps down. But even that wouldn't be enough if you planed to grow lettuce because lettuce are a cool weather plant and air temps regularly in the high 80's or above will cause the plant to bolt. So if you intended to grow lettuce outside there, you would need to either take drastic measure to keep air temps around the plant down (like swamp coolers, misters and shade cloth etc), or just not grow lettuce when it gets to warm.

Your biggest issues growing outside in New Mexico are going to be summer heat, and low humidity. There are things you can do about both, and like you said it's a mater of "getting my hands on things once started and figuring them out." I like to say it this way: You learn by doing....

Thanks so much! That's all really helpful. I'll bookmark your website and check back for updates.