Thank you Mr. Van Duzee!! Looks like you have another incredible way for us to all grow our own food! I have to tell you I picked 5 cherry tomatoes vine ripened today and two over ripe sweet banana peppers(over ripe because they start off yellow so how do you know when they are ripe?! Lol! They are soooo sweet when orange like candy!) I wouldn’t have tried half the things that you have taught me and I’m eternally grateful! I have another tomato plant that is putting on Roma tomatoes right now and I just can’t believe it! We’ve been eating lettuce of all kinds by the bowl full and tatsoi is my go to 45 days veg that I can put on a menu plan and know in 45 days we will be have a lot of delicious stir fry tatsoi! It’s awesome. I wear my pink bee 🐝 the change T-shirt proudly! I absolutely love how you have taught someone that is disabled and can’t do much anything else but as long as someone can bring the 5gallon buckets over to my plants I can use my handheld pumps(actually used for gasoline) and easily pump water from my bucket into my growing buckets! Thank you so much! On a fixed income and with food prices soaring I have confidence in my ability to grow a ton of food in a small loft apartment high in the sky on the 34th & 35th floor! I tell everyone I know and they are blown away by my photos of fresh food. It’s all picture perfect because no pests or wind or anything to disturb it. Thank you thank you thank you!!🥰❤️🙏🏻🇨🇦🐝
@Leanne KenYoung: Your comment was so sweet and inspiring it made me cry! Congratulations on your thriving garden…so happy for you! @Keep on Growing with Mike: Thank you for all the joy and great ideas you brought to us! We need this information now more than ever!
@@diannadiress8148 awe I’m happy that my words had that effect on you, I always write them and wonder if anyone will ever read them. Ironically today I pulled out two full trays of white stem pak Choi that I put into such a small amount of tiny little soil pods and I just pulled them apart and when they are very young before the roots get very large and entangled. So it was incredibly satisfying to fill these 3” wide cup trays with small holes in the bottom and I put a very solid tray underneath and that’s where I add the lightly added nutrient water and the tiny thin stems lay on the inside of the 3” cups and then once the roots get well established they stand up on their own and just thrive I have plastic covers over top of the entire tray to keep them moist and I have the light just above the trays in a month or less I’ll be able to take my first harvest for a stir fry. I love this stuff it’s so delicious and easy to grow.
So proud of you Leanne! I tried microgreens in soil this past winter. And did okay. Except for a knat infestation. So I will never have soil in my apartment again. I'm binge watching all of Bee The Change Videos as of yesterday. My hydroponics will have to be indoors April-November. I have a tiny balcony mostly shaded. I am also on a permanent disability. And boy do I need something to do. And grow. Besides I am a strict vegan. So growing my own food is so important. I would like to do bubblers and pumps on solar (for mostly indoor hydroponics). If you or anyone else has any ideas I'm open.
I went to Whole Foods bakery department for buckets. They use from 1 to 3 buckets of icing very day or two. No charge but you have to clean the icing that's left. I then used H2O2 solution (33%)to clean them. You got me started at this 2 years ago. I have built a 6 X 6 foot (36 square feet) ladder (102 plants) for my patio. My Patio is 8 X 17 feet. This Tower will be a great addition for my 35 Strawberry Plants. I can send pictures if you like. I am a 78 senior living in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). When I started this I was 40 pounds heaver. Harvey
Suggestion- instead of metal bolts, use heavy duty, plastic zip ties and thread through two of your holes in the lids to make a tight loop. Those metal bolts are going to corrode quite quickly. zip ties that are made for outdoor/water usage will last a decade.
Thank you for saving me a fortune. I live in the UK and was on the verge of ordering ONE tower system from Germany for 650 GBP. Lucky for me I thought I'll have a quick internet search for an alternative before ordering. I came across your UA-cam channel and your simple instructions for building one's own "Bucket Tower". This got me very excited to say the least.. Needless to say I'm now off to the hardware shop for the things I need. My goal is TEN towers so FORTY buckets. Thanks again.
For those of you who don't want to spend too much on buckets and lids, check out your local bakery! Some of the big box chains too. The frosting comes in large, 5 gallon food grade buckets, and some don't mind handing them out. I used to all the time when I was working in the bakery of my local grocery store. To bad I didn't know about this back then! Happy gardening :)
THANK YOU!!! As a person that is extremely "green"(aka new🤣) when it comes to hydroponics and kinda broke your videos have given me the knowledge, the tools, and the courage to actually start growing 💗
This is awesome! I looked at some that are super expensive and I couldn't justify that expense! Thank you so much for your hard work but even more for your sharing of your engineering of these buckets!
This is so awesome Mike. I think this design is going to do very well. I always wanted a hydrophobic tower but they are so expensive to buy. Now you just designed the budget solution.
Mike, we did away with the sprinkler heads due to clogging. We placed a funnel upside down and the water flows to the sides. Also, the pool noodles were leaking out nutrients. They would leak down onto the outside lid. We drilled tiny holes on the outside lids and it dripped back in the buckets. Very pleased. Thanks for your expertise and is greatly appreciated!
@@drb4074I'd imagine like a hat. Water would come up through funnel hole and roll down the cone toward the outside of bucket. Knocks a few bucks off and maintenance. Sounds ideal.
thanks Sir, this is important with whats happening. People should have one of these in almost every corner of every room in the house outside of the bathroom. Much love and appreciated
If you want to get technical the orange buckets are food grade look and the bottom of the "food grade" bucket and the orange bucket the have the same HDPE stamp
I like your idea. I will try this for myself with a few changes. I would use pvc pipe glue to attach the lids to the bottoms of the buckets to hopefully give a water tight seal. The other change is to add a spigot valve on the lower side of the reservoir bucket to allow drainage for the winter months. I live where we get three or four months a year with threat of below freezing temps, so without a greenhouse or other temperature controlled space would have a risk of damage to everything.
I have had buckets from Lowes for 2 years. And tested with no problems. I had a full garden last year. All in buckets and totes. Even okra in a horse water tub.
I am so excited to build this tower! Thank you so much for all your hard work to make this video. I'm up in Canada so I can slowly get mine built before the May 24 last frost date! 💖
Hi GreenEyedFlower I’m in Canada as well but I grow all my veggies indoors with grow lights. I absolutely love my little garden in our little apartment in the Center of the city. I didn’t know I could grow anything before I tried hydroponics because prior to that everything I tried to grow died but without the mess and the dirt hydroponic growing is the only way for me!! It’s been absolutely awesome. I just plucked my first three roma tomatoes and a handful of cherry tomatoes the other day and I’ve got my NfT system all washed up and slowly getting it set up again. It takes a lot to fill 52 holes for lettuce! But I grow as many different varieties and kinds that I can find and absolutely love it. I grow sweet peppers too and I’ve been sooo successful at growing them they don’t just last and produce for a couple of months out in the garden, no you can grow sweet bell peppers indoors in large tote containers and oh my word leave them until they are vine ripened and I just plan my next meal on what the garden has given me for the day! It’s so much fun and I can be as creative or as simple as I like. I recently discovered lemon basil and I’ve always wanted to grow a lemon tree and I’m going to find some dwarf varieties but until then this lemon basil is completely satisfying my citrus needs. The aroma when I start cutting off the leaves is unbelievable you would think I had just sliced a fresh lemon in my living room. And my hands smell like lemon for so long afterwards. I can wait to make some boiled down teas with it so I can make lemon basil iced tea I don’t know if it’s a thing or not but I can’t wait to try it!! Also I’ve found the more I cut it the More it grows and the exact same thing with regular basil. 🥰🇨🇦
Keep up the good work Duzee. I live in a cold climate and got to eat the fresh peas in the middle of winter thanks to your vids. Had to spend some money on cheap grow lights because I'm in CO but man fresh peas are always good. They usually just get eaten by everyone right off the vine.
I did buy grow LED recently but I've also been using just plain 4 foot 5000 lumin shop lights from sams club and walmart(under $25 each set) and the lettuce and baby bok choi do really well along with spring onions. We've been enjoying all winter inside here in michigan. In case you need more lights. Happy growing 🥰 p/s tatsoi is a favorite of mine too.
I like it, Mike. That looks more functional than some of the high-end tower systems. I converted two of my ten-foot downspouts to NFT and they are working well. A ten-foot spout gives me 29 stations. I ran a hose down the length of the spout so I could catch the return and feed the spout from the same end. It works well.
@@krisqueen5939 I ran the supply hose into the rail on the downhill side. From there, it ran inside the rail to the far, high end. The solution ran downhill from there, feeding the plants. It drains into a collection system where it is filtered before returning to the pump.
Hey Mr D! I’m so excited I stumbled across your channel. I’ve been trying to find out how to affordably test hydroponics before I make a big investment. I have another cost savings recommendation. I purchase 5 gallon buckets with the lids at my local donut shop for $1.50 each. That’s $6 compared to $30, shaving $24 from your total bill of materials cost. It does require a little elbow grease to remove the icing and filling residue, but it’s definitely worth it. They also sell their 2 1/2 and 3 gallon buckets. I use these all the time in the garden and around the house
I'm gonna try with just a few changes. I'm gonna try to put the same angle opposite each other for the pool noodles. And I'll make a loop with the water hose around top instead of the sprinkler. Awesome ideas and great explanations.
Only thing I would have done different is offset the 2 rows so the water isn't running straight down from one plant to the other and the roots from the upper plant won't touch the one below.
Suggestion: Bury half the reservoir in the ground as an anchor and to keep the nutrient solution cooler in the summer. Suggestion: When cutting the holes, stagger the holes between levels (locate lower plant holes 1/2 way between the holes on the upper row). This will give the plants more room to grow.
Best and cheapest food grade buckets WITH lids and rings are $3 Pickle Buckets from Firehouse Subs. It also goes into their Firemen's Charity. Swish with water and lemon juice to get the pickle smell out.
I have done several outdoor aquaponic gardens, mostly flood and drain gravel beds... this would be a cool addition and the bottom bucket instead of a reservoir could be a collection point and then use a hose to direct the water to the fish pond. Ive grown tons of lettuce just using cheap goldfish from the pet store.
I am appreciating what you do to help others. I am building the 4 bucket tower. Why cut bottom from most buckets, yet not the bottom, a 3/4" hole to pass tube through, cut the whole bottom open. I plan on 15-20 plants/bucket, 3-4 rows of 5. Fill empty with pool noodles if I need to. What to do if pump goes bad, or gets clogged? My friend says, put another bucket next to bottom one. Place pump in in, Run hose thru walls then up as usual, return water in bottom can transfer to pump bucket with double barbed piece 7 & vinyl tube, seal holes, with valves so water can be shut off between buckets if necessary. Simply disconnect pump, clean or replace, reinstall, turn pump and valves back on.
Suggestion. You spend a lot of time drilling holes and then cleaning up the results so the pump doesn't clog up. Why don't you melt the holes using a larger soldering iron or a bolt of the correct diameter heated with a propane torch? The holes are smoother and there is no cleanup. Also, you don't have to limit your tower to one mode. You could have a three bucket tower base for stability, then continue atop that with a pipe of 4" diameter or 6". I have a section of 6" on hand, so I will use that. I'm also planning a fence mounted hydroponic using plastic roll fencing attached to my board fence (could be a wall). I will staple plastic bottles to the plastic net so one bottle drains to the one below, with a gutter at the bottom to collect the solution to recirculation it. Lots of holes in the bottles, all melted in. I enjoy your channel. Thank you.
@@rickmarkgraf2617 this is an old comment but I just wanted to say thank you for the soldering iron tip. I've ruined a couple of utensils and wasted a lot of gas the last few days melting and cutting plastic containers, a soldering iron should make things very quick and easy.
This is an old comment but I just wanted to say thank you for the soldering iron tip. It will definitely save me time, gas and kitchen utensils with all the cutting and hole-drilling I will be doing in the near future.
I have been looking to complete an exact system such as yours. You have some great ideas here Mike, I will be starting to build my system tomorrow. I'll let you know how I go...
You can go to Firehouse Subs and get buckets for $2.00 , food grade with lid and the proceeds go to local fire companies for equipment purchases. Win Win RED in color.. I put a piece off of a pair of pantyhose around the pump. Helps to keep the junk out also..
A really great video!!! It so happens I have 4 5 gal buckets that I can repurpose for this. My design is basically the same but as I don't get 360 degrees of sun I've only put holes where the plants will get sunlight. I'm using the last of my pool noodles to hold the plants. I will try strawberries and spinach to see how they grow. Oh, yeah I've sprayed the buckets black and then silver.
A good way to solve that issue I read recently from a grower is that she would place one side with plants that need a lot of sun, the other side less in need of full sun! Genius! No space wasted!!
Just found your channel love what you’re doing. The orange and blue buckets that you get from the stores will break down in a couple years. But the food grade will last years.
Just came across this video and wanted to say thanks for making it! After years of struggling to grow anything in my backyard, I've been thinking about trying the hydroponic method. I'd prefer not to have to spend hundreds of dollars on a system when I'm just a beginner, so this is a great option. Fun fact, the Home Depot buckets are made in my hometown. :)
Neuf 350Z: I think your idea of trying Hydroponics is a great one; If you’ve got some yard space, consider having a look around the neighbourhood to see what your neighbours are growing. It could be that you weren’t using a species of plant to grow, that does well in your area. It may also be that there’s something small that would make a big difference to you. So perhaps talking to somebody in your family your circle of friends that garden successfully, and maybe having them come over and take a look at your land, to help you figure it out? I have a sister who put a great deal of effort and money into a flower garden that failed year after year. It took one trip of a family member and one walk through the garden to find the problem. Ever since that time, she has had a lush, productive, and even somewhat exotic garden. My mom, who has always grown flowers, tried growing potatoes in a garden using black soil, as that’s a choice that always held lots of water for her flowers in the heat of summer. As a result, all her potatoes tasted like bog. She was really discouraged and decided that she was not going to grow any more vegetables because she considered that one result to be a waste of resources and space, because the vegetables were essentially inedible. I had a quick look, as my experience is with growing food, so it wasn’t so hard to spot the problem. When she learned that she had done absolutely everything right, and actually produced a pretty nice yield, but just had used the wrong growth medium, she decided to give it another shot. She’s learning as she goes, and she knows how to produce potatoes, lettuce, celery, strawberries, onions and leeks, Black currents, and a few nice carrots. If the issue with your backyard is so easily solved, there’s no reason why you couldn’t enjoy both.❤️
I like it. I have access to dirt cheap food grade metal barrels in my area. Like as cheap as a bucket. I've been thinking about stacking two, burying the first one in the ground to maintain temps. Then putting plant sites on the top barrel. I don't think water coming in from the top will work with that though, I would need to get water to each plant site.
I am bulding this same tower. Thank you for the prototype! One question, I want to stagger my holes so that they don'e line up vertically on each bucket like yours does. Do you think that this makes a difference or not. My mom has he expensive tower garden and those holes are staggered (offset) from one level to the next and not vertically lined up.
Cool build. I think I’m going to build one too. I have an idea to use 1/2” drip irrigation line with misters in each of the buckets. But I have some time before the weather is good enough to grow outside. Thanks for all the work you do and sharing.
Great video, I'm using your rain gutters right now and doing very well. Aside from benefit of space saving is there any added benefits from doing the tower with pump vs your kratky gutters?
You can easily add the nutrient solution to the top bucket and it will trickle down to the bottom bucket. To me the challenge is easily determining the solution level in the bottom bucket.
@@latriciacagle4873 You could drill a hole near the bottom and install an adapter through the bucket wall, with rubber washer on each side for water seals, and attach tubing on this outside connector and run it vertically up. You might cover the tube to keep out light.
Awesome channel! Does anyone have vertical grow light ideas or suggestions for lighting indoor towers? Thank you for sharing your hard work and enthusiasm.
Want free buckets???? Go to the donuts shop and ask them when they have empty buckets the good thing is the buckets are food grade...some places will charge you a dollar to 3 dollars...
about how often are you refilling the bottom bucket? I've fixed most of the leaking from the pool noodles by just adjusting them a bit, i still get a few drops that build up on top of the bucket lids that ends up spilling past, but just wondering how often it is with you?
Not sure if it's been mentioned anywhere but an easy upgrade to stability could be to completely cut the bottom off of one bucket or the reservoir buck and then two decently large cuts on the sides. Get a sterilite tote for a bigger wider reservoir base. Measure cut a hole in the totes lid for the bucket to slide into. This could make refilling it easier as well. Would add maybe $8-$12 to the project total. Thank you so much for sharing though! Ridiculously easy looking and a great basic structure, perfect diy
I am building a CNC router that can mill pipes. This will allow me to machine parts for a tower. I can machine groves in the cups that will catch and direct nutrient solution to the roots of the plant in the cup and then direct the solution to the next plant below it. It will mill slots that will hold the cups at 45° to the main pipe which can be cheap, 4" drainage pipe. I can also mill plates to go inside the main pipe that will assist in distributing the nutrient solution properly. I can also make end caps for the downspouts.
I have been making food grade buckets I get from donut shops or bakeries where they have the fillers for the donuts or frosting there two and a half gallons sometimes I get them free and other times I pay a dollar apiece there food grade two and a half gallons work great they get the lid with it they usually wash him out and ready to go
you for got to make the lightning system that goes around the buckets for your leafy greens. - Need to find a cheap an easy way, like using tinfoil with leds lighting to reflect the light for a more even lighting around the buckets.
Just FYI, you might want to paint the outside of the plastic because the sun will make the plastic very brittle and break apart in pieces. The paint will also reduce algae growth. Otherwise, I love the design and use of the pool noodles.
My thoughts were to use a 12v pump off a small motorcycle battery with a solar charger, that way you can put the tower anywhere. Also, shape the pool noodle to a cup like shape to catch the nutrient better.
Following up on my tower with a bucket topped with stackable planters... When we filled it with potting mix, it started leaning. The ground was too soft for the casters. At first I thought I should have used 4 casters instead of 3. Or maybe larger ones. So we rolled it inside on a cemented floor. It still leaned! I don't know why. We ended up dumping all the dirt out. It still leaned from the bucket not the planters leaning. I guess the weight of the dirt must have done something? I was so disappointed I didn't look at it too much. Hubby and were talking about it and I think we're just going to remove the casters and let the drill holes be drainholes. I'm sharing this to Facebook and tagging him. We have buckets and I have an aquaponics pump already. To keep my pump from getting clogged I wrapped it in netting or window screen. I saw it on an aquaponics video. And some people take the filters out of their pumps. I just choose to wrap mine for an extra layer of protection.
I’m planning on making these but without the hydroponic tubing system. Just wanted to ask if I have to grow the plants separately first before moving them to the holes in the bucket?
I've worked in many restaurants and bakeries where five gallon food grade buckets are tossed right into the dumpster. Most places would be happy to give them to you for free.
Hi, love this simple solution. Just wondering how you manage to change the nutrition or check the PH level, what Ive read is super important to do every 2-3 weeks. any solution for that? thanks for answering
Great video but it would have been the best if you had the Home Depot buckets there with you. I still do not know how the risers work. The pump and hose etc is easy. So the hose of course goes from pump to the top bucket but what are the risers used for? Sorry i guess i have a mental block
Thank you Mr. Vanduzee for all of your videos I have learned so much from them. I have a question though in building your Home Depot bucket system your supply list shows a small riser and your video itself shows a much longer riser. Could you tell me the length of the riser that I should be using.
Thank you. You can use the short one, the long one is adjustable. You can cut it down to size. The spray just needs to be high enough to hit the roots of the top row of plants.
Pondering on how you might weigh it down in case it gets top heavy or tippy as things grow. Maybe an extra bucket with gravel or a few inches of concrete poured inside, then put the bottom bucket inside that one ?
Hey Mike , thanks for replying back to me. appreciated. do you run the pump 24/7 or is the pump shut off with a timer at perhaps 11 pm or midnight? Then the pump can be turned back on at perhaps 5 am. will the roots dry out of not continually having water and nutrients cascading over them.
I run mine 18hs and turn it off for 6hrs at night. It's cool at night and they should not dry out. Indoor growing is a little different where the climate is controlled.
I built a tower and have plants in it. (Food grade, ha) the challenge is keeping water in it. Using pool noodles and they are leaking. Suggestions on keeping water/nutrients inside? Going to do another ad soon as the water gets under control Thanks John
When drilling the holes in the Lids, what is the easiest way to clean the shavings (and the raised sides on the backsides where the drill bit pushed through)? Took a good 2-3 hours with a knife to cut each shaving off smooth and make sure there was not particles left over.
I got some 5 gallon pickle buckets for Firehouse Subs a while ago. This may be what I use them for. BTW they’re food grade and I think they were $2 each.
Thank you Mr. Van Duzee!! Looks like you have another incredible way for us to all grow our own food! I have to tell you I picked 5 cherry tomatoes vine ripened today and two over ripe sweet banana peppers(over ripe because they start off yellow so how do you know when they are ripe?! Lol! They are soooo sweet when orange like candy!) I wouldn’t have tried half the things that you have taught me and I’m eternally grateful! I have another tomato plant that is putting on Roma tomatoes right now and I just can’t believe it! We’ve been eating lettuce of all kinds by the bowl full and tatsoi is my go to 45 days veg that I can put on a menu plan and know in 45 days we will be have a lot of delicious stir fry tatsoi! It’s awesome. I wear my pink bee 🐝 the change T-shirt proudly! I absolutely love how you have taught someone that is disabled and can’t do much anything else but as long as someone can bring the 5gallon buckets over to my plants I can use my handheld pumps(actually used for gasoline) and easily pump water from my bucket into my growing buckets! Thank you so much! On a fixed income and with food prices soaring I have confidence in my ability to grow a ton of food in a small loft apartment high in the sky on the 34th & 35th floor! I tell everyone I know and they are blown away by my photos of fresh food. It’s all picture perfect because no pests or wind or anything to disturb it. Thank you thank you thank you!!🥰❤️🙏🏻🇨🇦🐝
I love this so much!! I am so happy and proud of you! You rock! Thank you for Bee ing the Change!
amazing to hear. thanks Mike for making all this possible for everybody.
@Leanne KenYoung: Your comment was so sweet and inspiring it made me cry! Congratulations on your thriving garden…so happy for you!
@Keep on Growing with Mike: Thank you for all the joy and great ideas you brought to us! We need this information now more than ever!
@@diannadiress8148 awe I’m happy that my words had that effect on you, I always write them and wonder if anyone will ever read them. Ironically today I pulled out two full trays of white stem pak Choi that I put into such a small amount of tiny little soil pods and I just pulled them apart and when they are very young before the roots get very large and entangled. So it was incredibly satisfying to fill these 3” wide cup trays with small holes in the bottom and I put a very solid tray underneath and that’s where I add the lightly added nutrient water and the tiny thin stems lay on the inside of the 3” cups and then once the roots get well established they stand up on their own and just thrive I have plastic covers over top of the entire tray to keep them moist and I have the light just above the trays in a month or less I’ll be able to take my first harvest for a stir fry. I love this stuff it’s so delicious and easy to grow.
So proud of you Leanne! I tried microgreens in soil this past winter. And did okay. Except for a knat infestation. So I will never have soil in my apartment again. I'm binge watching all of Bee The Change Videos as of yesterday. My hydroponics will have to be indoors April-November. I have a tiny balcony mostly shaded. I am also on a permanent disability. And boy do I need something to do. And grow. Besides I am a strict vegan. So growing my own food is so important. I would like to do bubblers and pumps on solar (for mostly indoor hydroponics). If you or anyone else has any ideas I'm open.
I went to Whole Foods bakery department for buckets. They use from 1 to 3 buckets of icing very day or two. No charge but you have to clean the icing that's left. I then used H2O2 solution (33%)to clean them. You got me started at this 2 years ago. I have built a 6 X 6 foot (36 square feet) ladder (102 plants) for my patio. My Patio is 8 X 17 feet. This Tower will be a great addition for my 35 Strawberry Plants. I can send pictures if you like. I am a 78 senior living in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). When I started this I was 40 pounds heaver. Harvey
That is sooooo awesome Harvey! You are an inspiration! my email is keepongrowin1@gmail.com
@@KeepOnGrowin
I will send you pictures of my patio gardenas soon as I get the bucket tower complete
@@harveymcaninch9338 Man that is awesome, I would love to see pictures as well!
I love this comment! I want to see your pictures, too. That's a good idea to do this with strawberries.
I'd love to see your pictures also. Good for you and congratulations on your 40 lb. weight loss : )
Suggestion- instead of metal bolts, use heavy duty, plastic zip ties and thread through two of your holes in the lids to make a tight loop. Those metal bolts are going to corrode quite quickly. zip ties that are made for outdoor/water usage will last a decade.
you can also get plastic nuts and bolts the type you can put on your car to keep license plate on with
You could also use the nuts for toilet seats. They're mostly now plastic.
Stainless bolts would be fine
Thank you for saving me a fortune. I live in the UK and was on the verge of ordering ONE tower system from Germany for 650 GBP. Lucky for me I thought I'll have a quick internet search for an alternative before ordering. I came across your UA-cam channel and your simple instructions for building one's own "Bucket Tower". This got me very excited to say the least.. Needless to say I'm now off to the hardware shop for the things I need. My goal is TEN towers so FORTY buckets. Thanks again.
For those of you who don't want to spend too much on buckets and lids, check out your local bakery! Some of the big box chains too. The frosting comes in large, 5 gallon food grade buckets, and some don't mind handing them out. I used to all the time when I was working in the bakery of my local grocery store. To bad I didn't know about this back then! Happy gardening :)
Thank you!
THANK YOU!!! As a person that is extremely "green"(aka new🤣) when it comes to hydroponics and kinda broke your videos have given me the knowledge, the tools, and the courage to actually start growing 💗
This comment made my weekend! Thank you Kaityn!
What a DUZEE!!! Thank you for giving us this build🎩🙏
May your blessing come back 10 fold
This is awesome! I looked at some that are super expensive and I couldn't justify that expense! Thank you so much for your hard work but even more for your sharing of your engineering of these buckets!
Very nice take on a tower! I love how budget-friendly you were able to make this!
This is so awesome Mike. I think this design is going to do very well. I always wanted a hydrophobic tower but they are so expensive to buy. Now you just designed the budget solution.
Mike, we did away with the sprinkler heads due to clogging. We placed a funnel upside down and the water flows to the sides. Also, the pool noodles were leaking out nutrients. They would leak down onto the outside lid. We drilled tiny holes on the outside lids and it dripped back in the buckets. Very pleased.
Thanks for your expertise and is greatly appreciated!
Nice! The funnel is a great tip. I had to clean my nozzle out every few weeks. Thanks for the input!
How do mean upside down? How would it spread water?
@@drb4074I'd imagine like a hat. Water would come up through funnel hole and roll down the cone toward the outside of bucket. Knocks a few bucks off and maintenance. Sounds ideal.
thanks Sir, this is important with whats happening. People should have one of these in almost every corner of every room in the house outside of the bathroom. Much love and appreciated
please keep us updated on this. I am looking into building this system. looks great. Thank you!
If you want to get technical the orange buckets are food grade look and the bottom of the "food grade" bucket and the orange bucket the have the same HDPE stamp
Thank you Kevin.
@@KeepOnGrowin your welcome Sir I really like your videos I have learned alot from them thank you
All those square cat food buckets are also good grade
@@richlaue I've never seen cat food in buckets are you talking about clay kitty litter?
I like your idea. I will try this for myself with a few changes. I would use pvc pipe glue to attach the lids to the bottoms of the buckets to hopefully give a water tight seal. The other change is to add a spigot valve on the lower side of the reservoir bucket to allow drainage for the winter months. I live where we get three or four months a year with threat of below freezing temps, so without a greenhouse or other temperature controlled space would have a risk of damage to everything.
I have had buckets from Lowes for 2 years. And tested with no problems. I had a full garden last year. All in buckets and totes. Even okra in a horse water tub.
Mike, you're a genius! Well done!
I am so excited to build this tower! Thank you so much for all your hard work to make this video. I'm up in Canada so I can slowly get mine built before the May 24 last frost date! 💖
Have fun! Happy gardening!!
Hi GreenEyedFlower I’m in Canada as well but I grow all my veggies indoors with grow lights. I absolutely love my little garden in our little apartment in the Center of the city. I didn’t know I could grow anything before I tried hydroponics because prior to that everything I tried to grow died but without the mess and the dirt hydroponic growing is the only way for me!! It’s been absolutely awesome. I just plucked my first three roma tomatoes and a handful of cherry tomatoes the other day and I’ve got my NfT system all washed up and slowly getting it set up again. It takes a lot to fill 52 holes for lettuce! But I grow as many different varieties and kinds that I can find and absolutely love it. I grow sweet peppers too and I’ve been sooo successful at growing them they don’t just last and produce for a couple of months out in the garden, no you can grow sweet bell peppers indoors in large tote containers and oh my word leave them until they are vine ripened and I just plan my next meal on what the garden has given me for the day! It’s so much fun and I can be as creative or as simple as I like. I recently discovered lemon basil and I’ve always wanted to grow a lemon tree and I’m going to find some dwarf varieties but until then this lemon basil is completely satisfying my citrus needs. The aroma when I start cutting off the leaves is unbelievable you would think I had just sliced a fresh lemon in my living room. And my hands smell like lemon for so long afterwards. I can wait to make some boiled down teas with it so I can make lemon basil iced tea I don’t know if it’s a thing or not but I can’t wait to try it!! Also I’ve found the more I cut it the More it grows and the exact same thing with regular basil. 🥰🇨🇦
How did this work last summer? I'm in Ontario and seriously considering this for this coming season
This is brilliant ❤️❤️ I’m so excited to try it!
Cool. Look forward to the results
Keep up the good work Duzee. I live in a cold climate and got to eat the fresh peas in the middle of winter thanks to your vids. Had to spend some money on cheap grow lights because I'm in CO but man fresh peas are always good. They usually just get eaten by everyone right off the vine.
Love that Jessie! Keep up the great work!
Eating sugar snaps right off the vine is like eating candy.
I did buy grow LED recently but I've also been using just plain 4 foot 5000 lumin shop lights from sams club and walmart(under $25 each set) and the lettuce and baby bok choi do really well along with spring onions. We've been enjoying all winter inside here in michigan.
In case you need more lights. Happy growing 🥰 p/s tatsoi is a favorite of mine too.
out of sight idea so glad i can afford to grow now thank you soooooooooo much
I like it, Mike. That looks more functional than some of the high-end tower systems. I converted two of my ten-foot downspouts to NFT and they are working well. A ten-foot spout gives me 29 stations. I ran a hose down the length of the spout so I could catch the return and feed the spout from the same end. It works well.
That's an awesome idea! I like your thinking!
Could you explain n the hose more, I don't understand
@@krisqueen5939 I ran the supply hose into the rail on the downhill side. From there, it ran inside the rail to the far, high end. The solution ran downhill from there, feeding the plants. It drains into a collection system where it is filtered before returning to the pump.
Omg I’m so excited I found this channel you are amazing lotsa love from Australia 🇦🇺
Welcome!! Thank you!
Hey Mr D! I’m so excited I stumbled across your channel. I’ve been trying to find out how to affordably test hydroponics before I make a big investment. I have another cost savings recommendation. I purchase 5 gallon buckets with the lids at my local donut shop for $1.50 each. That’s $6 compared to $30, shaving $24 from your total bill of materials cost. It does require a little elbow grease to remove the icing and filling residue, but it’s definitely worth it. They also sell their 2 1/2 and 3 gallon buckets. I use these all the time in the garden and around the house
Awesome! I don't mind a little extra work if it saves money! You rock!
I'm gonna try with just a few changes. I'm gonna try to put the same angle opposite each other for the pool noodles. And I'll make a loop with the water hose around top instead of the sprinkler. Awesome ideas and great explanations.
Awesome! Keep me updated!
Only thing I would have done different is offset the 2 rows so the water isn't running straight down from one plant to the other and the roots from the upper plant won't touch the one below.
yep stagger the holes
Agree, you'll have better results if your holes are offset. The design looks good unless you need to get in to unclog the pump. Enjoy
Suggestion: Bury half the reservoir in the ground as an anchor and to keep the nutrient solution cooler in the summer.
Suggestion: When cutting the holes, stagger the holes between levels (locate lower plant holes 1/2 way between the holes on the upper row). This will give the plants more room to grow.
Best and cheapest food grade buckets WITH lids and rings are $3 Pickle Buckets from Firehouse Subs. It also goes into their Firemen's Charity. Swish with water and lemon juice to get the pickle smell out.
Awesome!!! Thank you!!
Your instructions are great. Thank you for making this video. I can’t wait to make this tower. Many of them, actually lol
Yes you teach really well I hope you produce more videos
This is a fantastic video! Thank you!
I have done several outdoor aquaponic gardens, mostly flood and drain gravel beds... this would be a cool addition and the bottom bucket instead of a reservoir could be a collection point and then use a hose to direct the water to the fish pond. Ive grown tons of lettuce just using cheap goldfish from the pet store.
Thank you Mike.
Thank you I appreciate your informative videos.
I am appreciating what you do to help others.
I am building the 4 bucket tower. Why cut bottom from most buckets, yet not the bottom, a 3/4" hole to pass tube through, cut the whole bottom open.
I plan on 15-20 plants/bucket, 3-4 rows of 5. Fill empty with pool noodles if I need to.
What to do if pump goes bad, or gets clogged? My friend says, put another bucket next to bottom one. Place pump in in, Run hose thru walls then up as usual, return water in bottom can transfer to pump bucket with double barbed piece 7 & vinyl tube, seal holes, with valves so water can be shut off between buckets if necessary. Simply disconnect pump, clean or replace, reinstall, turn pump and valves back on.
Suggestion. You spend a lot of time drilling holes and then cleaning up the results so the pump doesn't clog up. Why don't you melt the holes using a larger soldering iron or a bolt of the correct diameter heated with a propane torch? The holes are smoother and there is no cleanup.
Also, you don't have to limit your tower to one mode. You could have a three bucket tower base for stability, then continue atop that with a pipe of 4" diameter or 6". I have a section of 6" on hand, so I will use that.
I'm also planning a fence mounted hydroponic using plastic roll fencing attached to my board fence (could be a wall). I will staple plastic bottles to the plastic net so one bottle drains to the one below, with a gutter at the bottom to collect the solution to recirculation it. Lots of holes in the bottles, all melted in.
I enjoy your channel. Thank you.
@@rickmarkgraf2617 this is an old comment but I just wanted to say thank you for the soldering iron tip. I've ruined a couple of utensils and wasted a lot of gas the last few days melting and cutting plastic containers, a soldering iron should make things very quick and easy.
This is an old comment but I just wanted to say thank you for the soldering iron tip. It will definitely save me time, gas and kitchen utensils with all the cutting and hole-drilling I will be doing in the near future.
Thank you for this well explained and informational video. I’m getting ready to give this a go.
Awesome!!
I have been looking to complete an exact system such as yours. You have some great ideas here Mike, I will be starting to build my system tomorrow. I'll let you know how I go...
I learned a ton watching your videos. Thank you! I am going to start building this weekend hopefully
Nice!!! Happy gardening!!
I really like this approach
You can go to Firehouse Subs and get buckets for $2.00 , food grade with lid and the proceeds go to local fire companies for equipment purchases. Win Win RED in color.. I put a piece off of a pair of pantyhose around the pump. Helps to keep the junk out also..
A really great video!!! It so happens I have 4 5 gal buckets that I can repurpose for this. My design is basically the same but as I don't get 360 degrees of sun I've only put holes where the plants will get sunlight. I'm using the last of my pool noodles to hold the plants. I will try strawberries and spinach to see how they grow. Oh, yeah I've sprayed the buckets black and then silver.
A good way to solve that issue I read recently from a grower is that she would place one side with plants that need a lot of sun, the other side less in need of full sun! Genius! No space wasted!!
The buckets stacked would also be a great way to filter water!
Nice! Thank you
Looks like a great idea I think I would stagger the plant holes
Just found your channel love what you’re doing. The orange and blue buckets that you get from the stores will break down in a couple years. But the food grade will last years.
Thank you. You are right. Also, these newer ones are a lot thinner and flimsier than they used to be.
I love your gorgeous workshop!
Thank you, it was fun making it.
@@KeepOnGrowinI binging on your videos today!
I love how steam punk your room looks!
Thank you! We are having fun with it!
Just came across this video and wanted to say thanks for making it! After years of struggling to grow anything in my backyard, I've been thinking about trying the hydroponic method. I'd prefer not to have to spend hundreds of dollars on a system when I'm just a beginner, so this is a great option.
Fun fact, the Home Depot buckets are made in my hometown. :)
Neuf 350Z: I think your idea of trying Hydroponics is a great one; If you’ve got some yard space, consider having a look around the neighbourhood to see what your neighbours are growing. It could be that you weren’t using a species of plant to grow, that does well in your area.
It may also be that there’s something small that would make a big difference to you. So perhaps talking to somebody in your family your circle of friends that garden successfully, and maybe having them come over and take a look at your land, to help you figure it out?
I have a sister who put a great deal of effort and money into a flower garden that failed year after year. It took one trip of a family member and one walk through the garden to find the problem.
Ever since that time, she has had a lush, productive, and even somewhat exotic garden.
My mom, who has always grown flowers, tried growing potatoes in a garden using black soil, as that’s a choice that always held lots of water for her flowers in the heat of summer. As a result, all her potatoes tasted like bog.
She was really discouraged and decided that she was not going to grow any more vegetables because she considered that one result to be a waste of resources and space, because the vegetables were essentially inedible.
I had a quick look, as my experience is with growing food, so it wasn’t so hard to spot the problem.
When she learned that she had done absolutely everything right, and actually produced a pretty nice yield, but just had used the wrong growth medium, she decided to give it another shot.
She’s learning as she goes, and she knows how to produce potatoes, lettuce, celery, strawberries, onions and leeks, Black currents, and a few nice carrots.
If the issue with your backyard is so easily solved, there’s no reason why you couldn’t enjoy both.❤️
Really cool! Thank you.
I like it. I have access to dirt cheap food grade metal barrels in my area. Like as cheap as a bucket. I've been thinking about stacking two, burying the first one in the ground to maintain temps. Then putting plant sites on the top barrel. I don't think water coming in from the top will work with that though, I would need to get water to each plant site.
I am bulding this same tower. Thank you for the prototype! One question, I want to stagger my holes so that they don'e line up vertically on each bucket like yours does. Do you think that this makes a difference or not. My mom has he expensive tower garden and those holes are staggered (offset) from one level to the next and not vertically lined up.
Great idea. I’m going to make this.
Awesome!!
Cool build. I think I’m going to build one too. I have an idea to use 1/2” drip irrigation line with misters in each of the buckets. But I have some time before the weather is good enough to grow outside. Thanks for all the work you do and sharing.
Awesome! Keep me updated! Would love to hear how it turned out!
yes same here M Woody let me know how you get on with it
Love it!!! Thank you ♥️🇨🇦
Just an FYI - If you live near a Firehouse Subs, they sell their used 5G food grade pickle buckets with lids for $3.
Awesome, that's $.50 cheaper than Home Depot!
And the funds go to help first responders.
Good idea for apartment dweller with a small patios
Great video, I'm using your rain gutters right now and doing very well. Aside from benefit of space saving is there any added benefits from doing the tower with pump vs your kratky gutters?
Thanks! We will see, a lot of people were asking me to do one.
Might want to put some plumbing in to refill the nutrient bucket
You can easily add the nutrient solution to the top bucket and it will trickle down to the bottom bucket. To me the challenge is easily determining the solution level in the bottom bucket.
Yep, Just filling from the top.
@@latriciacagle4873 You could drill a hole near the bottom and install an adapter through the bucket wall, with rubber washer on each side for water seals, and attach tubing on this outside connector and run it vertically up. You might cover the tube to keep out light.
Love it thank you!!🙏🙌❤
Thank you Ashley!
Awesome channel! Does anyone have vertical grow light ideas or suggestions for lighting indoor towers? Thank you for sharing your hard work and enthusiasm.
Wonderful 👍
Awesome
Want free buckets???? Go to the donuts shop and ask them when they have empty buckets the good thing is the buckets are food grade...some places will charge you a dollar to 3 dollars...
Free from ice cream vendors. There's colomns of them for recycling. Anyway that's what I'm gonna try!
@@maggletooth great tip...
Thank you!
about how often are you refilling the bottom bucket? I've fixed most of the leaking from the pool noodles by just adjusting them a bit, i still get a few drops that build up on top of the bucket lids that ends up spilling past, but just wondering how often it is with you?
Not sure if it's been mentioned anywhere but an easy upgrade to stability could be to completely cut the bottom off of one bucket or the reservoir buck and then two decently large cuts on the sides. Get a sterilite tote for a bigger wider reservoir base. Measure cut a hole in the totes lid for the bucket to slide into. This could make refilling it easier as well. Would add maybe $8-$12 to the project total. Thank you so much for sharing though! Ridiculously easy looking and a great basic structure, perfect diy
I had been making towers with 10" or 12" PVC pipe. I think I like this design better. Going to try it
Awesome!!!!
If the buckets are marked on the bottom with a 1,2,4 or 5, they are food grade ! Some grocery store bakeries have them.
I am building a CNC router that can mill pipes. This will allow me to machine parts for a tower. I can machine groves in the cups that will catch and direct nutrient solution to the roots of the plant in the cup and then direct the solution to the next plant below it. It will mill slots that will hold the cups at 45° to the main pipe which can be cheap, 4" drainage pipe. I can also mill plates to go inside the main pipe that will assist in distributing the nutrient solution properly. I can also make end caps for the downspouts.
Very cool, keep up the great work!
I have been making food grade buckets I get from donut shops or bakeries where they have the fillers for the donuts or frosting there two and a half gallons sometimes I get them free and other times I pay a dollar apiece there food grade two and a half gallons work great they get the lid with it they usually wash him out and ready to go
you for got to make the lightning system that goes around the buckets for your leafy greens.
- Need to find a cheap an easy way, like using tinfoil with leds lighting to reflect the light for a more even lighting around the buckets.
Just FYI, you might want to paint the outside of the plastic because the sun will make the plastic very brittle and break apart in pieces. The paint will also reduce algae growth. Otherwise, I love the design and use of the pool noodles.
I have found that to be true. UV paint.
Keep going BROTHER
My thoughts were to use a 12v pump off a small motorcycle battery with a solar charger, that way you can put the tower anywhere. Also, shape the pool noodle to a cup like shape to catch the nutrient better.
Great ideras!
Or even a windshield washer pump ?
Awesome video! I just got some buckets from Home Depot.
can you list all the current parts and where I can get them.
Following up on my tower with a bucket topped with stackable planters...
When we filled it with potting mix, it started leaning. The ground was too soft for the casters. At first I thought I should have used 4 casters instead of 3. Or maybe larger ones.
So we rolled it inside on a cemented floor. It still leaned!
I don't know why.
We ended up dumping all the dirt out. It still leaned from the bucket not the planters leaning. I guess the weight of the dirt must have done something?
I was so disappointed I didn't look at it too much.
Hubby and were talking about it and I think we're just going to remove the casters and let the drill holes be drainholes.
I'm sharing this to Facebook and tagging him. We have buckets and I have an aquaponics pump already.
To keep my pump from getting clogged I wrapped it in netting or window screen. I saw it on an aquaponics video. And some people take the filters out of their pumps. I just choose to wrap mine for an extra layer of protection.
Great idea, thank you for sharing
Thanks
I’m planning on making these but without the hydroponic tubing system. Just wanted to ask if I have to grow the plants separately first before moving them to the holes in the bucket?
I've worked in many restaurants and bakeries where five gallon food grade buckets are tossed right into the dumpster. Most places would be happy to give them to you for free.
The top bucket gets the sprayer. The middle 2 buckets depend on the water raining down and the bottom bucket is the reservoir?
Yes, that is correct!
Mike can i get a parts list of materials including the new sprinkler head?
Thanks for you last response. What kind of pump to I need to build the 4 story tower with 5 gallon buckets?
look for the "lift" or maximum height and go beyond.
Wow! THANK YOU, This is Great!!!
How can I make sure is BPA/PFOA Free? And Food Safe?
Does anyone know where I can get the components to be food safe?
You can call the manufacturer, check the website to see what they are made of.
Hi, love this simple solution. Just wondering how you manage to change the nutrition or check the PH level, what Ive read is super important to do every 2-3 weeks. any solution for that? thanks for answering
I add solution from the top. I have been doing this over 10 years and have never owned a meter. I don't measure EC or pH.
100k on the way my dude
Great video but it would have been the best if you had the Home Depot buckets there with you. I still do not know how the risers work. The pump and hose etc is easy. So the hose of course goes from pump to the top bucket but what are the risers used for? Sorry i guess i have a mental block
Thank you Mr. Vanduzee for all of your videos I have learned so much from them. I have a question though in building your Home Depot bucket system your supply list shows a small riser and your video itself shows a much longer riser. Could you tell me the length of the riser that I should be using.
Thank you. You can use the short one, the long one is adjustable. You can cut it down to size. The spray just needs to be high enough to hit the roots of the top row of plants.
I would liked to see how the water flowed through since I am not sure how that worked. Love the video. Very detailed
I was wondering if I could use zip ties to hold the lids onto the bottoms, or maybe that is a food safety thing?
Probably could.
Pondering on how you might weigh it down in case it gets top heavy or tippy as things grow. Maybe an extra bucket with gravel or a few inches of concrete poured inside, then put the bottom bucket inside that one ?
Those are both great ideas.
love that idea hmmmm some heavy stones i can do
How do we add water in when water running low and is the pump has to be on all the time? Thank you
I just add from the top. On a timer, on 18hrs, off 6
The nut for you piping you can use 1/2" ridge emt nuts.
Thank you!
Hey Mike , thanks for replying back to me. appreciated. do you run the pump 24/7 or is the pump shut off with a timer at perhaps 11 pm or midnight? Then the pump can be turned back on at perhaps 5 am. will the roots dry out of not continually having water and nutrients cascading over them.
I run mine 18hs and turn it off for 6hrs at night. It's cool at night and they should not dry out. Indoor growing is a little different where the climate is controlled.
I built a tower and have plants in it. (Food grade, ha) the challenge is keeping water in it. Using pool noodles and they are leaking. Suggestions on keeping water/nutrients inside? Going to do another ad soon as the water gets under control
Thanks
John
Fiddle with them so that if they do leak they drip to the bucket and down to the next lip. It should drain back in.
When drilling the holes in the Lids, what is the easiest way to clean the shavings (and the raised sides on the backsides where the drill bit pushed through)? Took a good 2-3 hours with a knife to cut each shaving off smooth and make sure there was not particles left over.
Maybe a stiff wire brush???
Melt the holes, dont drill.
I got some 5 gallon pickle buckets for Firehouse Subs a while ago. This may be what I use them for.
BTW they’re food grade and I think they were $2 each.
Nice!!!!
What nutrients do you recommand using?