Hey Brett, if you use a 400 GPH pump you should not have any problems with your set up. What you will have a problem with is if you set the pump inside the main tower, when the roots start to get long on the last few bottom rows and will clog your pump. I'm making a new video addressing some of the issues I have had using the 5 gallon buckets and improvements I've made. Some of the issues are cooling the system when using them outdoors and maintenance of the system. I just haven't had time to finish it up. I'm working on another project that's tying me up right now. Which I will share with everyone when the time is right.
So cool! I want to build this for my classroom since we cover plants:) Last year I made a green house but have always wanted to tackle some sort of hydroponics system. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching Kathrine. If you take a look at some of my other videos you'll see how well they work. Growing leafy greens do really well and only takes about 4 weeks to harvest.
The problem with using the conduit is that its thin and you don't have much of a surface to glue it to the post. I tried using it when I first started to make the garden tower and had problems with them falling off if you bump them. If you plan on using it every growing season its worth using the schedule 40 pipe.
Sal Yes if you set the saw at 0 degrees and measure 4 1/4 inches make your mark and then set your chop saw at 50 degrees and make your cuts. Sorry the video wasn't clear about that.
Nice video. You really need to paint the PVC or it will fade and get brittle over time, and end up in your food supply. You can use Krylon plastic paint on everything to protect it from UV. This is especially true with the 5 gallon bucket. I live in Florida, after a few years an unpainted plastic bucket or PVC pipe will become brittle and break off easily.
Hey. Just wanted to say I'm really impressed by your videos and they're very helpful. I also thought about something as I was watching them. I work for a 3D printing company and I think there are a lot of possibilities to use printed parts in this set up. Everything from templates for cutting to the actual water spreading system on the top. You should contact me sometime and we can think about ideas to print for these.
Lindsey TJ Hall I actually work for Stratasys who is an industry leader so I'm obviously a little biased. :) Ours are high end professional printers but you can get a basic 3D printer for next to nothing these days. I would still like to team up with someone to design and print a few parts for a project like this for fun though. Let me know if anyone is interested.
Zack Richter Hey Zack what kind of ideas do you have for the top water system for the tower? My thoughts were just keep it simple. Maybe something that would be able drop it in the top and have a lip on it to catch and support it self and have a fitting on for the hose.
Zack Richter I'm an engineering student at Boston University have been learning Solidworks recently and I want to design parts for this. I'm starting to draw them up now and I'll send them to you once I think I've got something that works.
Your presentation is awesome, I really like what you are doing with this, looks really neat. but I see one problem in your tower, is the water flow. The water goes straight down and the plants they don't receive a lot of the water. the solution is to use the technique of cutting and bending the pipe in. That way the water has more resistance and it stays longer so the plant can pick up all the nutrients. And also you can save a lot of time doing this, it takes like 20 to be done. Good video.
Home Depot or Lowes would have them. I've found if you go to the outdoor part of the lawn and garden department they are usually sitting in a back corner.
Great design! I just built another variation of this and there was too much splash and water on the outside of the post. Looking forward to duplicating your design...Thanks!
The fence glue will work thats not the problem. Its the thin wall of the conduit pipe. Dont get me wrong it will work but eventually you will probably have to re glue them back on.
Very cool - several years ago I did several veggies in kratky buckets - tomatoes, some broccoli, kale and other greens. everything grew great until I went out of town for a few days for work and late june in south carolina, it was 100 degrees and it literally cooked the roots of all the plants. I heard you mention burying the nutrient reservoirs - which was my plans for next time - which may be this spring. I like the looks and styles of your towers. do you have any reference to how deep I should go with the buckets to get the geothermic cooling to help keep the nutrient solution cool enough in 100 degree temps?
My Lowe's and HomeDepot don't carry 3-in PVC pipe, but for some reason the Lowe's has 3-inc PVC couplings for the pipe they don't carry. Looks like I will have to use 3-inch PVC electrical conduit, which is actually cheaper, just the wrong color.
You have skills. Nice clean work. Am I correct in guessing you used a new, fine tip blade for your chop saw? Did you know that they make white plastic snap on lids for the 3inch net cups? Might help out retaining the clay pebbles. Additionally... there are black foam ones that push into the cups, also for product retention and algae prevention.
Great videos on how to build your tower! But when you measured your length for your standoff's you state in the video you measured out 5 1/2" from the blade then set a 50° mitre to make the cut. When I made my cuts my standoff's are indeed 5 1/2" in length in the 50° section and in the length of pipe but but it seems the standoff is longer than what yours looks like in the video. Did you by any chance measure 4 1/2 " out from the blade then make a 50°?
I am currently building one of these and wanted to know why you space the cups out so far apart. Im thinking about doing a cup every 6" and staggering on opposite sides. I plan to have 40 total. This is strictly for greens, no real large plants Its going in a greenhouse so I am using 3" net pots without having to worry about wind as you mentioned. My only concern is the bottom few levels may not get enough water and nutrients with so many cups stacked. Thoughts?
Mike, really appreciate your vidoes. Watched most of them several times!! Few questions. Why is it that most pictures I see of these towers are just lettuce or strawberries? Any guidance on what to plant and what not to? Maybe a top ten successful crops for this method? Planning on building one of these soon! Thanks!!
Hi Ryan Growing leafy greens in the tower do great. Strawberries thrive and are easy to grow. The problem with growing bigger plants like squash, tomatoes is you need some kind of support for the plant. But what happens is when the plant gets bigger and starts producing your adding weight to the tower and then it becomes unbalanced. The second problem is roots. Just growing lettuce I can get the roots to grow over 2- 3 feet long. Could you imagine the roots inside that tower with the bigger plants. It would be a mess. Another problem is the last bottom 4 plant holders on the tower. The roots get so long they start to float in the bottom of the reservoir then the pump sucks them in. Yes I use a water pump and air pump. Next spring if things go right I wanted to try a micro midget tomato plant, sugar snap peas, cucumbers and a few other things. I'm also working on a Dirt version of the tower with a watering sytem inside. So stay tuned.Thanks for watching.
Mike Walker I saw on another video an experienced tower garden user that put tomatoes at the bottom of the tower. She then trained them out and away from the tower and into tomato cages. I imagine doing the same to a trellis for climbing plants would work also. I am going to give it a try this year.
Can I make a suggestion. If you do grow tomatoes use the top cup holders of the tower. I can tell you this from experience. Any plant that has long roots start to take over your tank and will clog your pump up and burn it out. I learned that the hard way. Those experienced tower garden user won't tell you that. It's there job to sell it to you and make it look amazing and see what it can do. But they won't tell you the problems with it.
if you bury the bucket or not how do you secure the tower to it to hold the tower upright tks great project I am really getting in to hydroponics tks again
I make the whole in the lid a tight fit and make sure you have a straight cut on the bottom of the tower. That was one of the reason's I moved any from the buckets and use coolers now.
Hi Mac I do have plans on having many towers running off of one pump. I just don't have enough time to start it this season, but I will put one together for next spring. Stay tuned I have a lot of plans for next year. In the mean time check out my other videos. Thanks for watching.
hi mike thanks for spending time to make this video, I am currently trying to make the standoffs, wanted to know how did you hold the 51/2 inch pipe on the compound saw it you hold by hand or clamped it and which blade you used to cut the pvc on compound saw or chop saw, possible for your to make the video on that how to cut the standoff on the chop saw please please please
If you don't have a chop saw to make the inserts with for the plants, what would be the simplest way to cut them off at the right angle for use? In other words, can I use a hack saw and if so, what is the angle I need to cut the pieces at in order to have the 51/2" size of plastic cup holders? I just don't want to go and purchase a chop saw that I would only use once or twice. Is there an easy way to make these angled pieces? Thanks.
just food for thought...If the pvc you are using are the ones used as conduit for drinking water..would this be toxic for growing food? There are 3 inch diameter pvc pipes and 4 inch diameter pipes used for transmission of water.
Hi Teri You don't have to let it run 24/7. You can put it on a timer. Most people set there timer for 15 minutes on then 15 minutes off. I let mine run 24/7.
I'm making one of these, or something like it, right now. Is the PVC vinyl cement food safe? I bought some Loctite plastic bonder. It says not for prolonged immersion in water and not for use in potable water systems. I've been searching for a food-safe epoxy or plastic cement. So far no luck. Your thoughts?
I'm not sure if the pvc fence cement is food grade. I do know it's made for outdoor use. If this is an issue I would recommend going to amazon.com and typing in the search field food grade and medical grade adhesive. You will get a big list of products that would work for you.
the bottom 2 cup holders you have to watch your root growth. the roots reach the top of the tank. So watch the roots in those two spots, it could clog you pump.
Whats your thought on using a solar pond pump like this? WIth the tubing attached to where the pond fountain attachment would be? Electrical supply is an issue for me, as the only outlet is in a very shaded spot. I live in Hawaii so sunlight isn't an issue here! www.amazon.com/Instapark%C2%AE-GYD-001-Solar-Powered-Water-Pump/dp/B004XXRSS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426034122&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+water+pump
Hey purple I don't think a pond pump will work. The problem is "Head Height" the pump has to be able to pump water the height of your tower. So if your tower is 6 1/2 feet tall your pump has to be able to pump more than that. Meaning you are going to need a pump that has a height of 7-8 feet. This allows the pump to work easily and have good flow. I use a 400 gallon per hour pump.
Hi mike. Why 50 degree cut instead of 45 degree? Wont it be uneven? Also to make things clear, you measure 5.5 inch before cutting the pvc then cut on angle at 4.25?
![Дон ДОН, Алаудинов и СБЕЖАВШИЕ из под Курска ахматовцы 😁 [Пародия]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEfCf5IK26Q/mqdefault.jpg)
PVC primer will make the writing come off much easier. This is a really cool setup. Thanks for the video.
Your wife's nail polish remover (aka acetone) will also take off the print on most pvc pipes.
Hey Brett, if you use a 400 GPH pump you should not have any problems with your set up. What you will have a problem with is if you set the pump inside the main tower, when the roots start to get long on the last few bottom rows and will clog your pump. I'm making a new video addressing some of the issues I have had using the 5 gallon buckets and improvements I've made. Some of the issues are cooling the system when using them outdoors and maintenance of the system. I just haven't had time to finish it up. I'm working on another project that's tying me up right now. Which I will share with everyone when the time is right.
So cool! I want to build this for my classroom since we cover plants:) Last year I made a green house but have always wanted to tackle some sort of hydroponics system. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching Kathrine.
If you take a look at some of my other videos you'll see how well they work. Growing leafy greens do really well and only takes about 4 weeks to harvest.
Great rework you did of the rain tower. I will be building my first one this weekend and will be using your ideas! They are totally awesome!
Thanks David.
A man of many Talents! Great idea.
It's great idea looks like a factory made tower garden
Thank you.
The problem with using the conduit is that its thin and you don't have much of a surface to glue it to the post. I tried using it when I first started to make the garden tower and had problems with them falling off if you bump them. If you plan on using it every growing season its worth using the schedule 40 pipe.
Sal
Yes if you set the saw at 0 degrees and measure 4 1/4 inches make your mark and then set your chop saw at 50 degrees and make your cuts. Sorry the video wasn't clear about that.
Nice video. You really need to paint the PVC or it will fade and get brittle over time, and end up in your food supply. You can use Krylon plastic paint on everything to protect it from UV. This is especially true with the 5 gallon bucket. I live in Florida, after a few years an unpainted plastic bucket or PVC pipe will become brittle and break off easily.
Yes it's a 5x5 fence post.
Your work is neat really really neat that's how I want mine to look thanks alot
Hey. Just wanted to say I'm really impressed by your videos and they're very helpful. I also thought about something as I was watching them. I work for a 3D printing company and I think there are a lot of possibilities to use printed parts in this set up. Everything from templates for cutting to the actual water spreading system on the top. You should contact me sometime and we can think about ideas to print for these.
I'm still making everything by hand.
Lindsey TJ Hall I actually work for Stratasys who is an industry leader so I'm obviously a little biased. :) Ours are high end professional printers but you can get a basic 3D printer for next to nothing these days. I would still like to team up with someone to design and print a few parts for a project like this for fun though. Let me know if anyone is interested.
Zack Richter Hey Zack what kind of ideas do you have for the top water system for the tower? My thoughts were just keep it simple. Maybe something that would be able drop it in the top and have a lip on it to catch and support it self and have a fitting on for the hose.
I do have a new video up for a new version I made. Check it out.
Zack Richter I'm an engineering student at Boston University have been learning Solidworks recently and I want to design parts for this. I'm starting to draw them up now and I'll send them to you once I think I've got something that works.
very neat and clear information, thank you
Vinyl fence posts look like a better starting point than PVC pipes.
Your presentation is awesome, I really like what you are doing with this, looks really neat. but I see one problem in your tower, is the water flow. The water goes straight down and the plants they don't receive a lot of the water. the solution is to use the technique of cutting and bending the pipe in. That way the water has more resistance and it stays longer so the plant can pick up all the nutrients. And also you can save a lot of time doing this, it takes like 20 to be done. Good video.
Thanks for watching Adrian.
hay mr pickey-that is what the shower -rain head9 is for KOLER will sell you one foe $250.00 jump on it.
Great, learned a lot for DIY kits.
Great project and well presented...thanks.
Thanks for watching!
excellent work and information thanks
Awesome ty for the video
Home Depot or Lowes would have them. I've found if you go to the outdoor part of the lawn and garden department they are usually sitting in a back corner.
Great design! I just built another variation of this and there was too much splash and water on the outside of the post. Looking forward to duplicating your design...Thanks!
This is a nice clean job I am inspired 👌🏼
The fence glue will work thats not the problem. Its the thin wall of the conduit pipe. Dont get me wrong it will work but eventually you will probably have to re glue them back on.
Mike Walker , how can I get your email address?
Very cool - several years ago I did several veggies in kratky buckets - tomatoes, some broccoli, kale and other greens. everything grew great until I went out of town for a few days for work and late june in south carolina, it was 100 degrees and it literally cooked the roots of all the plants. I heard you mention burying the nutrient reservoirs - which was my plans for next time - which may be this spring. I like the looks and styles of your towers. do you have any reference to how deep I should go with the buckets to get the geothermic cooling to help keep the nutrient solution cool enough in 100 degree temps?
My Lowe's and HomeDepot don't carry 3-in PVC pipe, but for some reason the Lowe's has 3-inc PVC couplings for the pipe they don't carry. Looks like I will have to use 3-inch PVC electrical conduit, which is actually cheaper, just the wrong color.
Thanks Gadiel
Very good points to keep in mind. Thank you.
Nice work
You have skills. Nice clean work. Am I correct in guessing you used a new, fine tip blade for your chop saw? Did you know that they make white plastic snap on lids for the 3inch net cups? Might help out retaining the clay pebbles. Additionally... there are black foam ones that push into the cups, also for product retention and algae prevention.
thank you very much.nice video
Thank you so much for this video. Subscribed.
Brett I spaced out my system the way I did because of the roots growing on top of each other and growing into the other net cups and making a mess.
Hey Mike about how much did this project cost?
Hey John this project cost me about $150.00.
If it works with ABS, I can get it at sch 40. It's PVC I can only find in conduit.
would u recommend a dome garden for someone in a very hot dry climate (Riyadh, KSA) were an 80 degrees is considered a fine day
The fence glue will work with ABS.
Hi Brett tidy job👍👍👍
What kind of fuck would thumb down this? This is freakin genius!
Great videos on how to build your tower! But when you measured your length for your standoff's you state in the video you measured out 5 1/2" from the blade then set a 50° mitre to make the cut. When I made my cuts my standoff's are indeed 5 1/2" in length in the 50° section and in the length of pipe but but it seems the standoff is longer than what yours looks like in the video. Did you by any chance measure 4 1/2 " out from the blade then make a 50°?
I am currently building one of these and wanted to know why you space the cups out so far apart. Im thinking about doing a cup every 6" and staggering on opposite sides. I plan to have 40 total. This is strictly for greens, no real large plants Its going in a greenhouse so I am using 3" net pots without having to worry about wind as you mentioned. My only concern is the bottom few levels may not get enough water and nutrients with so many cups stacked. Thoughts?
Grr eat video!!!Thanks
👍👍👍👍👍👍
Sure would like to see a video on how you CUT those holes and pieces.
ua-cam.com/video/hEHB-WwXejY/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/n4CeEArY1lg/v-deo.html
Check out the two videos this should help you out.
Mike Walker thank you!
buen video desde colombia
Gostaria de saber como comprar
could you show how you do the top cap and make the rainshower
rent a brain for the day and a power drill dont forget to plug it in..
Wish I knew how you drilled the oval holes
With the tool from harbor freight that he showed
nice
tks
Your welcome!
Thanks for watching!
could you describe exactly the post. what kind of post and where did you get it
excelent
what are the nutrients you are referring too
Then I might have to try some other building supply stores. Or, do you know if the vinyl fence glue works with ABS?
Mike, really appreciate your vidoes. Watched most of them several times!! Few questions. Why is it that most pictures I see of these towers are just lettuce or strawberries? Any guidance on what to plant and what not to? Maybe a top ten successful crops for this method? Planning on building one of these soon! Thanks!!
and are you using a water pump and an air pump? Thanks again!
Hi Ryan
Growing leafy greens in the tower do great. Strawberries thrive and are easy to grow. The problem with growing bigger plants like squash, tomatoes is you need some kind of support for the plant. But what happens is when the plant gets bigger and starts producing your adding weight to the tower and then it becomes unbalanced. The second problem is roots. Just growing lettuce I can get the roots to grow over 2- 3 feet long. Could you imagine the roots inside that tower with the bigger plants. It would be a mess. Another problem is the last bottom 4 plant holders on the tower. The roots get so long they start to float in the bottom of the reservoir then the pump sucks them in. Yes I use a water pump and air pump.
Next spring if things go right I wanted to try a micro midget tomato plant, sugar snap peas, cucumbers and a few other things. I'm also working on a Dirt version of the tower with a watering sytem inside. So stay tuned.Thanks for watching.
Mike Walker I saw on another video an experienced tower garden user that put tomatoes at the bottom of the tower. She then trained them out and away from the tower and into tomato cages. I imagine doing the same to a trellis for climbing plants would work also. I am going to give it a try this year.
Can I make a suggestion. If you do grow tomatoes use the top cup holders of the tower. I can tell you this from experience. Any plant that has long roots start to take over your tank and will clog your pump up and burn it out. I learned that the hard way. Those experienced tower garden user won't tell you that.
It's there job to sell it to you and make it look amazing and see what it can do. But they won't tell you the problems with it.
if you bury the bucket or not how do you secure the tower to it to hold the tower upright tks great project I am really getting in to hydroponics tks again
I make the whole in the lid a tight fit and make sure you have a straight cut on the bottom of the tower. That was one of the reason's I moved any from the buckets and use coolers now.
so do you secure the tower to the bucket or does ithold itself with the water tks
Chris Istre yes it holds it self up.
how about a right angle bracket and pop-rivits ao wood screws with glue?
show finished product.
Hi Mike, I would like to have several, many towers in my backyard. Do you have plans or videos that link several towers with 1 pump? Thank you.
Hi Mac
I do have plans on having many towers running off of one pump. I just don't have enough time to start it this season, but I will put one together for next spring. Stay tuned I have a lot of plans for next year. In the mean time check out my other videos. Thanks for watching.
hi mike thanks for spending time to make this video, I am currently trying to make the standoffs, wanted to know how did you hold the 51/2 inch pipe on the compound saw it you hold by hand or clamped it and which blade you used to cut the pvc on compound saw or chop saw, possible for your to make the video on that how to cut the standoff on the chop saw please please please
I'll see what I can do to put a quick video together.
Thanks for watching!
Pls if you can make one standoff on your compound saw just to show how you cut also advice me which blade you used in the saw
I used a combination blade for wood. Which means you can use it to cut with the grain or against it.
Thanks i will wait for your video for cutting the standoffs .Thanks for quick reply
Glad I could help you out.
If you don't have a chop saw to make the inserts with for the plants, what would be the simplest way to cut them off at the right angle for use? In other words, can I use a hack saw and if so, what is the angle I need to cut the pieces at in order to have the 51/2" size of plastic cup holders? I just don't want to go and purchase a chop saw that I would only use once or twice. Is there an easy way to make these angled pieces? Thanks.
Try using a miter box. You can make your cuts at a 45 degree angle.
its called a wood miter box and a hack saw at lowes
Does that water run 24/7 or is it on a timer?
It runs 24/7 with a 400gph pump.
great video.... How much did each thing cost, pipes, pvc fence post, cement. What did it cost overall?
It cost me around $150.00 for everything.
Thanks for the reply
just food for thought...If the pvc you are using are the ones used as conduit for drinking water..would this be toxic for growing food? There are 3 inch diameter pvc pipes and 4 inch diameter pipes used for transmission of water.
use thin wall schedule 40 nit the 3-16 wall sewer pipe.
Mike,
How much (length) of the 3in pot sticks into the tower?
Any advice for working without the chop saw to still get that 50 degree cut?
Jeve Jay you can try using a miter box .
Is this a 5x5 fence post?
Mike, Does the water pump need to run constantly or how often does it need to run?
Hi Teri
You don't have to let it run 24/7. You can put it on a timer. Most people set there timer for 15 minutes on then 15 minutes off. I let mine run 24/7.
I'm making one of these, or something like it, right now. Is the PVC vinyl cement food safe? I bought some Loctite plastic bonder. It says not for prolonged immersion in water and not for use in potable water systems. I've been searching for a food-safe epoxy or plastic cement. So far no luck. Your thoughts?
I'm not sure if the pvc fence cement is food grade. I do know it's made for outdoor use. If this is an issue I would recommend going to amazon.com and typing in the search field food grade and medical grade adhesive. You will get a big list of products that would work for you.
a hot glue gun sounds better.what did the builder use when he glued all your water pipes in your house he met code is the neighborhood dying off?
👍🏼
Does the bottom plants get sufficient water as the top plants roots grow bigger?
the bottom 2 cup holders you have to watch your root growth. the roots reach the top of the tank. So watch the roots in those two spots, it could clog you pump.
+Mike Walker Ok, thanks Mike.
so omit the bottom row???
How often do you water the plants? Is it continuous moving water or on/off cycles?
I keep my tower outdoors so I let the pump run 24/7.
I saw one with a pump on a timer set for 15 minutes on and 15 off.
Whats your thought on using a solar pond pump like this? WIth the tubing attached to where the pond fountain attachment would be? Electrical supply is an issue for me, as the only outlet is in a very shaded spot. I live in Hawaii so sunlight isn't an issue here! www.amazon.com/Instapark%C2%AE-GYD-001-Solar-Powered-Water-Pump/dp/B004XXRSS2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426034122&sr=8-1&keywords=solar+water+pump
Hey purple
I don't think a pond pump will work. The problem is "Head Height" the pump has to be able to pump water the height of your tower. So if your tower is 6 1/2 feet tall your pump has to be able to pump more than that. Meaning you are going to need a pump that has a height of 7-8 feet. This allows the pump to work easily and have good flow. I use a 400 gallon per hour pump.
how did you cut your holes?
I used a cut out tool.
use a oval shaped template clamp to sq.tude and a router is easier.
Hi mike. Why 50 degree cut instead of 45 degree? Wont it be uneven?
Also to make things clear, you measure 5.5 inch before cutting the pvc then cut on angle at 4.25?
cut 11 inch blanks and 1 45 cut will give you 2 pcs. with one cut right?
Is this PVC food-grade and chemical-free? That would be a concern of mine, personally.
look at the plumbing in your house ALL PVC pe builing code????
begging for salt buildup
Well Thomas I haven't had any problems with the system and I've been using them for 3 years.
you sell only one tower
Victor Csakany
this video will help you.
ua-cam.com/video/hEHB-WwXejY/v-deo.html
+Mike Walker how have you done with the lights did u use the same way as the garden tower markets do
?
91% Alcohol will take the writing off with a few wipes.