Build your own germinating tray/tub for hydroponic cultivation

simple methods to start with your very won Hydroponic garden in your own backyard, roof top terrace or front porch

a simple plastic tray, preferably inexpensive, can be used as shown in the figure


next, a drain hole must be drilled into the plastic container. an electric drill can do the trick. even a piece of iron rod, heated to high temperature using a candle could do the trick of drilling a hole of desired size. the hole must be drilled at 1 inch from below the bottom of the tub as shown in the figure


a tank joint (15 mm dimension) must be used which acts as a drain tube, must be fixed as shown
the tub must be filled with suitable substrate. for this post, i have used rice husk. The rice husk has excellent drainage features & acts as a good substrate if one wishes to grow root vegetables.

Important Note
drainage is the key in any successful Hydroponic system. since most of the times, water which is rich in nutrients is added (fertigation) and so the water must not be allowed to go waste.
a little slope is also helpful in draining the trays of excess water, as it might start to rot the organic substrate and even the roots. fungal problems arise due to bad drainage.
the excess drained water is collected in collection containers suspended from the drain pipes as shown in the figure below.

once a week, clean water is added to the trays to 'flush out' the substrate of any harmful residues.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza