I don’t have a garden and need to utilize the most of my balcony space.
That’s why I am thinking about building or buying a vertical hydroponic setup for the next season.
The thing is: pretty much all of the inspiration for setups I saw online were either aeroponic towers or NFT systems, both of which require a pump running 24/7.
I don’t want something where one single pump failure, clogged nozzle or power outage kills everything.
Also, I absolutely can’t stand the humming or splashing of any pump.
I want to grow mainly small annual crops, like herbs, leafy greens and stuff like that. For bigger crops, like chilis, hemp, and so on, I have my drip system with pots.
While I theoretically have access to the grid, I prefer something either completely passive, or something that at least keeps the roots hydrated enough to survive a few days, even in summer sun.
Something similar to my solar powered LECA drip setup I posted a while ago: it’s beneficial when the small pump is on, but the passive wicking of the clay balls keeps everything moist enough for at least a few days.
It doesn’t need to be 100% passive, but it also shouldn’t depend on electronic devices for survival.
What could you suggest?
A wick style system does meet most of your needs.
That type of system does have issues and limitations(like every hydroponic system) that you will want to consider with a given crop.
I’m very glad that I made this post, even if your comment would be the only one.
This is such a simple idea that I didn’t even think about that option. That’s great!
How would you imagine it to look like?
I already tried a few ways how I can make use of wicks, mainly by something that resembles more of a Kratky system or self watering Lechuza pots. What did you have in your mind?
Wick hydroponics is fairly well established in enthusiast circles, so I would defer to the experince of others for any meaningful information on the subject.
Typically you have a reservoir, which may be a different container from the growbed, with a wicking material that can be fiberglass, rockwool, or other suitable materials with different benefits and negatives, that feeds a grow bed of a substrate such as coco coir, rockwool, or hydroton. It is basically Kratky and Lechuza with a means other than the roots to bring water to the growbed.
Exactly what wick and substrate you use will depend greatly on your chosen crop.
It can be as simple as two plastic bins stacked with some holes cut, or even a grow basket or trough suspended in the lid of a bin. I am not aware of any off-the-shelf solutions, because wick systems are less favorable than other systems.
From what I recall, the wicking ability vs the water needs of the crop is the biggest hurdle because a mismatch will lead to obvious problems and needs a degree of fine-tuning that is a bit of a bother to fully grasp. It does meet your needs as being low power and effort once established, but pump integrated systems are very much superior in every facet except needing electricity and having a critical failure point that can ruin a grow if it goes unnoticed for too long.
The issue of Kratky, Lechuza, and wick is oxygenation and evaporation creating a “hot” TDS.
The oxygenation may not be an issue with certain crops, but it is an issue with a lot of crops and it may be hard to detect without knowing the symptoms. Air stones can obviously address that problem, but then you have a DWS system and need power. Manual oxydation via pouring the water from a height with a jug once or more a day can help to mitigate the risk, to a degree equal to effort.
The TDS issue can be addressed with adequate monitoring and adjusting of the reservoir, which should be a twice daily task with hydroponics until you understand the crop and conditions of growing. I have literally had to take hourly TDS tests in a controlled environment and make adjustments to keep the PH and TDS within tolerances with a new setup, trying to grow hydro outside would drive me insane trying to keep things as stable as possible, but I am that type of grower. Hydro is as easy as you are knowledgeable and neurotic lol.
Want a hard way to cut your teeth and test your grow methos? Grow watermelon.