5 Reasons Why I Don't Use Kratky for Hydroponics

[donpage]

I was looking for a reason not to go Kratky, none of these reasons are problems for me, or easily avoided. He talked me into Kratky, great video.

[debbiemachelle]

I use the kratky method to grow lettuce and it works great! I have a 5 shelf metal stand, 2 lights per shelf, i use the plastic shoe boxes with 3 holes drilled in each. On each shelf i grow lettuce, mustard, beet, and what ever other green i feel like. As i use up a shelf I germinate and plant using the plant that takes the longest to germinate and grow. Beet is longest, mustard is next, and lettuce is last. I tip my lights down on the new plantings! This system is great for a salad system for a family! I dont limit myself to one system, I use different systems for different plants!

[stuff]

As others have noted, many of these issues can be addressed by using the right size and shape container. For lettuce I like to use a 6-7 inch deep tote, with the footprint being such that 2 of them fills a 4' rack shelf perfectly (which is $10 at the Home Depot). This setup can hold approx 2/3 the water needed to grow to maturity, so you're only looking at 1 refill per tote. That's pretty simple. Additionally, you do not need the reservoir on the bottom, so you recover that vertical space (can use an extra row). For the seedling issue, the multiple totes setup pretty much takes care of it. Just simply reserve 1 tote for seedlings, and the other totes can be progressively more spaced out. You can get 4 rows like this (8 totes = $80) on an 80" tall rack. That's a lot of lettuce for $80 and no setup required, other than drilling holes!

Overall I love SGH's setup. It is possibly the best out there for growing this type of crop in a small space! But, Kratky is pretty hard to beat if you think thru it! Perhaps I'll make a vid showing my kratky setup for ahead to head? Hehe we'll see.

[one_field]

You can move the net pots from shallow shelf containers to deeper containers as they get bigger (especially with longer lived plants). Big commercial hydroponic farms do this regardless (the water trays are enormous but shallow, and the grow cells are in foam or rockwool, which get moved from tray to tray as they get bigger). This solves the spacing issue under your lights as well as the depth issue for rotational harvest planting. Your deep trays for the really large plants can be at the bottom of your rack systems while the shallow seedling trays go on top. Making sure to use water tubs that are wider than they are deep solves the potential for spillage because you can't knock them over. And you can do floating trays for your net pot supports if you just give them appropriate spacers underneath (higher styrofoam floats) for air roots.

In other words, kratky doesn't have to be static with the plants starting in the same containers they finish in. Shift them through the racks as their roots allow and leaf area demand. Shallow trays won't have the weight issue you worry about, so the top racks can hold very densely spaced seedlings and young plants in an inch or so of water (depending on the species grown and the size of net pot). They graduate down the rack into deeper containers with taller floats. Deep tubs sit directly on the floor at the bottom of the system. Continuous harvest, efficient use of light, no weight problems, no wasted space, totally adaptable to the size of plants grown. AND no pumps, bubblers or plumbing required.

[retroplank]

I see all of you guys talking about his rack system so I am going to watch his other videos to find out what everyone is so happy about!! Thank you.

[mikea]

I like your set up. You seem to enjoy building the systems and appreciate the efficiency.

[slickfast]

i dreamt of the system you've build years ago but there were two problems: 1) cheap LED lighting wasn't a thing aside from LED strips which didn't make the output needed, and 2) square PVC posts were WAY less popular than they are nowadays. Really excited to build the system you've got laid out here, and glad it's been working out well for you! I'm excited to have a constant supply using staged crops. Love it!

[dontbanmebrodontbanme]

As someone looking to get into hydroponics, I definitely noticed the space issue. With a tower approach, you can have one reservoir feed 20 plants or more. If you use one of those square buckets you get from a big box store, at most, you're putting five plants in there. And as he said, if you want to do successive planting, you'll need a new reservoir. With a tower garden, you can plant ten items, then use the other ten to rotate new plants in.

[bismarkvillanueva]

I'm a krattky user I used snap hydroponics here in the Philippines and it's doing well for me I don't experience pump failures and I can add a pump and a grow lite if needed and can be move outside if needed

[surviveitforbeginner]

I used your design for inspiration and built a rail system. Thank you for the information your putting out there for us to learn from

[AP-ibzb]

LOVE your channel and videos! I’ve learned so much. Please keep them coming!!

[SpongeBob.Ripped]

Thank you for this video. I think many people (including me) learned about hydroponics from the Kratky method so it's important to know the cons vs the pros in each situation. Thank you again b

[pattybonsera]

This is fantastic, thank you! I'm just getting started and live in an apartment, so being able to grow that much fresh produce all year round is perfect! Even though multiple heads of greens seems like a lot, they'll be perfect for green smoothies, too.

[mamajan]

That's a beautiful setup. Your rail system is really using Kratky's method: both air and nutrient in the root area, but with a nice twist. A bit like a thin film method too. I have grown inside every year for at least a decade. I've tried them all and each has advantages and disadvantages. Good job! PS: I have tried garden addiction therapy, but nothing has helped me so far. LOL!

[bdgackle]

This is all very valid. Where Kratkey really shines is outdoor hydro gardening. 5 gallon buckets, one big plant, to take advantage of some place that has sun but no soil and not add much to my workload. At least for me thats its niche, at the periphery of my main outdoor garden.

[hydrobud]

Even cheap Walmart wire shelving units can hold 350 lb per shelf that's 40 gallons of water and would be way more than enough for hydroponics. (It works fine I've put two 20 gallon fish tanks on one shelf before with no issues it's close to the weight limit but almost every consumer product with a weight limit has a safety factor and this is probably something like 1.5x)

[danfitzpatrick]

I'm doing both ways and I totally agree with your thoughts! Happy Growing

[tjoleary]

Thanks for this excellent, well thought out system!

[Kinetic_CGI]

My only issue with kratky is if I want a successive harvest I have to have multiple bins. When It comes to resetting those bins I have to scrub them all and get refill them and there is a little waste nutrients in the bottom of the bin at the end of a cycle. I use 11 Gallons of water per Rubbermaid bin for a total of 8 bins. I have to add coco coir for 8-10 holes for what ever I choose to grow. 88 Gallons of water to measure and fill and 8 bins to clean is not fun and I have to weigh out 39 grams from 3 bads in ratio of nutrients for each bin when I grow lettuce during the long winter. Not to mention fill all the net pots with fresh coco coir if aphids show up (even in the middle of the winter!! I don't know how). Aphids killed about 30 of my jalapeno plants and another 20 bell pepper and hot cherry plants I had waiting for early spring planting (I usually plant them during a 3 day overcast or rainy week).
One pro is that if the power goes out in a winter storm ( we often have power outages) there are no air or water pumps that need to run so the plants are still fine.

[suebolton]

It is possible to stack 20litre buckets for the Kratky method when it’s outside, you need dark buckets preferably & you need to cut holes at the right height. You are right though, difficult to stagger growth unless you do each bucket every two weeks or however long it takes for the crop to grow, plus, not great if you have kids about as you say 😂
I grow hydroponic indoors during winter & will be trying it outside this summer, I would like to try your method though, so will pop over to website.