Growing Hydroponic Herbs In Mason Jars

Discussion in 'Crops & Gardens' started by Yvonne Smith, Feb 17, 2018.

  1. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    I was just watching this tutorial on YouTube, and it explains an easy way to set up a canning jar (or any quart jar like a mayo jar, etc) and make a small hydroponic growing system.
    It looks fairly simple to do, and I am really thinking about starting some of these, in addition to the aerogarden starts.
    I have had a challenge starting plants every year because the birds and squirrel eat the seeds; but perhaps if I can get them started inside, then i can set the out once they have a good start on growing.

     
    #1
    Martin Alonzo and Kate Ellery like this.
  2. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    I have started an experiment with using gallon milk jugs for passive hydroponics, and so far, it seems to be working just fine.
    I took one of the lettuce sprouts from the aerogarden and placed it into a milk jug filled with water and plant food 2 days ago, and so far it is still growing and doing well in there.
    I am starting some cucumber seeds in the aerogarden, and once they sprout, I am going to put those in another milk jug. I think that cucumbers would look pretty cascading out of the gallon jug, and I can paint them in colorful colors if this works well.
    The jugs will be easy for me to move if I need to do that so I can put them in places where they get plenty of sunshine, too.

    A259506B-B27C-4BAD-AC94-2C1F267594D0.jpeg
     
    #2
  3. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    36,356
    Likes Received:
    7,851
    That looks like a great idea , @Yvonne Smith I try to grow mini lettuce ,in summer ..but it’s been way to hot in Aust this summer
    I have a nice big sunny kitchen window

    I try to have fresh greens in the fridge most of the time ( I buy a 1 kg tub of either lettuce or mini spinach ) from Costco every two weeks or so ,I use it as fresh ,and freeze some ( the mini spinach ) to add to cooked foods or smoothies.
    We pay up to $3.50 for a mini hydroponic lettuce here ,that you only get one meal for two from ....and it’s $10 for a kg tb from Costco so it’s a real saving

    I’m going to read your post throughly latter as it looks very interesting
     
    #3
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  4. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    My little lettuce is still growing great in the milk jug, and I am going to start more of them soon; but not until I watch this one for a few more days. I just ordered some little “net pots” (little plastic growing pots with open sides) and some Jiffy pellets from Amazon.
    These will also fit right inside the lid of quart canning jars with the small lids.

    I found an article that looks like it would be a real good way to grow more lettuce at once,@Kate Ellery , and it is by using one of the large rectangular storage tubs, and then you make 2” holes in the lid, insert the net pots, and fill the tub up with water and the nutrients. (I am adding a link to a webpage that shows how to do this.)

    I have been thinking that maybe some of the styrofoam coolers would work really well for this because it gets so hot here that if I had the tubs sitting out in the sun, the water might get too hot for the plants if they were outside. I am still in the planning part, reading and watching videos; but i think that tthis might work a lot better for me than trying to dig holes in our hard-packed clay and grow anything.

    https://steamykitchen.com/33957-grow-how-to-make-tub-hydroponics-garden.html
     
    #4
  5. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    36,356
    Likes Received:
    7,851
    Thank you for that information @Yvonne Smith I really like my greens ,when I have a salad or a sandwich I add heaps of greens .
    I can grow lettuce in pots in the winter here as as coldest temp can fall to about 4c for overnight and about 8-10 c during the day .we are near the sea, so we don’t get frost ..and no snow anywhere near us
     
    #5
  6. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    What about growing sprouts, @Kate Ellery ? Nothing is simpler to grow and sprouts are ready to eat in 2-3 days , depending on what kind you grow.
    I use a mason jar with one of those plastic-screen sprouting lids, and my favorite sprout is fenugreek sprouts. If you have never tried them, they are kind of like alfalfa sprouts on steroids. They have a bit more spice in the flavor, and they get to be a beautiful green color when you leave them in the window to get sunshine.
    I also like lentil sprouts, which grow really fast and taste something like mung bean sprouts (like are in Chinese food), and I like those better when they are lightly steamed or mixed in with a scrambled egg.
    There are a whole variety of sprouters available, so you could make them in whatever quantity that you use them in, and enough variety of things that can be sprouted that you do not have to make the same thing over and over.
    Here is a picture of my cream cheese and sprout sandwich. You can also grow the sprouts a little bit longer and use them as micro-greens. These sprouts are almost micro-greens, and longer than I usually grow them as sprouts.
    85EC2C14-7F3B-452E-BD51-10FA765A17F8.jpeg
     
    #6
    Kate Ellery likes this.
  7. Kate Ellery

    Kate Ellery Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2015
    Messages:
    36,356
    Likes Received:
    7,851
    That looks like my kind of sandwich @Yvonne Smith I like less bread and more filling
    Your photo didn’t get any bigger for me when I touched on it ...but it’s more then likely my iPad causing the problem
    I tried sprouts for once and I liked them ,but it was so much messing about at the time I had a proper sprouter but produced more than I used ...think I may still have a pack of seeds in the seed box in the shed
     
    #7
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  8. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    My hydroponic experiment is coming along well, and I have several kind of plants growing now besides the lettuce that I started out with. I have a cucumber start, some parsley, some kale, and some basil , all growing in little hydroponic containers.
    I saved our cottage cheese and yogurt containers, and cut little holes in the top for the net basket to fit in. I ordered some 2 inch net baskets and some of those little peat pellets that expand, and have been using those in the yogurt containers.
    We found some old quart jars over at the house where Bobby has been working, so I can get some lids for those and Bobby will cut the holes in the lids for me to put the little baskets in.
    I want to try tomatoes, but they will need something bigger than a milk jug, so maybe a five gallon bucket will work better for those.
    I also joined a facebook group for Kratky hydroponics, so I can getideas from what other people are doing.
     
    #8
  9. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2015
    Messages:
    6,504
    Likes Received:
    6,751
    Yvonne all the best on your project. I tried with poor success but it was on a large and tried to do it on little money that probably was the reason it did not work.
    I probably should have started like you and go from there.
     
    #9
    Yvonne Smith likes this.
  10. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
    Staff Member Senior Staff Greeter Task Force Registered

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2015
    Messages:
    14,881
    Likes Received:
    27,873
    Here is the thread and my last year’s experiments with the canning jar hydroponics, @Shirley Martin .
     
    #10
  11. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
    Registered

    Joined:
    Jun 9, 2015
    Messages:
    55,669
    Likes Received:
    23,301
    Thanks, @Yvonne Smith. I'll have to look for this later. Bubba is having a fit to use the computer. :D And I need to go wash some dishes.
     
    #11
    Yvonne Smith likes this.

Share This Page