I am posting these portions of the journal, because it is easier to see my process in my indoor hydroponic farming.
Sunday, January 25, 2026
I could not sleep tonight, so I got up and put my new hydroponic tower together. I was surprised at how easy it was when I had all the part ready for use. The light cage is not perfect, because I cut one of the PVC pipes I am using for center support of the light cage a couple inches too shot but it workable. In fact, it looks great and by doing it by myself I saved more than ½ to ¾ of the cost of one its size that is pre-made and with the entire accessories picture here.
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| MY 50-POD DIY HYDROPONIC TOWER SYSTEM |
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| California Wonder Peppers and Pak Choy seedlings |
I will transfer these California Wonder Peppers and Pak Choy seedlings into this tower later today, I will also seed some collard greens in the top 20 pods as well. With 50 pod openings I should be able to seed a nice variety of plants, but I will wait and see how well these plants do.
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Today, I seeded the two trellis hydroponic systems with the new Bush cucumber seeds. I seeded one seed per plant bowl. I have had two other types of cucumber seeds and tried growing both; however those seeds, while they were vining plants and flowered well, many of the flowers failed produced cucumbers. Those that did have tiny cucumbers got infested with the white flies. Since then, I have gotten rid of all the infested plants and cleansed everything the plants would d come in contact with. I have a vegetable and fruit based insecticide, as well as bottle Neem oil. So far, I have not seen a re-infestation of the flies. Just in case, the flies do try to return, I also have yellow sticky sticks I can put in difference areas of the rooms. They love the color yellow, so they will flow the stick wherever they or placed.
I also divided each of the two baby eggplants into a system of their own since they grow very large. I then took put the kale leave from its system, because the seeds did not germinate. I have not decided what seeds to put in their place yet, however, on Sunday I did seed more of the Amaranth seeds after reviewing the video of my one of my resources., and learned, like lettuce and greens Amaranth plants are easy the grow and are harvested in the same manner.
I got my second hydroponic tower, except this one didn’t come with the lights or the air pump. I already have lights for it and will get the aeration air pump when I am ready the seed of vegetables. I am thinking of keeping the mustard greens in my first tower, and using the new tower for the collard greens. It has 50 pod holes, which is 20 more than the other tower, so I will probably seed 30 collard green seeds in the upper 30 pods and the lower 20 pod will be used for smaller, like the Pak Choy, because grow straight like stalks of celery. In fact 1and because it taste, Pak Choy has been said to be a good substitute for celery. Of the five Pak Choy seeds I seeded four have germinated and now have grown their third leaf. I will leave them in the smaller hydroponic system for and will move to the second hydroponic tower once it is completely setup.
In order to set the tower up I purchased the following additional items:
· Qty 1 Salvia 10 Pcs White PVC Pipe DIY Projects Sch40 Furniture Grade for Home, Greenhouse, Garden, Farm, Workshop (1/2 Inch,4 Ft)
· Qty 1 BN-LINK 24-Hour Plug-in Mechanical Timer, Heavy Duty Outlet Timer Indoor with 15-Minute Intervals, 3-Prong Plug for Aquariums, Grow Lights, Hydroponics, Indoor Lighting, ETL Listed
· Qty 1 20-Pack 1/2" 4 Way PVC Fittings, Furniture Grade Pipe Fittings 4 Way for SCH40 PVC Pipe, UV Resistant, Pipe Connectors for All DIY Structure and Frames
· Qty 1 Pawfly Aquarium 15-40 GPH Compact Air Pump Quiet Oxygen Aerator Pump with Air Stone/Nano Bio Sponge Filter Airline Tubing and Check Valve Accessories for 3-20 Gallon Buckets and Fish Tanks
· Qty 4 T8 LED Grow Lights 4FT Seed Starting Full Spectrum Lighting 160W(4 × 40W)
Finally, and since it has been nine days, I seeded systems I fed all the new seedlings with the recommended amount A& B nutrients, as well as a 5ml of FoxFarm Grow Big Hydro Organic Liquid Fertilizer, Plant Food with Micro Nutrients for Hydroponic Systems for an added booster. I have always worked for my plants in the past.
Sunday, January 18, 2026
I fed and watered all the sunroom plants, including topping off the hydroponic tower tank. I also picked more of the water cress and mustard greens. The greens were then rinsed and frozen in a 2 ½ gallon baggie, and the water cress was added to salads. Picking the mustard greens leaves allowed the collard green seedling to grow more.
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| Fresh Picked Mustard Greens |
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| Collard Greens seedlings in first Hydroponic tower |
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| Glaze Collard Greens Seedlings in hydroponic tower |
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| Toothpicks between the hole are for locating the seeds |
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| Five Days After Picking of Mustard Greens |
Monday, January 12, 2026
Yesterday morning I removed all the old tomato plants, and seeded four more, they are two Tiny Tim seeds in one hydroponic system, and in the other are two K2 Golden Cherry tomato seeds, which I got when bought a variety pack of seeds. I was probably getting the mustard seeds in that pack. In any case, I hope the K2 Golden Cherry tomato seeds and as easy to grow and care for as the Tiny Tim seeds.
Today, I peeked at the seed pods in the systems that I added the replacement part, and the lettuce and Amaranth seeds have germinated, but the kale in still a no show at this time.
In addition, I divided the Amaranth seeds seedling into four pods, instead of the two pods. I also removed the extra seedling in the pal choy pods making it three plants in all. The catnip is coming up as well. The peppers and herbs are a no show; however they take a little longer to germinate.