A Simple System

Over the years, a question that keeps popping out is the one regarding the simplest hydroponic system. Although there are a lot of things involved in this, and some of them will change the choice, the wick system is one of the easiest, cheapest and labor free hydroponic installations you will have.

Aside from being one of the easiest hydroponic systems, the wick has also countless variations. You can make it with recyclable materials, the thing is easy to set up and the wick will take almost all the work away.

Although I don’t use it a lot this days, I had my share of wick systems and worked fine for almost every plant. As you can see in the photo, you can start it with an empty plastic bottle and a used cleaning cloth. Well, I prefer to use a new one, but I’ve known some guys that are really cheap. Anyways, although you can do it with recyclables and garbage, you can also use the great variety of plastics we have available and let your imagination take over.

The wick is supposed to be a very simple system, but it is also very effective. And the most important thing; they take case of themselves. As long as there is enough nutrient solution on the reservoir, the plant will be alright. You can check them out every week to change the nutrient solution and prune your plants, so it will be a simple activity for the weekend.

The wick is perfect for small plants like spices and little flowers. Although you can make a large one for bigger plants, I simply select another type of hydroponic system. Well, since hydroponics has enough variations to please everybody, it is your choice.

So, forget about the “don’t have time” of “don’t have money”; you can get started in hydroponics with a soft drink bottle (1 gallon if you can find one) and an absorbent substrate like perlite, vermiculite, pear moss and other mixes. Using pebbles, leca or the like is not exactly efficient, but it can work.

Just cut the plastic bottle, make a small hole on the cap to pass the wick through and you are in business. This may not be the fanciest hydroponic system you can make, but it works. If you want to start in hydroponics, the wick can be the best system to try.

So, finish that soft drink and get a new plant.

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