Have you ever grown avocado from seed by hanging it on top of water or grown money in water? It is a wonder when the roots develop in water and plant grows. This method is a miniature form of hydroponics. Hydro meaning water and ponics means toil in Greek. Hydroponics is quickly becoming popular and we hear about it every day. Many countries like Singapore, Australia, and Japan etc. have started hydroponic farming.

In simple words hydroponic gardening means growing plants in water. In hydroponics there is no need of soil. Hydroponics have the benefits like small space usage, no soil, less usage of water.

All the below top 15 easy DIY hydroponic methods mentioned use basic materials and is cost effective. These are easy way to create your own diy hydroponic garden inside your home or outside. Even a small space can be utilized to create a beautiful garden. The basic requirement in hydroponic is the nutrients and lighting. Hope you have fun creating your own no soil garden.

DIY Hydroponics – Vertical window Farm

This is a very easy process requiring less equipment’s and occupy very less space. This is also the best method to recycle old soft drink bottles. The main requirements are

• Few plastic bottles
• ½ inch poly tube and ¼ inch poly tube
• Barb connector, end cap and elbow joint
• Water pump
• Zip ties

The detailed method to prepare a vertical window farm can be found here

This unique concept is perfect for a great indoor garden with no hassle of dirt.

Desktop hydroponic system

This is a very easy and cheap method of hydroponic farming, which can be placed on table tops. It is ideal for growing small plants. Materials required are

• Half gallon bucket with lid
• Net cup
• Rock wool
• Air bubbler used in aquarium

The detailed video of how to create this hydroponic system can be found in the link 

Mason Jar Hydroponic system

This is similar to the desktop hydroponic plan but here instead of bucket a mason jar is used and no pump is required. Materials required

• Mason Jar
• Net cup

For detailed video please see the video:

This a perfect plan for beginners to try their hand in hydroponics. A perfect way to have a kitchen herb garden for those who love to have fresh herbs while cooking.

Hydroponic vertical garden pipe

This method is a little high level, may be for intermediate gardeners in hydroponics this is good. Here NFT (nutrient film technique) principle is used to feed the plants nutrients.

The materials required are basically

• PVC pipe
• Drip irrigation pipes
• Water reservoir

We can grow many vegetables like lettuce, tomatoes and herbs etc. This is a useful method to create large scale hydroponic farming. The plan in detail can be found in the video as shared down below:

Raft hydroponic Plan

This plan has been there for a long time. It is one of the easy and efficient way of hydroponic systems. Here the requirements are listed below

• Water reservoir
• Piece of foam
• Net cup

To know the step by step instructions on how to setup your own raft hydroponic system click here.

Soda bottle Hydroponic system

Here a simple soda bottle used to create a hydroponic system. No expensive equipment is required. This is another method to give a try for the beginners in hydroponics. This is ideal way to create an indoor garden. This can also be used to develop a gardening interest in you kids. Requirements

• Empty soda bottle
• Cotton thread
• Scissor
• Perlite
• Moss
• Cling wrap 

The instruction with picture for this plan can be found here.

The drip hydroponic system

This is a method similar to our normal watering method for plants using drip technology only difference is no use of soil. The requirements are

• Nutrient reservoir
• Drip system
• Water pump
• Grow media like hydroton (clay pellets)

A detailed instruction to set this system can be found here and here.

The Ebb and flow hydroponic system

Here the tray with the plant is flooded with nutrient water and then drained completely at regular intervals. Requirements for this setup is

• Tray to keep the plants
• Water reservoir
• Air stone
• Water pump
• Timer for automation of process

In-depth working of system can be found in the below video

Small NFT hydroponic plan

This is a small setup of the hydroponic vertical garden pipe system. This method can be used by novice in field of hydroponics.

Requirements

• PVC pipes
• Reservoir for nutrients
• Connecting pipes
• Pump
• Net cup
• End caps

For detailed instructions and step by step process click here.

Hydroponic tower

This hydroponic plan is very useful for small spaces like a balcony as it uses vertical space more. Requirements for this method is mostly same as the PVC pipe method but instead of laying the pipe horizontal keep it vertical. A detailed video of this is as below

Hydroponic wall

Vertical walls are becoming increasingly popular as they are space efficient and add beauty to dull walls. So combining vertical garden with hydroponics is another fun way. Requirements are

• Strong frame that is bolted on the wall
• PVC/Polypropylene Board
• Felt sheets.
• Drip Tubing
• Reservoir with Pump.
• Hydroponic Nutrients

The details of building vertical wall is provided here.

Deep water culture hydroponic systems

This plan is also an easy method to create a hydroponic system. An easy way to grow tomatoes, cucumber etc. There are also some similar commercial hydroponic systems available in market. Requirements for this hydroponic plan are as below

• Reservoir
• Netpot
• Air stone
• Air hose

A detailed video about the creation of this hydroponic plan

PVC pipe Hydroponic system

We have seen earlier the PVC pipe method and the soda bottle method, now this plan is a combination of both the methods. It’s simple, cheap and easy to make. The materials that you require to make this are

• Soda bottle
• Screw top container
• Aquarium pump
• Straight connector
• Silicone Sealant
• Timer
• Rubber o rings
• Aquarium tubing

In this method they have proved information on how to create a light stand also for your hydroponics. For hydroponic systems the two main things required are lighting and the most important nutrients. The plants need a continuous external source of nutrient in the water as there is no use of soil.

A detailed instruction on this method is available here.

Crystal hydroponics

Now this is the most used and most common very small scale hydroponic system. We all have seen this plan being used in lucky bamboo sale. Yes, the small glass jars containing those gel balls that are so intriguing not only to children but to even grown-ups. Now this is the lowest cost efficient way to create a hydroponics among all the methods mentioned. So materials required are

• Packet of bio gel crystals
• Container or vase

Now what you have to do for this plan is buy the gel crystals and then put them in water for few hours, as you watch the gels will start to absorb water and grow. Take a vase or any container place your plant in the middle and then fill it with the expanded gel crystals. That’s a hydroponic system you have created. Please click here for step by step instructions.

Zig-zag hydroponic system

Zig- Zag hydroponic plan also uses the NFT principle, where the plant roots are grown in a small amount of water that is flowing continuously. The requirement list might be a bit long but all the materials used are readily available.

• PVC pipes
• PVC 90o curve pipe
• End cap
• PVC glue
• Reservoir container
• Water pump
• Hose pipe large
• Plastic cups/ net pots

Detailed instruction of how to create the zig-zag hydroponic system is available here.

Conclusion

Hydroponic farming is the future of efficient way of farming in this urban jungle. Hydroponic system has many pros like 90% usage of less water, 0% soil requirement, and faster growth rate. There are some cons to this method like continuous supply of nutrient required, algae formation and some methods can be expensive. But overall the pros are more than cons. So hydroponics is certainly the way to go for those who dream of having garden even in small spaces.

Hydroponic systems can be developed in cost effective way by using the equipment’s found in your home and by using some imagination. Ingenious ways can used to create life.