How to Set Up a Cascade of Bottles Hydroponic Garden

Some of the best modern hydroponic designs involve using recycled materials to create something brand-new out of something old and otherwise useless. Ever think about all those 20-ounce soda bottles cluttering up your recycling can? Turns out these can be raw materials for a hydroponic system that works well and allows you to practice sustainability in more than one way.

Here are some basic steps for building a cascade of bottles hydro garden.

In a lot of cases, you'll need bottles with the caps on them. You also need them to be in relatively clean condition. You may not be able to use bottles that have some gunk or sludge accumulated in the bottom of the bottle. Finding an innovative way to clean the bottles you have will put you ahead of the game.

Choose the Structure

Many growers will choose to orient bottles against a vertical wall, but you can also hang the bottles on strings in a cascading line hanging down. Either of these will work, and other configurations are possible too, for instance, dangling bottles on a diagonal. It's all about how you want to situate plants to give them the resources they need to thrive.

Create Access Holes

You’ll also need to create areas on the bottle that plants can sit in. One common way is to simply hollow out one side of the bottle and have that be the top. With the hanging design where bottles are situated vertically, the mouth of the bottle can serve as an irrigation drain. In this case, plants can be practically enclosed in plastic with just a few air holes to allow them to breathe.

Route Irrigation Tubing

In a cascading bottle design, your irrigation tubing is going to run down from one bottle to the next. In most cases, you’ll be routing the tube through the actual bottles, making sure that the bottle structure will hold water in place while it's feeding plant roots.

Situate Reservoir and Pump

To make one of these gardens effective, you’ll need a reservoir to hold water when it’s not in use, and a well rated, quality pump to get the water up to the top. Find a place to put these on the ground or somewhere near the garden.

These are just some basic steps to creating your own innovative bottle gardens. As a hobbyist, you’ll be the talk of town, and these types of designs can also serve well in some types of commercial operations, although a lot of commercial growers prefer to use more professional looking equipment.

For more on hydroponics and everything that goes with it, keep reading Dealzer’s website as we go over some of the top trends in hydroponic growing.