Office hydroponic setup (Growing Basil in a water bottle)
14 years ago basil, cheap, hydroponics, office
An unfortunate thing happened to my little office basil growing experiment, I got some fungal gnats and not wanting to be the guy known for his office infested with flies I decided to throw together a little hydroponic system primarily consisting of items I had around the office.
I started with an old reusable water bottle I had previously used to store water for my prior soil based basil plant. I filled the bottle with water, added a couple of handfuls of hydrocon clay pellets, dropped in an air stone attached to a cheap aquarium pump and I have a neat little bubbler system.
After a couple of weeks there was great root growth (water is not really green just poor camera, bad lighting and unfortunate use of blue water bottle)
After a couple more weeks, when I was away for Christmas vacation I came back to a plant though needing some water was still growing strong.
For nutrients I broke off the smallest piece of some generic brand plant spike fertilizer I can put in piece in every week or so along with a small pinch of epsom salt.
When it is time to harvest, I made good of office supplies: a couple of binder clips attached to some rubber bands provides good air circulation to dry out any extra basil I want to store for later use.
Hey it is not pretty, but it is cheap and provides me some fresh basil to add to my omelets from the cafeteria downstairs and even a little extra dry basil to use at home.
14 years ago
I should so try this in my dark little cubicle… If I only had a window!
14 years ago
Adds a little life in contrast to the lifeless grey walls and is actually a great conversation piece.
14 years ago
What a great idea. I want to grow some herbs indoors during the dull winter months.
13.9 years ago
Good guide! That is really simple to set up. I bet it makes your office smell great too. Fresh grown basil always smells good in my kitchen.
13.4 years ago
Oh great! I am growing some basil cuttings in water.
1) May I know if there are issues changing water every few days, as long as I replenish the nutrients? So as to head off any mosquito breeding possibilities.
2) Someone on another forum commented their cuttings succumbed to root rot after 1 month. Did you encounter this problem?
Thanks!
13.4 years ago
nnua, for both of these problems having water circulation should take care of these. I simply have an air pump and an air stone with my setup in my office…also not to many mosquitos looking to breed in my office 🙂