My Hydroponics Experiment

Ok everybody, I have just completed the first phase of my hydroponics experiment. By now you may have tasted the results. On a scale of 1 to 10 for success, I rate it a 5. The way it works is like this: I plant the tomatoes in growbags and water them with small feeding tubes. Fertilizer is pumped from the feeder container to the feeding tubes. The plants are suspended upright with strings in a shed covered with shade cloth. If you don't understand a word I just wrote just look below. I am about to start phase 2, I hope it will be more successful.

	GROWBAGS Plants are grown in growbags. There are 6 growbags each 3 ft long arranged in two rows. Each growbag can hold 5 plants. The plants are alternately spaced into a "V" formation. Grow bags rest on guttering and plastic to prevent weeds and ground diseases.
	PLANT SUPPORTS Plants are trained up a string. The string in tied to the shed floor and roof and held taut. The plants are fastened to the string with 'folder separator labels' stapled around the stem. Look closely at the first plant and you will see the stapled fasteners and the brown string.
	FERTILIZER CONTAINER 40 gallon tub with 30 gps submersible pump. The fertilizer solution is pumped into 3/4" PVC pipe. I have to plug in the pump manually to water the plants. I do this in the moring and evening.
	FEEDER TUBES 1/4" feeder tubes are connected to the PVC main pipes. There is one feeder tube for each plant with a small blue valve to control the amount of watering.