Kratky—The no-stress, cost-efficient way to garden!

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How I Found Out About The Kratky Method

I first started hearing about Kratky hydroponics during my intensive gardening studies (all of last spring/summer) and was really intrigued. I was already noticing some of our indoor plants were having bug issues and I also worried about using soil in the house once we got our little puppy (who is very curious and loves knocking things over).

So, when I saw that there was a way to grow plants indoors WITHOUT using soil, I was naturally interested.

What is the Kratky Method?

Hydroponics, as its name suggests, uses water to grow plants. You do this by suspending plants over nutrient-containing water.

So far, I’ve only studied the Kratky Method, (named after a Dr. Bernard Kratky of University of Hawaii) but it seems like a very low-maintenance way to grow plants inside.

How Are Others Doing It?

I’ve watched several YouTube videos of how others like to do it and have drawn several conclusions.

• Most of them like using recycled, cheap containers (like mason jars, baby formula containers, coffee containers, etc.).

• All of them caution against allowing algae to grow and suggest either painting over the containers you decide to use or covering it with some sort of paper covering.
• There were a variety of recommended nutrients everyone used but some that were mentioned were:
  • Grow Big by Fox Farms: https://amzn.to/2YwJpqe
  • Masterblend Formula: https://amzn.to/2WfjZNo
• Most of them use rock wool and clay pebbles to start their seeds and then transfer them over to a hydro farm net cup once the seed started growing
• Most used grow lights to supplement the natural lighting they received indoors

Try It Out!

I’ve got a ton of glass jars just lying around, ready to be used so I’m excited to give this method a try! I’ll keep you updated on how it goes!

How about you guys? Have you tried the Kratky Method before? Where did you learn about it? What books do you recommend? What kinds of plants do you recommend growing if it’s your first time?

Let me know about your experiences in the comments or on our FB page! 🙂