5 ms·

I own 20 ZipGrow towers and have become quite disillusioned with them across 3 growing seasons. The biggest problem is that there is nothing to buffer moisture

by orasis 7y ago

I own 20 ZipGrow towers and have become quite disillusioned with them across 3 growing seasons. The biggest problem is that there is nothing to buffer moisture on the roots if there is an intermittent problem. You might get a nice crop of basil growing and then a clogged emitter for 12 hours can be the death of those plants. Here are all of the failure modes I have experienced: - pump dying - Leak in base causing all water gone in 24 hours - clogged emitters - water choosing off route through tower and not hitting the plants on top - emitters getting blown off causing water to spray outside tower - circuit breakers trip from pump Overall I’ve probably lost half of everything I’ve planted in a zipgrow. A professional operation with a daily maintenance routine could probably use them, but they are no panacea.

elasticventures 7y ago
It's worth mentioning that the facebook forums for hydroponics farming are full of people trying to sell these things second hand with no explanation 'why'.
- orasis 7y ago
  Yeah, they were quite expensive and I'll probably just end up giving them away.
  - syntaxing 7y ago
    Would you happen to be in California? I would love to buy one from you (after this whole shelter in period)!
    - orasis 7y ago
      I would but I’m not near CA
orasis 7y ago
I should clarify that the problems I experience are probably not specific to ZipGrow, but would happen to any vertical hydroponics that require functioning system to keep roots damp. Soil is an amazing technology.
syntaxing 7y ago
I want to get my feet wet with hydroponics because my daughter loves fresh produce and I love the idea growing her favorite fruits and veggies. Do you now how Zipgrow compares to Aerogarden (the "farm" size one).
- ShakataGaNai 7y ago
  The Aerogarden Farm and ZipGrow 2-Tower setup are fairly close in price (About $600 USD). Beyond that they're fairly different. The ZipGrow is certainly targeting a more prosumer/commercial demographic where as the Aerogarden, even the farm, tops out at high-end prosumer. If you're an average person who isn't interested in dedicating their life to hydroponics, the Aerogarden is going to be the safer bet. It's small-ish, it's simple, it has a nice touch screen and beeps reminders at you.
- mythrwy 7y ago
  An aquarium water pump https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x3487259 https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x348..., a liquid holding container https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x3487259 https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x348..., one or more large Tupperware (or whatever you find) tray(s) draining back into the liquid holder, Rockwell bricks (or another grow medium) in the trays, a cheap timer for the pump and you have your own ebb and flow system for a couple hundred bucks. I've build several of these over the years. There's no need to spend extra money. But the soil and the sun are free if you can get it and imo better.
  - noobly 7y ago
    You may be forgetting that the sun causes cancer[0]. 0: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/sun-uv-and-cancer/how-does-the-sun-and-uv-cause-cancer https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-canc...
- Fiahil 7y ago
  If you like fresh products, I'd suggest to stay away from anything like hydroponics. Vegetables won't taste good.
LoveMortuus 7y ago
Wouldn't something like Minecraft Vertical Farms be more effective, specially because you could just have a basin a top of another basin, and have the water drip from the top one to the ones below, thus requiring only one pump to pump the water that collects at the very bottom back up to the top. Of course, having aditional pump to add more water to the system would be helpful but not necessary. The only problem that I've faced with such a design is the amount of mass that all together would have and the required flood strength to support such a weight. That being said, having smaller such systems for room like enviroments shouldn't have many problems.
ansible 7y ago
People have been making flood and drain systems for years, controlled by a super-reliable mechanical system. The downside is that these are typically much larger and heavier. The ones I've seen have a bed of gravel as the grow medium. It also has many gallons of water in the system, and no doubt that evaporation is more of a concern.

by orasis 7y ago

elasticventures 7y ago

It's worth mentioning that the facebook forums for hydroponics farming are full of people trying to sell these things second hand with no explanation 'why'.

orasis 7y ago
Yeah, they were quite expensive and I'll probably just end up giving them away.
- syntaxing 7y ago
  Would you happen to be in California? I would love to buy one from you (after this whole shelter in period)!
  - orasis 7y ago
    I would but I’m not near CA

orasis 7y ago

I should clarify that the problems I experience are probably not specific to ZipGrow, but would happen to any vertical hydroponics that require functioning system to keep roots damp. Soil is an amazing technology.

syntaxing 7y ago

I want to get my feet wet with hydroponics because my daughter loves fresh produce and I love the idea growing her favorite fruits and veggies. Do you now how Zipgrow compares to Aerogarden (the "farm" size one).

ShakataGaNai 7y ago
The Aerogarden Farm and ZipGrow 2-Tower setup are fairly close in price (About $600 USD). Beyond that they're fairly different. The ZipGrow is certainly targeting a more prosumer/commercial demographic where as the Aerogarden, even the farm, tops out at high-end prosumer. If you're an average person who isn't interested in dedicating their life to hydroponics, the Aerogarden is going to be the safer bet. It's small-ish, it's simple, it has a nice touch screen and beeps reminders at you.
mythrwy 7y ago
An aquarium water pump https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x3487259 https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x348..., a liquid holding container https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x3487259 https://www.ntotank.com/20gallon-duracast-rv-water-tank-x348..., one or more large Tupperware (or whatever you find) tray(s) draining back into the liquid holder, Rockwell bricks (or another grow medium) in the trays, a cheap timer for the pump and you have your own ebb and flow system for a couple hundred bucks. I've build several of these over the years. There's no need to spend extra money. But the soil and the sun are free if you can get it and imo better.
- noobly 7y ago
  You may be forgetting that the sun causes cancer[0]. 0: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/sun-uv-and-cancer/how-does-the-sun-and-uv-cause-cancer https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-canc...
Fiahil 7y ago
If you like fresh products, I'd suggest to stay away from anything like hydroponics. Vegetables won't taste good.

LoveMortuus 7y ago

Wouldn't something like Minecraft Vertical Farms be more effective, specially because you could just have a basin a top of another basin, and have the water drip from the top one to the ones below, thus requiring only one pump to pump the water that collects at the very bottom back up to the top. Of course, having aditional pump to add more water to the system would be helpful but not necessary. The only problem that I've faced with such a design is the amount of mass that all together would have and the required flood strength to support such a weight. That being said, having smaller such systems for room like enviroments shouldn't have many problems.

ansible 7y ago

People have been making flood and drain systems for years, controlled by a super-reliable mechanical system. The downside is that these are typically much larger and heavier. The ones I've seen have a bed of gravel as the grow medium. It also has many gallons of water in the system, and no doubt that evaporation is more of a concern.