You can make the BEST hydrponic grow box ever, here are the directions simplified! I grew Pak Choy in close to 100F weather in Florida during the Summer! Give it a try and send me pictures! This is so cool! In addition, it is made with a food grade bucket for those that are concerned.
My Etsy shop with my grow boxes and ebook: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mikevanduzee
True Leaf Market Organic Seeds: https://www.pntra.com/t/SENITklPRk5DSEdOSU9GQ0dLSUdOSw
Supplies and seed that I use that can’t be found at local home improvement stores: https://amazon.com/shop/mrduzee1

The best thing you can ever do is INVEST in yourself. Believe it or not, whatever level you are on now, $100 can CHANGE your LIFE. Whatever reason you are trying to grow a YouTube channel, funnels can help you. Whether you like it or not, you are marketing your channel. Check out free info here and I will always be there for you to help you through it: https://onefunnelaway.com/challenge?cf_affiliate_id=2552427&affiliate_id=2552427
Disclaimer: Some of these links are affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
#mrduzee1 #keepongrowin
source
Keep on Growin’ with Mike VanDuzee

Mike where can i get to buy your downspouts to grow hydroponics. Please put your link where to purchase from you..
Hi Mike great video, a good way to clean the edges of the plastic bucket would be a dull knife blade, run it around at an angle. I worked at an injection molding plastics factory and we used old steak knives ground down to have an edge that would not cut you so if you have a firm butter knife that should work.
This is absolutely genius! I have about 10 pales that are going to be converted! Great insight and knowledge! Much appreciated for all that you are sharing! I clearly have lots of digging to do on your channel!
Was sent your way by Brad at Hidden Harvest!
I’m going to try this , I really like this give away I’m able to meet new people
I LOVE this idea! Thank you!
You sir, are the Macgyver of hydroponics!💚
thanks for the safety reminders 🙂
what if you're an outdoor hydroponic, how do you remove excess rain water?
Have you tried it with just an air gap instead of the foam? maybe just some noodle pieces to keep them centered?
I guess you could convert an old beer cooler to an insulated planter.
My cousin and I did something similar a few summers back. (Not garden related) We needed something to keep ice and water cooler longer, but the cooler cans were expensive. We put a 3 gallon bucket inside a 5 gallon bucket and used the foam sealer in between the two buckets. We actually made 4 of them because we were working outside in the summer heat and went through GALLONS of water to stay hydrated.
Where do you get the food grade buckets?
Can you grow anything in these hydroponic buckets?
Hey Mike! This is one heck of a brain storm!!! I've always wanted to try the kratky method, but here in the Mojave, in the southern tip of Nevada, it just gets so darn hot and dry. This just may do the trick!! Protection against the heat, water loss and algae, all in one!!!
Quick question Mike. Have you ever tried the JADAM JLF as a natural substitute for your plants nutrients??? The Korean gentleman, that created the system, says it can be used in hydroponics and can even be made to be plant specific. The research that I've done over the last several months looks to be very promising.
Genius! My husband was literally working on a way to keep the kratky buckets cool during the heat and this is perfect. Love this!
Adding paint helps block the UV light (in sunlight; same light that fades your drapes) from penetrating the plastic and breaking down the polymer bonds and making the bucket brittle. This is why UV resistant plastic contains a dye like the gray electrical pipe. It may develop a whitish powdery coat over time. I cleaned the powder off to make it looked new again. This is where the UV damaged the surface but was unable to damage the interior. Most buckets do not have this protection. In fact I looked at a orange big box store bucket the other day, I could see through the side to make out my hand moving around inside the the side of the bucket. I know that UV will break it down to become too brittle to use.
Have you measured the temperatures between an insulated and non-insulated bucket to see exactly how much insulating power there is? Just put the two outside for a few hours and measure the temp difference. Would be interesting. Thanks!
Another great idea, Mike…thanks! I have a question concerning using the bucket handle to move the filled planter. Does the spray foam bind the two pieces together well enough to hold or would the inner bucket fall through?
I think I would leave the outer layer white since it would help reflect heat and put a couple of coats of black spray paint on the outside of the inner layer to help safeguard against algae growth.
That’s an excellent idea!
They look good Mike, Great tutorial on how to put them together!
Instead of cutting the bucket in half, try putting a styrofoam block from packaging on the bottom with a brick on top and wrap a piece of styrofoam sheet around the outside for further insulation.
I keep sending you emails requesting an invoice but you don't respond
How can I get the spray foam please…
What seeds do you recommend for planting now Sept 8 2020? I am in South East Texas and we are still in upper 90F?
Hi Mike, I want to start hydroponically, but I am in Arizona and it's scorching hot here, we haven't had rain since March, and the temperatures are in the high 100s , like 117-118. Do you think the plants will make it in this container without adding frozen water bottles to keep the temperature down??
How i thought you were going to do it was to get 2 five gallon buckets and wrap the inside one with that silver bubble wrap cut to fit. But i bet you get a much higher R value with the spray insulation, just a lot messier. Fun to watch, even you can get gunk on your hands, i am not the only one. Eva
What do you think about just using one of those cheap old school styrofoam coolers???? That seems like it would be much easier 😃
Great video Mike! Maybe I'll make one with the smaller bucket and cut down the big bucket to try and grow daikon radish…I'll let you know.
I use one gallon Arizona tea bottles. I cut some for pool noodles (I don't split the noodle. I wrap a strip of sponge around the base of the plant and squeeze it into the hole). I also cut some for yogurt containers which are really easy to make into net pots using a soldering iron. Before I cut the hole for the net pot (or pool noodle) I spray paint the bottle black. Let it dry and then spray paint it white to reflect the heat. I had a lot of 90 plus degree days in a row and my plants didn't wilt. I started out using a black painted bottle and my plants wilted. I may use black painted bottles in the windows of my sun room in the spring and fall (maybe winter too), but in the summer it's paint it black then paint it white.
The one gallon size seems to be perfect for lettuce and I would imagine for Pak Choy too. You can adjust the water level in each bottle custom for that plant. I'm planning on putting those bottles in some boxes I have on a table in my sun room window for a small off season Kratky garden. I'll probably supplement with a few hours of artificial light because I only have an east facing window. Square foot Kratky?
Hey. You know what we need is a Kratky spread sheet that shows how much water to use (maybe info about light and nutrients etc. too) for each different kind of plant. Square foot gardening has stuff like that, why don't we? I'm fairly new at this, but I will probably start keeping track of stuff like that and maybe some day I'll be able to put together a data sheet for how to grow various plants with Kratky. I've looked around and so far I haven't found anything like that. I think it would be a great service to the Kratky community.
how much are you going to ask for these? I like them but have no way to construct my own,
Thanks for the 💡
Don’t wear good pants ,fight club rule #1
Cool idea 👏👍
Awesome idea Mike.
Does this little bit of insulation really do any good?
Seams easy enough to make I’m DIY friendly that sprayfoam is messy lol 😂 great video Mike thanks for sharing 👍🏼💜
Are going to make 5 gallon bucks for bigger plants?
Doesn't the white bucket let enough light through to cause algae in the water?
Glad I could help. Its nasty stuff to work with.
I've almost given up on any form of gardening. I have done hydroponics for over 50 years and it's not the growing process that bothers me. It's the damn bugs. I grew everything organic and this year, I fed my entire crop to the grasshoppers of North Texas.
By the way, nice t-shirt!
These are awesome. Thank you for the rain gutter systems I won. I grew Pak Choy and started some tomato cuttings in them.