My fiancé and I recently moved into a place with a good sized outdoor space, at least for Chicago. I decided to use the space to plant a vegetable garden, set up a grill and lights and hang my hammock. I was pretty overwhelmed at first, I had gardened with my dad before but that was years ago and I wasn’t taking thoughtful notes about the whole process. As a result I felt like I was starting from zero but luckily I was able to put together and revise a plan pretty quickly.

Plan A - Hydroponic Dutch Buckets

Initially I wanted to try out hydroponic gardening. Essentially hydroponic gardening is growing plants without soil, using some other media to hold water and nutrients near the roots of the plants. This can help conserve space, get more nutrients to plants, and allow for growing in places or configurations that wouldn’t be possible with soil.

The simplest (active) hydroponic garden, in my opinion, is a basic dutch bucket system. This consists of a 5-gallon or similar sized bucket, some means of getting water in the top, and a drain near the bottom. Ideally the drain should be 2-3 inches above the bottom of the bucket to allow some water to collect. The soil is commonly replaced with materials like perlite or coco coil. The water is treated with soluble fertilizers to create a nutrient solution. The nutrient solution and be collected and reused or drained to waste. This system is simple because it just involves getting the nutrient solution pumped into the top of the bucket and gravity to collect and reuse the nutrient solution.

Note: There are actually more simple, passive hydroponic systems, but these didn’t scratch the itch of building something enough for me, I had to go more complex.

After reviewing various setups, I decided several dutch buckets would be the way to go. I’d use 5-gallon buckets for the pots, PVC pipe for the drains and collection, a 55-gallon drum for the water reservoir, and a pump + host + dripper irrigation fittings to do the circulation.

I was able to source the 55-gallon drum from Facebook marketplace for $10. I was surprised by how many were listed for free/cheap, they seemed easy enough to find! I found some free scrap wood on Craigslist for street pickup. Initially I planned to get the lumber new but after seeing the prices I opted for a more economical and eco-friendly solution.

I found a fountain pump at Harbor Freight that met my height and flow rate needs. Pumps are typically rated for a certain height relative to the pump AT a certain flow rate. As the pump lifts water higher relative to itself, the flow rate will slow and eventually stop. Be sure that the pump you choose will give you the flow you need and the height you want.

Note: Flow rate is important to consider for some systems like Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) channels, but not for others that don’t run continuously, like flood-and-drain systems.

I planned to construct a short platform to set the buckets on and bury the 55-gallon drum deep enough to allow the solution to drain back into the reservoir. However, I never made it to construction because I was confronted by Plan B.

Plan B - Just use the dirt

After explaining all the benefits of hydroponic gardens and why I wanted to try it, my fiancé made the fair point that it’s rare to have a patch of dirt in Chicago, so why cover the dirt with plastic buckets. This was ultimately the way we decided to go. The point that swayed me was she said she would spend more time outside with me if there was a nice garden. So, dirt garden it was.

I realize I don’t know much about gardening, so I venture to the local library. I haven’t been in a library in so long, it felt nice to feel like a kid in a candy store with books again. I find a few books on local plants and gardening and get checked out. After getting home and reviewing the gardening books. I decided to try and identify what plants I had in the garden and what condition the soil was in.

I used the app iNaturalist to take photos of the plants in the garden and it suggested classifications for them. It was helpful when other locals would comment and confirm or refine one of the AI’s suggestions. I used a few soil tests from the books to assess the dirt. I would grab a fistful of dirt and squeeze and judge it based on how it crumbled as I let go.

After some consideration I decided that mostly the garden was full of weeds and local grasses and the dirt was in okay, but not great condition. I decided I needed to weed the garden and turn the dirt over to get ready for any new plants. This is where the fun and hard work began. I cleared the top layer of dirt and weeds, along with lots of trash and rocks from previous tenants. I also loosened the dirt to get ready for additional soil.

I thought the soil needed more sand, since it seemed to cling together a little too well. I decided to go with some of the cheapest stuff from Lowe’s that still had any nutrient content. I got 10 bags, hopefully enough to add a couple inches across the area I wanted to plant. I got the bags of dirt home and worked them into the existing soil. This was by far the hardest work but also the most enjoyable.

Once I had got the garden ready, we made a trip to a local nursery to get some plants for the space. We went to the Urhausen Greenhouses and found all the plants we could want. We got several varieties of peppers and tomatoes, as well as some cucumber and watermelon, and some Salvia and Marigold flowers. I planted them when we got home, gave everything a good water and have hoped for the best!

Plan B+ - A bonus NFT system

I also had all this free wood and PVC so I decided to construct a four channel NFT setup in the back of the dirt patch. This area doesn’t get a ton of sun anyway so it seemed like a decent gamble on the space. I used the wood to build A-frame supports for the PVC channels and screwed them in place. I buried the 55-gallon drum to be the reservoir and the channels will drain back into the drum. It’s a simple enough setup and hopefully will grow several small plants.

Overall it seems to be growing well and it has made the back space a much more enjoyable place to hang out! We’ve eaten several meals out here and I’ve started hammocking over the plants. I also enjoy fast wi-fi while doing this because of my overkill home network setup, which I will write about soon.