Newb Hydroponics Question, Could this work?

I was watching How It's Made on the discovery channel and they had hydroponic lettuce. Basically what they had was an indoor greenhouse with a huge pool like structure which they had floating Styrofoam panels with small holes in them that the roots would go through and grow under water, and the plant would stay floating on top. Now could I make an easy hydroponic grow setup with a big sheet of Styrofoam (like the insulation Styrofoam found at home depot) and holes in it to hold the plants above the water, but their roots growing down in the water? What are the potential problems here? And would I be able to do this in a small creek in the woods? The water is very slow moving and I could tether it to land, or should I do it in a big rubbermaid container? Thanks for all the advice in advance.

this is basically a DWC setup.........

you can't do it in the creek cause you wouldn't be able to give the plants nutes, it would have to be a controlled environment. but it's definitely doable indoors.

You would have to keep the roots from light some how.

If you end up going this route (DWC Tub) make sure to aerate the water with an aquarium air pump, hose and air stones.

So basically this wouldn't really be possible outside? How much water would I need? Would a 20-30gal fish tank aquarium work for 2-3 plants?

If you can put plants in a creek outside, then you can put them in the ground near the creek, and they'll flourish.

Oh, and move to the Outdoor forum.


HTH

why not just plant near your source of water in the soil?

I do have plants that are planted in the soil right next to the creek, but wouldn't hydroponic plants grow better? And produce a better harvest?

grower123 said:

I do have plants that are planted in the soil right next to the creek, but wouldn't hydroponic plants grow better? And produce a better harvest?

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i grow hydro and as far as i can tell the biggest difference is they grow faster during the vegetative stage - other than that i thought soil and hydro are pretty much the same.

Alright cool then I guess I have nothing to worry about. Where my plants are it is surrounded by marsh and underground streams.

grower123 said:

Alright cool then I guess I have nothing to worry about. Where my plants are it is surrounded by marsh and underground streams.

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sounds nearly hydro already! happy gardening!