How to Grow a Hydroponic Plant in Your Classroom
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Hydroponics is such a fun way to teach kids about different growing mediums for plants! Watch this video to see how much quicker lettuce will grow in a hydroponic environment!
You can even buy a hydroponic kit on Amazon
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!!If you’d like to try with your kids or your classroom to grow your OWN hydroponic plant follow these simple 2L bottle directions.
Materials Needed:
Empty 2 liter soda bottle
wick
fertilizer
plant
lemon or lemon juice
baking soda
wick
fertilizer
plant
lemon or lemon juice
baking soda
Optional: pH test kit or litmus paper, straw, Lego blocks, shredded fabric, shredded paper
The soda bottles should have the top cut off and put back in the bottle up side down, as shown in the photo. The liquid the plant will be growing in should always be pH adjusted. If your tap water is fine, then adding the nutrient will not change the pH so much that you have to adjust it. If you are letting the student bring in ‘home made’ wicks, we suggest that the water level in the bottle always touches the bottle neck (which now hangs inside the bottle). This way we are sure the water gets up to the plant.
Materials:
You need liquid hydroponic nutrient. Typically you only use 1-2 tsp per gallon, so a bottle goes a long way.
Each Soda bottle will also need a wick. You can purchase proper wicks or the students can bring in pieces of a cotton T-shirt. It could even be put to the student to find which fabric will be the best wick.
You will also need baking soda and lemons (or lemon juice). This is used to adjust the pH, so the plant can grow. Plants grow only between pH 5 and pH 7.
It would be helpful for you to buy a little pH test kit/ litmus paper- or you can ask the hydroponic store if they know what the pH is of your local water. If the pH is over 7: add ½ squeezed lemon per gallon water. If the pH is 5 or lower (unusual), add 1 tsp baking soda.
Ask each student to bring in an empty soda bottle and possible wick material.
General for all of the following experiments:
The soda bottles should have the top cut off and put back in the bottle up side down. The liquid the plant will be growing in should always be pH adjusted (between pH 5-7). If your tap water is fine, then adding the nutrient will not change the pH so much that you have to adjust it. If you are letting the student bring in ‘home made’ wicks, we suggest that the water level in the bottle always touches the bottle neck (which now hangs inside the bottle). This way we are sure the water gets up to the plant.
