The revolutionary Hydro-Garden (above), occupying only

4 feet by 4 feet of ground space, grows 98 plants almost

anywhere rapidly without soil and with little maintenance
and does so at a cost of less than 20 cents per plant!

[Authors note: A shorter version of this report appeared in the

June, 1980 issue of The Herbalist magazine. The report presented
here greatly expands on the former, providing much more
information on the remarkable Hydro-Garden.]
Inexpensive, virtually automatic, and incredibly bountiful
home food-growing is now a reality. Neo-Techni Corporation
recently began marketing a most amazing unit called the HydroGarden, which easily meets most of the fresh fruit and vegetable
needs of vegetarians and health-conscious individuals. Besides
this, the Hydro-Garden also drastically reduces the family food
bill. Developed by Vincent Carl, president of Neo-Techni, the
Hydro-Garden operates according to principles of hydroponics,
and its performance and productivity are remarkable. Most
important for vegetarians, you can now grow your own organic
fruit and vegetables right at home without having to slave over a
garden or even possess a backyard. As an added bonus, you can
grow practically every kind of herb in the Hydro-Garden, and
they respond like you wouldnt believe!

These two Hydro-Gardens grow a total of 196 plants

in what clearly is a fairly small backyard space.
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Briefly, Neo-Technis Hydro-Garden is a series of horizontal

(PVC) pipes arranged in a terrace or pyramid shape. The pipes
called hydroductsconnect to one another with flexible hoses.
Each of the hydroducts has 8 large holes evenly spaced along the
top and in line. Into these holes are placed special foundation
cups, each cup possessing slotted openings on its bottom. Seeds
are planted in the cups, which need only be filled with plain
construction sand. The roots of the plants grow through the
bottom slots in the cups and lie in the hydroducts.

The roots of the plant grow through slots located on the bottom sides
of the support cup; to ensure proper water and nutrient flow one needs
only to periodically lift the cup out of its hole in the pipe and clip the
roots, a process that takes just a few seconds for each plant.
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A 30-gallon water tank contains the necessary water, to

which organic (kelp based) or regular hydroponic fertilizer is
added. The water connects to a small pump (280 gallons per
hour) which pumps the solution to the top hydroduct. From this
point gravity takes over; the nutrient solution flows through the
Hydro-Garden, immersing the roots lying in the hydroducts. The
solution cascades internally down from one hydroduct to the
next one below. It finally reaches the water tank where, with the
aid of the pump, it begins its life-giving trip all over again.
Youll find that the Hydro-Garden produces fruit and vegetables
tasting extraordinarily sweet and juicya common feature of
hydroponically-grown food. Also, herbs grow like crazy in the
Hydro-Garden. Carls own personal unit, for example, yields huge
crops of parsley, chives, endive, sage, and rosemary. Meanwhile,
my ageless grandfather, George Stevenson, has had striking
success growing mint and Chinese celery in his Hydro-Garden.
With the mint he simply transplanted a slip from his regular
garden, and the Chinese celery he grew from seed: both took off.
In fact, so rapidly does just about any herb multiply in the
Hydro-Garden, you soon get to the point where you dont know
what to do with it all.

George Stevenson, age 91, shows off some of his mid-December strawberry
crop. He finds his Hydro-Garden easy and inexpensive to operate. Clearly, the
Hydro-Garden can help solve the worlds pressing food supply problem.
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The Hydro-Garden outperforms conventional

systems in several other important areas. These are:

hydroponic

1) The Hydro-Gardens actual contact with the ground is a

minimal one square inch, eliminating problems of snails, worms,
and other crawling insects.
2) The Hydro-Garden design makes flooding by rain
impossible. In the Hydro-Garden each plant contains only a
2 inch diameter of exposed sand.
3) The Hydro-Garden permits easy relocation of plants. This
ease in mobility of individual plants provides the grower with
several plant location options he doesnt enjoy with standard
hydroponic systems. For example, small young plants that are
shaded by larger older plants can be switched to other more
desirable locations.
The numerous drawbacks of conventional hydroponic
systems prompted Carl to design the Hydro-Garden. I like yard
work and gardening, he states, but my backyards too big. So,
in an effort to get away from all the work I turned to hydroponics
as people normally know it. I put together in my mind a new
design for hydroponic gardening, and decided after going
through a lot of calculations that it would work. I then put up a
prototype of what we now call our Hydro-Garden 98and that
worked. Weve made a lot of changes, but it worked.

Plants grow prolifically in these two Hydro-Gardens in Carls backyard.

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For those interested in how the Hydro-Garden differs from,

and is much superior to, conventional hydroponic systems, Carl
provides the following detailed information:

The Hydro-Garden design is not based on a large, flat, open

area of growing media as are other hydroponic systems. Nor is its
design based on rooting plants in a media through which nutrient
solution is passed, as is the case with other systems.

Contamination and Adulteration

The Hydro-Gardens are designed so that when a plant is
removed, the Support Cup and media (plain construction sand) is
removed with the plant. Therefore removing a plant does not leave
broken roots behind in a media to generate contamination.
Because the growing nutrient solution is not flooded or
injected through the supporting sand, foreign organics and
chemicals do not reach the nutrient solution and therefore
cannot contaminate or adulterate it.
Hydro-Gardens are designed so that each plant has an
exposed area of sand around it of only approximately 2" in
diameter. In the event of rain the leaves of most plants will
prevent all but an insignificant amount of rain from penetrating
the sand, eliminating the need to throw out diluted nutrient and
re-establish the tank with fresh nutrient. No amount of rain
could cause flooding of the roots (and resulting root rot) since
the roots hang in the open and are always automatically drained
free of excess solution.

Evaporation
While evaporation of nutrient solution is a problem in
traditional hydroponic systems because of the wide, exposed
growing media area, it is of very little consequence in the
Hydro-Garden. Because the amount of sand used to support the
plant is so small, evaporation is held to a minimum. In addition
the design of the Hydro-Garden provides for some nutrient
solution to be present in each of its hydroducts at all times, even
when the reservoir pump is not operating. Since the operation of
the pump causes the nutrient solution in a given hydroduct to
be removed and replaced several times a day, it does not
become stagnant but maintains a clean, clear condition at all
times. Because the Support Cups are self-sealing, the entire system
is essentially sealed. Thus, the environment inside of the
hydroducts is dark and humid, providing ideal conditions for
the plant roots.

Nutrient Buildup
Hydro-Gardens are designed so that they do not filter the
nutrient through supporting media. They simply flow the
solution over the exposed plant roots. There is no media in the
hydroducts. Sand is used in the Support Cup to provide support to
the plant stem, but it is retained in the Support Cup, not in the
hydroduct. Therefore the collection, buildup and uncontrolled
release of different elements by growing media is not a problem
in Hydro-Gardens as it is in traditional hydroponic systems.
Unlike other hydroponic systems, Hydro-Gardens do not have a
problem with pH buildup and the resulting need for constant
pH control.

Pumps, Timers and Drain Failures

The Hydro-Garden design precludes drain holes from clogging
in the same way traditional hydroponic systems do, since there
is no way for leaves or other foreign material to enter the
system. (Drain holes can be restricted, however, by roots from large
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rooting plants growing into the drain holes. Location of these

types of plants at the opposite end of the hydroducts from the
drain hole will prevent this from occurring.)
It is not nearly as critical a problem if a pump or timer fails
to function in the Hydro-Garden. The design of the Hydro-Garden
produces an almost hermetically-sealed unit. All of the
hydroducts will retain some solution in them when the pump
is idle. In addition, since there is essentially no air flow in the
hydroducts, the humidity is extremely high within. Should a pump
or timer fail, the plants should be able to last for several days
before they begin to show signs of not receiving any nutrient
solution.

Potential External Damage

The Hydro-Garden is designed so that it is well off the ground
and so that all four of its legs combined represent less than one
square inch of contact with the ground. It is essentially small
animal proof, and it is highly unlikely that snails, slugs or other
crawling insects will find one of the four legs to climb. However,
should the unit be situated in an area where snails, slugs or
other crawling insect infestation is extremely high, it is a simple
matter to provide further protection by depositing a deterring
liquid or powder at the base of each of the legs.

Light and Airflow

The Hydro-Garden, because of its unique terraced tubular
design, provides for growing many more plants than other
hydroponic systems per square foot of ground space (one model,
the Hydro-Garden 98A, grows 98 plants at one time using only
4 feet by 4 feet of ground space). At the same time it provides
for an unusually astonishing amount of open space between
the plants, allowing for a great deal of air flow and light around
and under the plants.

The Hydro-Garden comes in several different models.

From left to right (above) appear the following Hydro-Garden models (the model
numbers refer to the number of Support Cups each unit contains):

Hydro-Garden
Hydro-Garden
Hydro-Garden
Hydro-Garden
Hydro-Garden
Hydro-Garden
Hydro-Garden
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32F
48F
54F
98A
56A
40A
24A

Plant Location
The Hydro-Garden uniquely permits relocation of plants with
ease. A plant (with the Support Cup) can be removed from any cup
hole and moved to any other cup hole with no problem at all.
This ease of mobility of individual plants provides for several
advantages over other hydroponic designs:
1) Small young plants that are shaded by larger older plants
can be switched to other more desirable locations;
2) Individual plants can be relocated at will to organize them
by size of plant or by type of plant;
3) Flowers can be grown in the Hydro-Garden, and when
desired, an entire flowering plant can be taken indoors to be
used as an attractive growing bouquet or centerpiece (when this
is done, the Support cup would be placed inside of a more
ornamental vase with water, but the plant would be left in the
Support cup). After another 3 or 4 days the flowering plant can be
replaced in the Hydro-Garden, and possibly another type of
flowering plant can be taken into the house for variety. Of course,
with this living, growing bouquet arrangement you never have
to cut flowers and thus affect the appearance and growth of
the flowering plant;
4) Plants can be started in Support Cups and later placed in
the Hydro-Garden without disturbing the plant. Thus young
replacements for older plants can be in readiness at all times
for instant installation in the Hydro-Garden;
5) Any plant and Support cup can be removed from a cup
hole at any time and the entire root system structure can be
examined up close. Watching the growth of roots of an individual
plant in this way is very interesting and is especially fascinating
to children of all ages;
6) Some experts maintain that fruit-bearing plants such as
tomatoes, strawberries, blackberries, melons, etc. produce more
9

fruit if the roots are pruned. Such a practice is almost

academic and certainly done haphazardly if a spade is thrust into
soil (in soil garden plants) or into growing media (in other
types of hydroponic units) to sever unseen roots. Too much
or too little of the root structure may be cut. Short of digging the
plant and washing off the roots, pruning the roots and
replanting the plant, there is no way the gardener can know to
what extent he pruned the roots. With the Hydro-Garden you
can, of course, simply lift the plant and its Support Cup from
the cup hole, clip the roots and replace the plant in a matter of
seconds with full visibility of the action;
7) The Hydro-garden lends itself uniquely and efficiently to
experimentation. Since all plants in the unit receive exactly the
same type and amount of nutrient, it is extremely convenient
and easy to experiment with the growth rate, productiveness,
taste, etc. of different brands of hybrids of given types of
plants. For example, comparison and evaluation of different
lettuces or different tomato plants or different cantaloupes, etc.
can be accurately and easily made.

System Cleanout
Cleaning the Hydro-Garden is unbelievably simple. You do
not remove the plants from the unit or disturb them. Nor do you
have to clean or replace any growing media. You first remove
(temporarily) a single plant Support cup from the Top Hydroduct.
A garden hose is inserted into this opening and the hose is
turned on full force. The water from the hose will clean all of
the hydroducts and flush the old nutrient into the reservoir. At
the same time the hose used to carry the nutrient from the
reservoir pump to the Top Hydroduct is disconnected (a quick
disconnect is provided for this purpose). The pump is turned on.
This will cause the solution in the reservoir to be pumped out
onto the ground. (It may be collected in a bucket for use on potted
plants or it may be carried to a flower bed by attaching a longer
hose.)

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The garden hose and the pump are allowed to run for 20-30
minutes or until the water being pumped from the reservoir
runs clear. Then the Support Cup is replaced and the reservoir
pump is reconnected. Fresh nutrient is then added to the reservoir.
This method of cleaning is effective and easy to use. It does not
disrupt the plants growing in the Hydro-Garden. It requires
very little time and needs to be done only about twice a year.

Cost
The Hydro-Garden is a very economical hydroponic system.
The model 98A, for example, grows 98 plants at a time using
only 4 x 4 of ground space. The initial purchase price
prorated over 8 years costs only about 12 per plant. The
operating cost, including the fertilizer and electricity, may run less
than 2 per month per plant or about 5 per plant over a threemonth growing period. This added to the prorated purchase
price totals about 17 per plant total cost. This, of course,
is dramatically less than the cost of traditional hydroponic
systems.
Another way to compare the Hydro-Garden to conventional
hydroponic units is to look at the productivity. If a 3 x 5
conventional unit (costing about 60% more to purchase and
about 7-15 times more cost per plant to operate) grows about a
dozen plants at one time and the Hydro-Garden 98A grows 98
plants at one time, the conventional system will have to be
operated through almost eight crops in order to produce the same
amount as the Hydro-Garden 98A. Or another way to put it is: a
conventional 3 x 5 hydroponic unit will take over 2 years of
steady, year-round growing to yield what the Hydro-Garden 98A
can produce in 3 months.

[Note: Carl was awarded a U.S. Patent for the Hydro-Garden

in 1981. This patent contains additional informative information
on the Hydro-Garden, and appears on the following pages.]

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