Hey there, friends! Ever dreamed of growing a tall garden but don’t have much room? Well, I’ve done just that with a Vertical Hydroponic Garden Growing System. I got one tower that can hold 25 plants and two bigger ones that can each hold 70 plants. It’s like a plant apartment building!

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Unboxing Day Feels Like a Puzzle Game

When the boxes came, it was like opening a huge puzzle. Each box had lots of parts, so I sorted them into two groups – one for the plant towers and one for the lights. It made things much easier! Speaking of puzzles, we created a cute harvest veggies puzzle you and your family may enjoy.

Getting the Water Pump Ready

Setting up the pump was like starting a fun science project. The water reservoir on the big towers had screw holes to attach the water pump easily.  I put the pump between the holes, added the bracket, and screwed it securely to the base.  The smaller tower did not have a bracket or screw holes, so that pump isn’t secured down, but it works fine anyway.  Each pump has a filter that attaches to the water-intake tube on the side.  These keep any debris that might get into the water out of the pump.

On the side of the reservoir, there is a hole for the water pump’s power cable.  There is an O-ring type part that screws together on either side of the hole to lock the power cable in place.  That way the cable doesn’t retract into the water tank.

Building the Vertical Hydroponic Garden Towers Piece by Piece

Building the towers was like stacking cups. The 25-plant tower had 5 levels, and the 70-plant towers had 14.  The bottom of each round has a small protrusion that fits snugly into a recessed area in the round below.  This places every plant between the plants above and below making more room to grow.  I learned the hard way that it is easier to thread the water hose through the rounds as you assemble them.  I waited until all the rounds were assembled and then had a difficult time threading the hose through all the cups inside the tower.

There are two rounds without cups, one with a drainage hole and one that is solid.  I attached the drainage hole round to the circular area at the bottom of the water tank.  Then I attached the solid round to the top of that one, and then the whole tower with all the cups was attached to the top of the solid ring.  I found the whole thing quite sturdy after assembled.

Next, I fed the water tube through the drainage hole and attached it to the water pump.  The other side of the water tube got attached to the water splitter, which sits on top of the cups in the top round of the tower.  This water splitter shoots out water on six sides, ensuring all the top cups get water and trickles down to the thirsty plants below.  Lastly, I put the cover on the top to help keep out light and keep any splashes from the water splitter inside.

You may be excited to fill it with water and watch it work. Remember, when you add plants, you can’t just use plain water. You need to enrich the water with the proper nutrients, and make sure it’s at the correct pH level. If you need a refresher, feel free to Navigating pH and Nutrient Solutions in Hydroponics: A Personal Exploration.

Making Sense of the Lights

The lights were confusing at first.  But once I figured them out, it was a pretty easy assembly. The short tower has four numbered lights, each including a long cord that feeds through the lateral structural tubes and connects to the next numbered light.  Light one has the power cord and connects to light number two, two to three, and three to four.  The taller towers have two rows of four lights and the number one light has an additional short wire on the top of it that connects to light number five above it.  Then light five connects to six, then seven, and finally eight.  The feet of this structure are adjustable in case your floor is not level.

Making the Garden Smart

I love gadgets, so I was excited to use the included two smart plugs for the lights and pump.  Smart plugs allow you to control and automate anything plugged into them.  Just connect them to Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri using their dedicated apps.  Since I use an iPhone, I pulled up the Home app, tapped “Add Accessory,” scanned the bar code on the Smart Plug, and the app walked me through the rest of the steps.  I repeated this so I had the lights plugged into one smart plug and the pumps plugged into the other.  With my phone, I set everything to turn on and off automatically. Now, the lights turn on at 6am and off at 10pm and water runs for 15 minutes each hour that the lights are on.  I don’t have to think about it at all each day.

Lessons Learned

Along the way, I learned some lessons and picked up some helpful tips to share:

• The 25-cup tower comes with planting cups while the 70-cup towers did not.  I don’t think you necessarily have to have planting cups, but they definitely make it easier to hold the plants in place.  
• The 70-cup tower comes with wheels for its base while the 25-cup tower does not as it’s meant to be set on a counter.  The structures for the lights do not have wheels.  So, while it’s easy to grab and rotate the larger towers in place to access the plants in the back, if you want to move the towers to another location, you’ll need to remove the lights, or drag them, or get a helper to carry them.
• If you’re thinking about getting a 25-cup tower and have a nice sunny place to put it, you can save some money and get the tower without the lights.

The Final Stretch

After setting everything up, I stepped back to admire my work. It was amazing to see what I had built – a vertical garden that could bring so much green into a small space. If you’re thinking of trying this out, go for it! It’s fun, and it’s a smart way to grow your own plants even if you don’t have a big backyard. It’s a little like having a science lab and garden all in one.