Office hydroponic setup (Growing Basil in a water bottle)

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An unfortunate thing happened to my little office basil growing experiment, I got some fungal gnats and not wanting to be the guy known for his office infested with flies I decided to throw together a little hydroponic system primarily consisting of items I had around the office.

I started with an old reusable water bottle I had previously used to store water for my prior soil based basil plant.  I filled the bottle with water, added a couple of handfuls of hydrocon clay pellets, dropped in an air stone attached to a cheap aquarium pump and I have a neat little bubbler system.

After a couple of weeks there was great root growth (water is not really green just poor camera, bad lighting and unfortunate use of blue water bottle)

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After a couple more weeks, when I was away for Christmas vacation I came back to a plant though needing some water was still growing strong.

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For nutrients I broke off the smallest piece of some generic brand plant spike fertilizer I can put in piece in every week or so along with a small pinch of epsom salt.

When it is time to harvest, I made good of office supplies: a couple of binder clips attached to some rubber bands provides good air circulation to dry out any extra basil I want to store for later use.

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Hey it is not pretty, but it is cheap and provides me some fresh basil to add to my omelets from the cafeteria downstairs and even a little extra dry basil to use at home.

6 Responses to “Office hydroponic setup (Growing Basil in a water bottle)”

  1. Rob Says:

    I should so try this in my dark little cubicle… If I only had a window!


  2. The Cheap Vegetable Gardener Says:

    Adds a little life in contrast to the lifeless grey walls and is actually a great conversation piece.


  3. Cinj Says:

    What a great idea. I want to grow some herbs indoors during the dull winter months.


  4. Hydroponic Economics Says:

    Good guide! That is really simple to set up. I bet it makes your office smell great too. Fresh grown basil always smells good in my kitchen.


  5. nnua Says:

    Oh great! I am growing some basil cuttings in water.

    1) May I know if there are issues changing water every few days, as long as I replenish the nutrients? So as to head off any mosquito breeding possibilities.

    2) Someone on another forum commented their cuttings succumbed to root rot after 1 month. Did you encounter this problem?

    Thanks!


  6. The Cheap Vegetable Gardener Says:

    nnua, for both of these problems having water circulation should take care of these. I simply have an air pump and an air stone with my setup in my office…also not to many mosquitos looking to breed in my office 🙂


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