210 Dutch Bucket System

Congratulations! You have just purchased a recirculating 210 Dutch Bucket System from American Hydroponics. This system includes growing supplies for peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and strawberries. Our 210 system is a small example of what the big commercial growers use for vine crops. It comes with everything you need to get started.
2 year warranty on system, 180 days on pump

Tools required for assembly:

Power drill with 5/8 hex bit, rubber mallet, tape measure and sharpie.

Dutch Bucket Components (see pick list)

[10] Dutch Buckets with elbows [1] Manifold [1] Drain Pipe [1] Tableframe [1] 35 gallon reservoir with cover [1] Growing supplies

60305esc Count/ea 1 1 1 Outline <1d> Part # 96018 22018 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Description Count/ea Manifold Microtubes 16" Manifold Assembly A Manifold Assembly B Manifold Assembly C Manifold Assembly D (Reservoir Drain Assembly) Manifold Assembly E (Pump/Valve Assembly)

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210 Dutch Bucket System pick list

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Outline <1> <2> <3>

Part # 93023 03014 80014

Description 210 Bucket Dutch System hrd wr Reservoir 35 Gallon with Float Valve Hole Supplies Dutch Bucket System

<1> <1b> <1c> <1d> <1e> <1e>

93023 30250 11103 96018 91097 55000 55002 n/a n/a n/a n/a <2> 91097 Drain Pipe Collector Assembly A Collector Assembly B Collector Assembly C 10" drain tube

210 Bucket Dutch System hrd wr Sub Box Tableframe Maniflod Drain Pipe Dutch Buckets Dutch Bucket Elbows (2 per bucket)

1 1 1 1 1 10 20

<1b>

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

30233 23002 23022 27038 27039 30110 <3>

Sub Box Microtube Grommets Drip Stake Clamp 1.5" for conduit Clamp 2" for couduit Glue PVC Can 4 oz

1 20 20 2 1 1

03014 Reservoir 35 Gallon with Float Valve Hole 03010 Reservoir 35 Gallon 03012 Reservoir Cover

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<1c>sub 1 2 4 4 8 50 6

11103 11104 11105 11106 11107 30251

Tableframe Leg 18in DB Trial Crosspiece 16in DB Trial Crosspiece 38in DB Trial Rail Bottom 60 7/16 DB Trial Box Sub TableFrame DB Trial

1 8 4 6 4 1

<1c>sub

30251 28006 04001 26001 11022 30007 11018

Box Sub TableFrame DB Trial Table Frame Coupler Plastic Corner 3 Way Plastic Center Support 4 way Leg Bracket Self Taping Tek Screw Angle Brace 1inx8in

80014 Supplies Dutch Bucket System 53095 Instructions 210 82010 Seeds Sparticus (Pepper) Packet 82018 Seeds Cumlaude (Cucumber) Packet 82019 Seeds Curuso (Tomato) Packet 87020 Tray Propagation 1020 w/o Hole 87026 Tomahooks w/ Twine 87027 Vine Clips 87002 Perlite 4 cu.ft. bag 87052 Rockwool 2x2x2 miniblock 89007 Book Hydroponic Crop Production 89025 DVD Hydroponics Explained 27012 Float Valve 27028 Float Valve Plumb Kit 88100 GroMagnon 2 Part Nutrient 83006 Pump Rio 1700 620 gal/hr 83015 Truncheon Commercial 83049 pH Control Kit

1 1 25 25 25 1 20 100 1 20 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Figure A
Center Support Corner 38

ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
1. Assemble your tableframe as shown in Figure A. First - press 16 and 38 crosspieces together using the plastic corners and center supports provided in tableframe sub box. Second - press 18 legs onto remaining support pegs. (Pound in if necessary) Third - lay out 4 bottom rails (60 7/16) and measure 41 to center from one end of each; mark with sharpie. This is the center mark for leg bracket. Use the self-taping tek screws and a 5/8 hex bit to secure 8 leg brackets to bottom rails. Forth - insert 2 table frame couplers (5) to couple bottom rails together using self-taping tek screws. Your tableframe should look like figure A. 2. Attach 8 angle braces as shown in Figure B at 45 angles. 3. Place reservoir as shown in Figure C. 4. Attach drain pipe as shown in Figure D. irst - Glue A, B and C together as illustrated so all drain holes line up in a straight line. F Second - screw in long drain tube (10 piece with male adapter) that fits into the hole in your reservoir cover as shown. Third - Attach drain pipe to the center of your table using the hardware provided. The 2 gray clip attaches the end of section C to the table frame. The remaining 2 clips secure sections A and B. Use the self-taping tek screws to secure these clips. 5. Insert Dutch Bucket Elbows as illustrated below.
1
18

16

Corner

Coupler

60 7/16 41

60 7/16 41

Leg Bracket 41

41

41

Figure B

Angle Braces

Figure C

Figure D

C
3

Long Drain Tube

Bucket

6. Place Bato Buckets on system as shown in Figure E.

Figure E

7. Place manifold on Bato Buckets as in Figure F. First - Glue sections B and C together with holes facing up. Second - Lay glued section on buckets and dry fit sections A and E together with holes facing up. Once you get the proper angle on section E, glue pieces together. Third - Attach section D to the manifold as shown in figure F. Forth - Insert pump to the bottom of section E. Fifth - Insert grommets in manifold. Press drip stakes into microtubes than press micro tubes into grommets. (End of micrtube needs to be in center of pipe) 8. Install float valve to 35 gallon reservoir and hook up to float valve plumb kit. Refer to the Float Valve Instructions included. Then fill reservoir.

READY TO GROW
Figure F

Remove buckets from the system and take outside. Pour perlite from bag into buckets 3/4 full. Wash dust thoroughly from perlite by filling bucket with water... let drain to earth. Place the buckets over holes in the drain pipe in system. Follow the growing instructions for more plant details and instructions.

B E D

D Reservoir Drain Assembly

E Pump/Valve Assembly

210 Dutch Bucket Growing Instructions

The 210 Production Unit is a trial version of the large Dutch Bucket systems currently operating all over the world. This small unit grows BIG plants. The 210 provides you with hands-on experience of a tried and true resource and labor efficient hydroponic method, PLUS, you will have produce to take to potential markets. If you do choose to go to a full size system later on, the 210 Production Unit makes an excellent trial system for testing out new cultivars. This 210 Production Unit is a nutrient recirculating (closed) system whereas traditional Dutch Bucket systems are drain-to-waste (open) systems where excess nutrient and water are not recirculated.

Cucumber Seeds

Cucumber seed variety is called Cumlaude and is produced by Rijk Zwaan. These plants are as follows: Normal vigor, 15-16 inches in length, dark green color, slightly ribbed skin, resistant to leafspot and gummosis, tolerant to powdery mildew and are all female.
Pepper Seeds

Growing Supplies include:

Pepper seed variety is called Spartacus. [20] 2 Rockwool cubes [20] Tomahooks [1] 8 Kg Nutrient [1] 1020 Flat
Tomatoe Seeds

Spartacus is a F1 hybrid. Green/red blocky fruit, early and high yielding. Dark green color maturing to bright red and an average fruit weight of 6 oz.

[1] Packet Seeds [1] Conductivity Meter [1] Hydroponic Crop Production Book These plants are as follows: [100] Vine Clips [1] 4cu.ft. bag perlite [1] DVD Hydroponics Explained [1] Float Valve and Plumb Kit [1] Rio 1700 Pump [1] pH Control Kit [1] Timer Normal maturity, normal vigor, 8.5 ounce size, normal internodes, 3-5 cells, resistant to tomato moasic virus, cladosporium A, B, C, D and E, verticillium and fusarium races 1 and 2. Tomato seed variety is called Geronimo and is produced by DeRuiter.

Figure A

1) Rinse (20) 2 mini blocks thoroughly with fresh water. Figure A. 2) Drop 1 seed per hole. You will be growing 2 plants per bucket. Figure B. 3) Place cubes in 1020 flats. Figure A. 4) Keep seeds warm, 68-70F. Water cubes lightly, make sure there is no standing water in the tray ever. 5) When the seedlings are 1-2 tall, water with a mild nutrient solution, 6CF. Figure C. 6) Be sure the seedlings have plenty of light available, use a grow lamp if necessary. A healthy seedling makes a healthy mature plant.
Figure B

7) Water with nutrient every few days and make sure there is no standing water in the trays. 8) As soon as roots start to pop out the bottom of the cube, its time to place cubes in perlite growing medium. Bury cube in perlite so that it is flush with surface. Place drip stake in cube. Figure D. 9) With float valve installed and reservoir full, follow instructions (in nutrient box) for mixing nutrients. Add equal parts of nutrient A and B to water to bring CF to the set points below. Adjust the pH slowly to 6.3. Use your Truncheon meter and pH tester. a. Cucumbers CF 20 pH 6.3
Figure C

b. Tomatoes CF 24 pH 6.3 c. Peppers CF 22 pH 6.3 10) Run heavy guage wire supported every 4-5 from your greenhouse purlins. If you are not growing in a greenhouse, you will have to devise a structure for stringing wire. The height of your wire must be within your reach 7 feet from ground, so you can easily tend plants. Vine crops will eventually get heavy with fruit. We recommend #6 galvanized wire for this purpose.

Figure D

Cucumbers
1) The arch method and the renewal umbrella system are the two primary cucumber growing methods most used. You will be using a modified renewal umbrella technique for this go round. As soon as the plant is up and starting to lean, clip a tomahook string to the base of the plant. as in Figure A. Remove all suckers, blossoms and fruit to the fifth true leaf. As plant grows, clip a vine clip to base of plant and spiral stem around string for support. 2) The main stem will be topped at one leaf above the support wire. Pinch out the growing head. Tie top of main stem to support wire as in Figure B. Remove all laterals in the leaf axils on the main stem, except 2 at the top. Hand pollinate flowers. 3) Train the top 2 laterals over the wire to hang down on either side of the main stem. Tie pieces of cloth on the laterals so they dont pinch. Let them grow 2/3 the way down the main stem before pinching growing heads. Figure C. 4) As fruit on the 2 laterals matures, train 2 more laterals to grow out and down. When the fruits on the first laterals are harvested, remove them completely. Repeat this procedure for up to 10 months. 5) Greenhouse day temps should be 66-81F, nighttime temps, 60-65. Avoid temps over 90 F. Cucumbers can take high humidity, 80-90%. They do well at high humidity but so does botrytis and mildews. Keep airflow up. 6) Cucumbers like CF between 20 and 30 when they are producing fruit. Once plants have reached the wire, increase CF gradually to 30 for fruit production. Yield expected per plant of cucumbers is 50-75 fruits (depending on environmental control, variety and growing skill.) 7) Keep a clean greenhouse. No cut plant material should ever be left in the house. Keep CF and pH steady. Clean your tools. 8) If you see any sign of white fly, use sticky traps to capture. We have Encarsia wasps for IPM control.

Figure A

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D

Peppers
1) As soon as the plant is up and starting to lean, clip a tomahook string to the base of the plant as in Figure D. Adjust the tomahook on wire so that the plant is standing without stress. As the plant grows and requires support, use more clips. Train a strong side shoot for the second growing stem (2 growing stems per plant) Figure E and F. Keep spiraling the string around the stems and remove flowers for the first 12 inches to encourage good fruit bearing structure. Let fruit develop after this. Use vine clips to attach stem to string. As soon as head reaches the wire, pinch out the growing head. 2)Clip off any other stems to keep the plant vertically manageable. 3) Even though peppers are self pollenators, assistance is required. Simply flick the flowers gently with your index finger.

Figure E

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Figure F

Peppers Cont...
4.) Avoid fruit overload, size will be small and plant will get stressed. Always pick just as the fruit ripens to make more room for new fruit growth. 5) Greenhouse day temps should be 71-73F, nighttime temps, 60-65. Avoid temps over 90 F. Peppers can take high humidity, 80-90%. They do well at high humidity but so does botrytis and mildews. Keep airflow up.
Figure G

6) Peppers like CF between 22 and 35 as fruiting starts. Begin with CF 22 for vegetative growth but once plants have reached the wire, increase CF gradually to 30-35 for fruit production. 7) A rule of thumb is 3-4 plants per 10 square feet in high light, 2 plants per 10 square feet in low light. Yield expected per plant of red peppers is 8-15 lbs, for green peppers 12-17 lbs (depending on environmental control, variety and growing skill.) 8) Keep a clean greenhouse. No cut plant material should ever be left in the house. Keep CF and pH steady. Clean your tools. 9) If you see any sign of white fly, use sticky traps to capture. We have Encarsia wasps for IPM control.

Figure H

Tomatoes
Figure I

1) As soon as the plants are up and starting to lean, snap a clip on right below a branch. Figure G. Adjust the tomahook on the wire so that the plant is standing without stress. As the plant grows, and requires support, add a clip. As you can see by Figures H, I and J, as the plants grow, you will be LAYERING them so that fruits will always be on the lower third of the plant. As soon as the head reaches the wire, lower the plant and move the tomahook so that your plants look like illustration. Continue this procedure for the life of the plant. 2) Suckering. Remove any laterals that will suck energy from the top growing head. You only want one growing head at the very top. Any other head that develops on top of a branch node, clip off. Cut flush with the stem. You do not want any tags of dying plant material exposed to decay or botrytis. 3) As fruit forms and the plant grows, trim branches and leaves away from vine at base of plant. Keep air movement steady around base of stem. If plants get too bullish (thick and leafy) decrease CF a couple points, if stretching, raise CF a couple points. 4) Keep a clean greenhouse. No cut plant material should ever be left in the house. Keep CF and pH steady. Clean your tools. 5) If you see any sign of white fly, use sticky traps to capture. We have Encarsia wasps for IPM control.

Figure J

Strawberries
The strawberry variety is everything to the grower. You may have to experiment with different varieties to find the one most suitable for your season and environment. The standard commercial short day varieties are Earlisweet, Pajaro, Torrey, Tioga (less than 12 hours of light/day) Day neutral strawberries are Selva, Tribute, Aptons, Sequoia and Brighton (good for all day lengths.) Everbearers are long day (over 12 hours), Red Gauntlet, Rabunda, Ostara. You can start your strawberries by one three methods.

We recommend that you either buy bareroot strawberry plants or wash soil off of strawberry plants and transplant into perlite medium.

1) For bare root plants, soak roots in a mild B1 solution for one hour to limit transplant shock and then carefully place roots directly into wetted perlite medium in Bato Bucket and then water in... see illustration. or... 2) Thoroughly and carefully wash all soil from roots of strawberry plant. Soak roots in a mild B1 solution for one hour to limit transplant shock and then carefully place roots directly into wetted perlite medium in Bato Bucket and then water in... see illustration.

3) Prepare the nutrient solution at CF 20, pH 6.3. Set timer to water 1/2 hour every 2 hours. 4) Nutrient conductivity should be CF 20 pH 6.3. Anywhere between 18 CF and 24 CF is ok. 5) Ideal temperatures are between 64 to 72 F. Above 80 F, flowering is impeded. 6) For prevention of powdery mildew, we recommend adding Potassium Silicate (Silicone) to the nutrient solution. We have it available to you. 7) Aphids love strawberries. There are numerous benign sprays to use for aphids but we recommend lady bugs. Simply build a tent with a fine a mesh netting a let loose about 5,000 lady bugs. Lady Bugs cannot fly away and will eat every last aphid.

Float Kit Installation Instructions

Sealing Washer Reservoir Compression fittings

Wing Nut

Valve Body

Reservoir nut Tubing Nut Micro Tube to Float Valve Plumb Kit

Float Valve Installation: 1. Remove reservoir and tubing nut. Insert valve body through the existing valve hole. Make sure sealing washer is on the inside of the reservoir. Secure with reservoir nut. 2. Loosely screw on tubing nut with compression fittings. Stick the 1/4 tubing coming from your Float Valve Plumb Kit into the tubing nut about 3/4 of an inch. Fasten Tubing until tight. 3. Adjust wing nut if needed 4. Turn on needle valve attached to your Float Valve Plumb Kit and you are ready to grow.

Thank You For Choosing American Hydroponics

Have a Question? Problem? Suggestion? Please let us know! We constantly refine and enhance our products to reflect what our customers need and want. How do we know what to do? You tell us! Our most important source of ideas and suggestions is you the people who use our products. If you have questions, ideas, suggestions, or yes, problems, we want to know about it. Call us at (800-458-6543), fax us (707-822-4718), or send us an e-mail at info@amhydro.com. In addition to complete hydroponic kits, American Hydroponics also manufactures individual components. We offer automatic nutrient and pH dosing controllers, and 2-part powdered Evolution Solution for those of you who want to save money by making your own concentrates. For larger operations, American Hydroponics also manufactures commercial NFT systems. For more information about the complete line of products available from American Hydroponics, consult your local retailer or visit us online at: www.amhydro.com.

Limit of Liability:

Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall American Hydropon-

ics be liable for any special or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, the materials in these instructions, even if American Hydroponics has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Applicable law may not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability or incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. American Hydroponics is not liable for damage due to omissions or typographical errors.

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