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Everything used in our guides, grouped by the project you are actually trying to finish rather than by product category. Pick a system, work down the list, and you have a working build.
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Build a hydroponic system
Three ways in, from one bucket on a windowsill to a system that produces salad all winter. Build instructions are in the deep water culture guide.
One DWC bucket
The cheapest real hydroponic system. Add a food-safe 5-gallon bucket from any hardware store and you are growing.
- Net pots & clay pebbles3-inch pots; rinse and reuse for years
- Aquarium air pump & air stoneDual outlet runs two buckets at once
- Hydroponic nutrient concentrateComplete two-part formula, macro and micro
- pH test drops or pH penTarget 5.5 to 6.5; without this you are guessing
Grows: lettuce, basil, bok choy, kale.
Year-round indoor greens
Adds light and measurement so the system keeps producing through winter, not just in summer.
- Full-spectrum LED grow lightMatch the fixture to your canopy size
- Outlet timer10 to 12 hours for greens, 14 to 16 for fruiting crops
- pH & TDS combo meterTells you when the reservoir is spent
- pH up & pH down solutionSmall adjustments, added slowly
- Seed starting plugsRockwool or coco plugs drop into net pots
The tier where hydroponics starts beating grocery prices on salad.
Multi-site recirculating system
For growing quantity. A reservoir feeding several sites, on a pump and timer.
- Hydroponic grow system kitBucket or channel kits with plumbing included
- Submersible circulation pumpCheck head height, not just flow rate
- Reservoir tankOpaque only; light in the tank means algae
- Inline water filterRemoves chlorine and sediment from tap water
- Grow tentControls light, humidity and pests indoors
Check the light-hours table before sizing the fixture.
Build an aquaponic system
Fish feed the plants, plants clean the water. Build steps are in the media-bed aquaponics guide. One hard rule: no copper or brass anywhere in the loop — dissolved copper is toxic to fish at very low concentrations.
Cycle your first tank
Everything needed to establish the bacteria colony before a single fish goes in.
- Freshwater master test kitAmmonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH; liquid beats strips
- Submersible pond pumpTurn the tank over roughly once an hour
- Expanded clay grow mediaFills the bed and hosts the bacteria
- Aquarium thermometerSpecies have narrow temperature windows
Cycling takes 4 to 6 weeks. Do not rush it.
Keep it alive
The maintenance layer. Aquaponics fails on water chemistry, not on plants.
- Food-grade PVC fittingsNever copper or brass in an aquaponic loop
- Aquarium air pump & air stoneDissolved oxygen for fish and root zone
- Fish foodMatch pellet size to species and stage
- Bell siphon kitAutomates flood and drain cycling
- Tank heaterOnly if your species needs it in your climate
Check ammonia and nitrite weekly, forever.
Stock tank system
Moving from a tote to something that feeds a household.
- Poly stock tank50 to 300 gallons; poly avoids zinc concerns
- IBC tote grow bedThe standard cheap large-format bed
- Water quality controllerContinuous pH and temperature logging
- Backup air pump & batteryA power cut can kill a tank overnight
Check your state's rules on fish species before stocking.
Garden, soil & natural pest control
The layered, no-spray approach from the natural pest control section, plus the soil work that prevents most problems before they start.
Start a growing bed
Get the soil right in year one and the next five years are easier.
- Raised bed kitMetal or cedar; 4x8 is the classic first bed
- Soil test kitTest before you amend anything
- Compost bin or tumblerCloses the fertility loop
- Broadfork or garden forkLoosens without inverting soil layers
- Mulch / strawSuppresses weeds and holds moisture
Perennials planted in year one pay out in year three.
The no-spray toolkit
Barriers and biology first. Sprays only when something breaks through.
- Floating row cover & hoopsStops moths and beetles before they land
- Cold-pressed neem oilApply at dusk to spare pollinators
- Insecticidal soapContact control for aphids and mites
- Food-grade diatomaceous earthMust say food grade, not pool grade
- Copper slug tapeWidest tape you can find; best around pots
- Beneficial insect seed mixDill, yarrow, alyssum, fennel
Layer three or four methods rather than relying on one.
Water efficiently
Drip at the root zone uses less water and causes far less fungal disease than overhead spraying.
- Drip irrigation kitThe single biggest efficiency upgrade available
- Hose timerConsistency matters more than volume
- Rain barrel diverter kitOne inch on 1,000 sq ft of roof is about 600 gallons
- Soaker hoseCheapest way to convert an existing bed
- Soil moisture meterStops the most common mistake, overwatering
Water at the roots, in the morning, and less often but deeper.
Greenhouse & season extension
Match the climate control to your region — the split between hot-dry, hot-humid and severe-winter setups is explained in the greenhouse heating and cooling guide.
Extend the shoulder seasons
Weeks of extra growing at each end of the year, without building a structure.
- Cold frameThe cheapest season extension there is
- Frost blanketBuys several degrees on a cold night
- Mini hoop tunnel kitCovers a single bed
- Soil thermometerGermination is decided by soil temp, not air temp
Fall crops sown late are the most commonly missed harvest.
A real greenhouse
Once you have a structure, ventilation matters more than heating in most climates.
- Walk-in greenhouse kitPolycarbonate lasts far longer than film
- Automatic vent openerWax cylinder, no electricity required
- Shade cloth30 percent humid climates, 50 percent hot-dry
- Max-min thermometerShows what happened overnight while you slept
- Greenhouse benchingGets crops off cold ground
Vent area should be at least 15 to 20 percent of floor area.
Heat & cool it
Thermal mass first, powered equipment second. Passive costs nothing to run.
- Plug-in thermostat controllerRuns a heater only past a setpoint
- Greenhouse heaterSize roughly 10 to 20 BTU per square foot
- Exhaust fanFor hot-humid regions where misting will not help
- Evaporative coolerExcellent in hot-dry, useless in humid
- Bubble insulation filmInside glazing, for cold-winter zones
Seal drafts before buying a bigger heater.
Off-grid power & water
Measure before you buy. Anything touching house wiring needs a licensed electrician, and battery banks need properly sized fusing and disconnects.
Before you spend anything
An afternoon of measurement saves buying equipment that is the wrong size in either direction.
- Plug-in energy meterActual watt-hours, not label guesses
- Clamp meterFor circuits you cannot unplug
- LED bulb replacementsThe cheapest watt is the one you never generate
Cut loads before adding generation. Always.
Solar array & storage
Size to winter production, not the annual average, or you run a generator every January.
- Solar panel kit with MPPT controllerMPPT beats PWM on any real array
- LiFePO4 deep-cycle batteryCheck BMS, cycle rating, low-temp cutoff
- Pure sine wave inverterModified sine damages motors and electronics
- Battery fuses & disconnectNot optional. A shorted bank is dangerous
- Solar cable & MC4 connectorsSize wire for run length, not amps alone
Two to three days of autonomy is the comfortable target.
Water, fencing, backup
The demands a farm has that a house does not, and their off-grid answers.
- Solar DC water pumpFills a tank in daylight; the tank is your storage
- Water storage tankUphill if the land allows; gravity needs no power
- Solar electric fence energizerMatch joule rating to fence length
- Dual-fuel inverter generatorPropane stores for years; gasoline does not
- Automatic coop doorRuns for months on a small solar battery
Stock tank de-icers are the hardest farm load to serve off-grid.
Harvest & preservation
August produces more food in three weeks than you can eat in three months. What you do in that window decides the year — see the harvest timing article.
Get it in clean
Most quality loss happens in the first hour after picking. Cool and shade it fast.
- Harvest basket / colanderRinse and drain in one trip
- Bypass prunersBypass cuts cleanly; anvil crushes stems
- Hori hori garden knifeHarvesting, weeding and planting in one tool
- Ventilated storage binsOnions, garlic and squash want cool and dry
Harvest in the cool of morning wherever possible.
Canning & drying
Two canning methods, and confusing them is genuinely dangerous. Vegetables and meats require pressure.
- Pressure cannerRequired for all low-acid foods. Not optional
- Water bath canner setFor jams, pickles and acidified fruit only
- Mason jars & lidsInspect rims; replace flat lids every time
- Food dehydratorAdjustable temperature and a fan dry evenly
- Vacuum sealerExtends freezer life dramatically
Use tested processing times from your extension service. Do not improvise.
No-power preservation
Fermentation and root cellaring keep food without using a watt.
- Fermentation crock or lid kitSauerkraut, kimchi, brined pickles
- Thermometer & hygrometerRoots want cold and damp, squash cool and dry
- Food-grade storage bucketsBulk dry goods with gamma lids
- Root cellar shelvingAirflow on every side of stored produce
One cellar cannot serve both damp and dry crops well.
How we pick what goes on this page
Every item here appears in one of our build guides. We link to categories rather than chasing specific model numbers, because the right size of pump, panel or fixture depends entirely on your system, and because models change faster than any static page can track. Nothing is included because a company asked.
Buy less than you think
The most common mistake is buying the full build before the starter build has run for a season. Start with one bucket, one bed, one measurement tool. Add the next tier once the simple version is boring. That order costs less and teaches more.