Kratky Method 101 ยท a 14-page illustrated guide
No pump. No power. No daily care. Just a jar that grows food.
The Kratky method is hydroponics with the machinery removed: fill a container once, plant once, and come back to a harvest. This guide takes you from empty jar to first harvest โ with real numbers at every step.
Instant PDF download ยท set up your first jar this weekend
Day 1 โ fill once, then stop
Water touches the bottom of the net cup so the seedling can drink from day one. This is the only time you fill the container. The guide gives you the exact starting level, nutrient mix, and pH.
Week 3 โ the plant lowers its own water
As the plant drinks, the water line falls and an air gap opens. Roots split into two jobs: moist air roots up top, feeder roots chasing the water down. No pump needed โ the plant builds its own.
Week 6 โ the water runs out as the plant finishes
Sized right, the container empties just as the crop matures โ that's the whole design. The guide's container-sizing chart matches vessel to crop so the math works every time.
The $400 shopping cart
Everyone told you hydroponics was complicated. It isn't.
Step 01
You get inspired
Fresh lettuce year-round, herbs on the counter. You decide tonight's the night you finally start.
Step 02
You start researching
Air pumps, air stones, timers, reservoirs, tubing, EC meters. Every video adds another "essential."
Step 03
The cart hits $400
Plus a wiring diagram, plus a pump humming in your kitchen 24/7, plus what happens when the power blinks?
Step 04
You never start
The tab gets closed. The lettuce stays at the store. Sound familiar?
The Kratky method deletes the entire cart. A container, water, nutrients, and light โ that's the whole system. This guide is the missing instruction manual: exact levels, exact mixes, exact crops.
Why no pump works
The falling water line is the entire trick.
Powered hydro uses a pump to push oxygen into the water. Kratky gets the same result for free: as the water drops, the plant grows two different kinds of roots โ and together they do the pump's job. The guide's two-root-zones diagram makes this click instantly:
Root zone 1 ยท the air gap
Air roots โ they breathe
The roots left exposed above the falling water line stay moist in the humid air gap and pull in oxygen โ doing exactly what an air pump does in a powered system.
Free oxygen, zero electricity, silent.
Root zone 2 ยท the reservoir
Water roots โ they drink
The roots below the line chase the water down as it falls, drinking nutrient solution at whatever pace the plant actually needs. No timer could schedule it better.
Self-regulating โ the plant sets its own pace.
Get the starting water level and container size right, and the system runs itself to harvest. Get them wrong, and seedlings drown or jars run dry early โ which is why the guide leads with exact levels and a crop-by-crop sizing chart instead of vague theory.
What's inside
Fourteen pages. Real numbers. Jar to harvest.
No fluff, no theory dumps โ an illustrated manual with the exact figures most Kratky tutorials leave out: starting pH, nutrient teaspoons, water levels, and harvest timelines.
Table of contents
- p.3The labeled jar cross-section โ every part, one picture
- p.4The two root zones: why no pump is needed
- p.5What you need โ container-sizing chart included
- p.6The nutrient mixing recipe โ GH Flora trio, tsp by tsp
- p.7Setting your starting water level (the make-or-break step)
- p.8A complete worked grow โ day by day, seed to harvest
- p.9...with real pH & EC numbers at every checkpoint
- p.10The 13-crop table โ pH targets & harvest times per crop
- p.11Troubleshooting: algae, smells, stalled seedlings
- p.12Scaling up: from mason jar to bucket to tote
- p.13Your first-grow worksheet (fillable)
- p.14FAQ + what to grow next
After your first jar
What changes once you've grown the Kratky way
You actually start โ this weekend
One trip for a jar, net cup, nutrients, and seeds. Under an hour of setup, about $25, and your first grow is running on the windowsill.
You stop babysitting plants
No daily topping up, no pump maintenance, no panic when you travel. Fill it once and check in when you're curious โ the system does the rest.
You graduate with a method, not a fluke
Because you'll know the numbers behind your harvest โ level, mix, pH โ you can repeat it in a bucket, a tote, or a whole shelf of jars.
Get the guide
Kratky Method 101
- The 14-page illustrated guide (PDF, instant download)
- The labeled jar cross-section + two-root-zones diagrams
- A complete day-by-day worked grow with real pH & EC numbers
- The step-by-step nutrient recipe (GH Flora trio, tsp by tsp)
- The 13-crop table + container-sizing chart + fillable worksheet
- Free updates โ every future revision of the guide, included
Set up your first jar with it. If it doesn't get you growing, reply to your receipt within 30 days for a full refund โ and keep the guide.
Want the whole system?
The School of Hydroponics
Kratky 101 gets your first jar growing. The School of Hydroponics takes you everywhere after that โ every Humble Growth course in one enrollment, from your first net cup to a full indoor growing environment. Lifetime access, all future updates included.
One enrollment ยท every course ยท save over 50% vs. buying separately
Questions, answered
Do I really never add water?
For leafy greens and herbs in a properly sized container โ correct, you fill once. That's the method's whole design: the container empties as the crop finishes. Larger or longer-season crops sometimes need one top-up, and the guide tells you exactly which ones and when.
Do I need a grow light, or is a windowsill enough?
A bright south-facing window grows great lettuce and herbs. A small inexpensive grow light makes results faster and more consistent, especially in winter. The guide covers both paths, including how much light each of the 13 crops actually needs.
What about algae or mosquitoes in the water?
Both are prevented the same way: light-proofing the container. It's a two-minute fix covered in the setup pages, plus a troubleshooting section for the classic issues โ green water, funky smells, stalled seedlings.
I've never grown anything hydroponically. Is this too advanced?
Kratky is the single most beginner-friendly method in hydroponics โ that's exactly why this guide exists. If you can fill a jar and mix a drink from a recipe, you have every skill required. Every term is defined on first use.
What format is it, and when do I get it?
A PDF, delivered instantly to your email after checkout. It reads well on a phone next to your jar, and the crop table and mixing recipe print cleanly for the kitchen wall.
What if it doesn't work for me?
Then it's free. Set up a jar with it, and if the guide didn't earn its $27, reply to your receipt within 30 days for a full refund. You keep the guide.
A jar on your counter could be growing dinner by next month
Fill a jar this weekend. Harvest in weeks.
Kratky Method 101 is $27, downloads instantly, and turns "someday I'll try hydroponics" into a jar that's already growing.
Get Kratky 101 $27