Gardyn Economical Trellis and yPod Algae Cover & Cap Options

Gardyn is an all-in-one hydroponics gardening system perfect for growing many garden plants indoors all year round.

The plants growing in an indoor hydroponics gardening system do not grow in soil. Hydroponics is a way to grow plants with nutrient-enriched water.  With this Gardyn system, the water is held in a 5-gallon tank at the bottom and pumped up through the columns several times a day to keep the plants watered.  

Back in April, Annette introduced you to her Gardyn. After I saw her Gardyn system growing, I had to get one myself.  I've had my Gardyn since May and enjoy growing plants indoors and making lots of salads for my family.

Annette and I have found that the accessories for the Gardyn like the yPod caps, algae covers and trellis parts are expensive through the Gardyn website.  In researching how to save some money, I found two options.

• Purchasing 3D printed parts from sellers on Etsy
• 3D printing parts at home

Learn more about 3D printing parts for a Gardyn system by watching our video through the link below or keep reading this post.

How much space do I need for a Gardyn?

The Gardyn system is small and only takes up 2 square foot of space! I have my Gardyn in the corner of my dining room and the footprint is 1 foot by 2 foot.

What plants can be grown in a Gardyn?

There are many vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers that can be grown in a hydroponic garden. Examples are lettuce, basil, thyme, mint, dill, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries, and various flowers.

Only plants that grow above the ground can be grown in a Gardyn system.  This is because the plants grow in a piece of rockwool and plants that grow under soil would have no place to grow.

The Gardyn has 30 yPods on three towers where you can place plants. So, you can grow up to 30 plants at once. 

Below you can see photos of some of my plants that have grown in the past 2 months.

Basil & Thyme

Cucumber

Dill

Jalapeno Pepper

Cilantro, Lettuce, Mint

Tomato, Lettuce, Mint, Pepper

What if I don't have a 3D printer?

I know many people do not own a 3D printer!  But you are not out of luck and you don't need to purchase a 3D printer just to print a few pieces for your Gardyn. 

There are vendors on Etsy who sell 3D-printed parts for the Gardyn which cost much less than the Gardyn branded products.

If you would like to find parts for your Gardyn system that are more economical, scroll to the end of this tutorial to find links.

WHAT YOU NEED to 3d Print Gardyn Accessories

• 3D Printer
• 3D Print Models for Gardyn Components (see links at the end of this article!)
• 3D Print Media (PLA or PETG)

Our 3D Printer

We have a Creality Ender 5 3D Printer and used it to print trellis and algae cover pieces for the Gardyn.

These 3D printed covers and trellis parts are small so would be able to be printed with most 3D printers.

I downloaded free 3D print models of the trellis and algae covers from sites like Thingverse or STLFinder.  Find links at the end of this article.

3D Printed Algae Caps & Covers

There are a few different options for 3D printed algae covers available on the Thingverse or STLFinder websites. I picked one and printed several of them using our 3D printer.

The algae cover I selected has a large section and then a slide-on section.  The slide-on section can be closed all the way leaving a small hole for the plant. 

Or it can be left open a bit as the plant grows larger.  Even when it's open, it will still block a lot of the light and hinder the growth of algae on the rock wool.

Below is a photo of the underneath of the algae cover.

3D Printed Trellis

There are several options for 3D printed trellis on the STLFinder and Thingverse websites.  When searching for options, don't just search for Gardyn trellis.  Search for just 'trellis' as you may find other options.

I found hexagon-shaped trellis pieces that can be put together in many different configurations.  The trellis design also comes with little clips or connectors that are used to connect the pieces together.

We set up the print file to print four trellis pieces and a bunch of the "clips" in one print.

Once printed, I placed the pieces two side by side, then one underneath as shown below.

The back of the trellis pieces have clips.  You only need to put the clips where the pieces are connected together.

Continue building the trellis until you have at least 20 pieces put together.  20 pieces cover most of the height of the Gardyn towers.

Place the trellis on the back of the Gardyn between two of the towers.  There is a bar at the top of the Gardyn that is perfect for attaching the trellis. I used a couple of zip ties to attach the top trellis pieces to the bar.

The view from the back of the garden.

Use some longer zip ties in a few places to hold the trellis to the Garden towers.

The photo below shows the back of the Gardyn with the whole trellis installed.  My cucumbers are using the trellis to climb!

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