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Hydroponic farming is one of the efficient techniques to maximize yields from available space. However, to get excellent yields, you need to do everything right.
Choosing a hydroponic tray is one of the right decisions you need to make. Unfortunately, in the market, you will find all manner of trays. Most of them won’t offer great performance. And unless you are an expert, it will be difficult to choose the best hydroponic tray.
But that shouldn’t worry you anymore. We have done the work for you.
In this article, we will share with you the top 7 best hydroponic trays to buy today and factors to consider before choosing any of them.
But if you don’t have time to read our entire guide, here is our top pick. It’s a standard tray that will fit in most grow spaces.
Our Top Pick: Living Whole Foods 10 Plant Growing Trays
These are standard size grow tent. They come with a size of 10 by 20 inches. They have a pack of 10 lots for planting your plants.
These trays are made with black recycled polypropylene that is safe for food growing. The recycled materials make them one of the best environment-friendly trays.
This tray is perfect for planting microgreens, seedlings, greenhouse plants, and wheatgrass. After harvesting, you can re-use them.
Top 7 Hydroponic Trays to Buy in 2022
1. Living Whole Foods 10 Plant Growing Trays
These are standard size grow tent. They come with a size of 10 by 20 inches. They have a pack of 10 lots for planting your plants.
These trays are made with black recycled polypropylene that is safe for food growing. The recycled materials make them one of the best environment-friendly trays.
This tray is perfect for planting microgreens, seedlings, greenhouse plants, and wheatgrass. After harvesting, you can re-use them.
When not using them, you can easily stack them and save your storage space.
Key Features
- Perfect for seed germination and growing
- Safe for growing food
- Reusable
2. Bonaticare Low Tide Tray
Botanicare is an amazing and yet simple hydroponic tray. It’s compact enough to save your grow space and comes with impressive features.
For effective drainage, the tray has a diagonal grid – no water stagnates inside the tray. Its total weight is 3.3 pounds and has a 3.5 inches low tide. This makes it perfect for germinating seeds and growing your seedlings.
If you are looking for a hydroponic tray that you can plant a couple of plants, consider getting this Botanicare tray.
Key Features
- Lightweight making it easily portable
- Strong and durable
- Effective self-drain system
If you are looking for an effective tray to germinate and grow, your seedlings look no further.
3. Hydrofarm Jump Start Ck64060 Hydroponic Grow Tray
Hydrofarm jump start is an amazing hydroponic tray ideal for plants that don’t grow very big. It comes with a 7-inch dome for tall and big tents. The tray has a watertight base of 11 by 22 inches.
You can plant up to 72 seedlings in this tray – thanks to its well-partitioned segments. The tray design and features enhance germination.
This is a great tray for anyone looking for a germination tray.
Key Features
- Strong and robust construction material for durability
- Watertight base
- Accommodate many seedlings
4. Botanicare GTLT12X48X4B Tray
If space is not an issue for you, this is the hydroponic tray that you should consider buying. It’s a long rectangle tray manufactured by Botanicare. Botanicare GTLT12X48X4B Tray is perfect for large hydroponic gardens.
The tray is big enough to fit into 3ft by 3ft tent.
The tray is strong to withstand the impacts and pressure of a mineral solution. With it, you can expect it to serve you for many seasons – it’s reusable.
So, if you are looking for a durable and robust tray for your large space, look no further.
Key features
- Strong and durable
- Reusable
- Large size for large hydroponic farming
5. Botanicare Square Tray
This is another large tray perfect for using as a shallow flood tray. Its diagonal drainage grid improves its drainage. Without straining the water runs to the drainage pipes
To give durability, this tray is made of strong ABS black plastic material. It can’t warp or crack.
It’s a large tray but designed to use the available space optimally. With its size, the tray can be placed in a 3 by 3 feet grow tent with no space wasted.
In short, this is a tray worthy of its price.
Key Features
- Easy to clean
- Perfect drainage
- Strong and durable material
6. King Creek Farms 1020 Plant Trays
This is another food-grade trays. With it, you won’t worry about planting any food plants in it. With the tray, you will grow anything from wheatgrass, microgreens, seedlings, and any other hydroponic food farming.
The tray is 2.3 millimeters thick, which makes it strong and durable.
So, if you are looking for another effective hydroponic tray for growing foodstuffs, look no further.
Key Features
- Food-safe tray
- Strong and durable
- Great drainage
7. Mesh Bottom 1020 Trays
We close our list with one of the best, ultra-durable, and food safe tray. This is perfect for Rockwool cubes or soil blocks hydroponic farming.
The propagation on this tray keeps your crops well-drained at all times.
For durability, the tray is made up of heavy and recyclable polypropylene material. This material is also leach resistant bringing no harm to foods.
Key Features
- Strong and durable material
- Food-safe tray
- Efficient drainage
Factors To Consider Before Choosing The Best Hydroponic Trays
When choosing a hydroponic grow tray, there are some critical factors you need to put into considerations. This will help you get the very best trays.
The following are the top factor you should put into considerations.
Let’s get started.
Your Available Space
How large or small is the space you wish to grow your plants. If you have a large space, you don’t have a reason as to why not to buy large Grow trays.
However, if space is precious to you, look for compact trays that won’t occupy much space in your home.
You need to research whether the trays you wish to buy will fit in your grow tent. If you get trays that are large for your tent, chances are you will end up not using either the trays or the tent.
So, before you buy any tray, think about available space. Know whether the trays you intend to buy will perfectly fit in the area where you wish to plant your crop.
Growing Food or Other Plants
What to do you intent to grow in the trays? This is a critical question you should ask yourself before choosing any tray.
If you are planting edible plants in your garden, you need to buy safe trays. Some trays don’t have all the safety standards required to grow foodstuffs.
For instance, using plastics such as polystyrene or PVC is dangerous. They leach harmful chemicals into the water absorbed by your plant. In turn, when you eat these plants’ yield, you will be consuming the toxics.
To reduce the chances of producing plants with carcinogens and harmful chemicals, research on the material used to make the grow tray.
In the market, you will find many food-grade grow trays. Buy them instead of any other material.
However, if you are growing decorations or non-consumable plants, you don’t have to worry about the material used to manufacture trays. Any material that supports growth would be perfect.
Environment
We all need to conserve our environment. Whether the authorities are watching us or no one is looking, it’s is a good thing to do.
So, if you are keen and willing to protect the environment, look for trays that don’t cause any harm to our ecosystem.
Avoid ‘bad’ plastic trays. These are one-use and dispose of trays.
Look for trays that are made from recycled materials. Alternatively, you can look for trays made of materials that can be recycled. And when you are done using them, take them to recycling centers.
In some states, there are also different rules concerning the use of plastic materials. First, before you buy any tray, look for your state’s policies and ensure you are safe. Don’t violate rules. You will find yourself behind bars. And that won’t be a pleasant place to go.
Durability
This is another yet very critical factor to consider before buying any grow tray. Look for a tray that would serve you for a very long period of time.
By choosing a durable tray, you save on the money you could spend replacing trays every time.
Apart from saving you money, you will get the convenience of using your tray as long as you would wish to. Also, you will be protecting the environment since you won’t be throwing trays and other trash.
To get durable trays, look for durable and robust tray construction material. If it’s a plastic material, it should be thick enough to withstand impacts. It should also resist cracking that comes as a result of plants and water weight.
Compatibility
You won’t use the grow trays alone. You will need to connect them to other equipment needed for growing your plants.
Therefore, consider other equipment and buy the best hydroponic trays that are compatible with it.
To be on the safe side, buy all the equipment together with the trays.
Cost
Here is yet another important fact to consider. Don’t confuse cost with a price. You might find very cheap trays but end up being expensive in the long run.
For example, you might get a tray at a very low price, but it can only be used once. After harvesting your crops, you will be forced to dispose of them.
Also, you will find other trays that are expensive, but you can re-use them so many times.
Therefore, consider the long-term cost of the trays you are about to buy. Look beyond the shelf price. It’s even better to buy trays that come with a manufacturer’s guarantees or warranty.
Types Of Hydroponic Systems You Intend To Use
There are different types of hydroponic systems. Each type will require different kinds of trays.
So, if you wish to get the best out of your hydroponic farming, you need to choose the correct tray for every kind of system you intend to use.
The following are the common types of systems that you can use.
Aeroponic system: This works by supplying oxygenated water nutrient solution through mist valves. The valves spray a fine mist into a tray that has roots that are exposed. The system introduces a high percentages of oxygen.
Deep Water Culture System: This is a system that is common for growing cannabis. The plants grow hanging on top of a nutrient solution. It’s a system that is effective for beginners. Plants are grown in containers which that are then placed in grow trays that hang over the water.
Wick System: This is a system recommended for planting small crops. It uses a yarn or cotton wick to extract nutrients from the growing tray to the roots of the plants. The wicks are dipped in a tray full of a nutrient solution than connects to the plants’ roots.
Source: 6 Types of Hydroponic Systems Explained
Parting Shot
With these 7 hydroponic trays, you have everything you would need. Whether you need a tray for growing food, or a small tray for seedling, or even a large tray, we have discussed them all. Consider the factors that are critical to you and choose a tray that most suits your needs.
