One Week Later

After getting the first system (on the right in the pictures) successfully pumping, I immediately started modifying and adding to the older system (on the left). It initially was three tiers of modules, the top being corked with a very slow drip through a drilled hole. So with nine bottles I only had a six plant capacity, and the plants nearly died every day from lack of water, in the summer heat. I had previously transfer the plants into the new pumping system, so I took down the old module to add to it. The first thing I noticed was that the top module (likely my first attempt at tying one) was nearly falling apart, and worse than that it seemed like the weight of the entire system was hinging on a single point a bottle that was starting to crack. So I disassembled and reassembled that module, cleaning the two intact bottles and adding a third, matching bottle to replace the cracked one. Then after checking and making sure the other two were fine, I moved to the extra rope that I had left on the bottom when I initially made the tower. I first added a beer bottle module that I had tied earlier in the day, then the final large sized bottle at the bottom for the reservoir. I plugged the neck from the inside with a cork that I had run the check valve/ needle through (same as the first system), and ran the airline tubing out the mouth of the bottle.

After some modifications to the coat rack that I have recycled as a mounting system for my farms, I hung each system on opposing sides (in retrospect, I probably should have oriented them on adjacent sides of the hexagonal pole so that they would both be angled toward the window). Using the remainder of the copper tubing, I assembled the old tower's pumping system (more-or-less the same as the first system), and attached it to a home-made drip ring.

After a week of them both working, the plants are thriving in the new far-more-moist environment. The tomato and pepper are both flowering, the lettuce has 4x in size, the mint is growing wonderfully, and newly transplanted broccoli, jalapeños, and strawberries are all establishing themselves wonderfully. I still have many open cups to fill, and need to get a four outlet air pump so I can get the DWC system to work in each reservoir.

Oh, and pardon the foil, I was worried about too much water evaporating in the sun and consequently raising nutrient levels too high.