Just a few updates, plans, and additions.
I have upgraded my DWC a little bit, and have a new addition to my hydroponic endeavors. So I have wanted to get some dwarf citrus trees to supplement my fruit diet with fresh organic versions of my favorite tropical fruits for a while, but this orange was not exactly planned. I have been attempting to propagate a clone of a pineapple from the top portion since last spring (failing every time due to the pineapples being too long off stalk I assume). The first time I attempted it, I put it directly into soil. It quickly shown signs it was not alive, and I threw it away, leaving the pot underneath the trash bag in my dorm room. A couple weeks later, a little seedling sprung from the soil. I quickly remembered having dropped near the trash, and been unable to find a seed from an orange I had eaten at some point prior. So even though fruit propagation is rarely from seed, I figured why not, it was already growing, if it worked, great, if not, I would move on to buying one. I needed the large pot it was in for something else though, so I transplanted it into a Dunkin Donuts cup, it grew algae and then became summer, so I transplanted it into a larger pot and kept it in the summer sun, it didn’t grow much (if at all), then my dad needed that pot, and transplanted it into a meager 5" sq. pot where it has rested for the past semester, not really doing anything unsurprisingly. Then I got into DWC and figured, what better to try in such a stable and optimal system, than the tree which hasn’t done much in any soil. So I asked my local hydroponic store owner about it, and he had the same why not attitude as me, but recommended an additional supplement if I hadn’t already purchased, humic/ fulvic acid. He grows a bunch of lemon trees in pots and says they respond very well. So, I have now transplanted it into a 2 gallon bucket with a four inch net pot, and a two airstones. And I have a single 25w CFL directly on it using a desk lamp. If it were going to die, it should have by now, so the waiting game has begun!
Here it is, leaves are healthy, roots haven't grown noticeably:
Airline input:
On a similar note, I had a revelation when I was washing my saw-cut bottles surrounding some potential air diffusers for DWC systems that are made of natural materials and won't clog like airstones. Following are a few of the drawings I scribbled down to remember the designs. Figure 2 and 3 are four half bottle bottoms, with the openings facing up, and capped with a full bottle bottom. F. 3 is illustrating my thought of running the air in from the bottom of the reservoir, through the center of the four half bottle bottoms, hitting the 'cap' and then ideally bubbling off in a few directions. F. 4 is illustrating the same function, but with the delivery of air into the bottle structure from the top. F. 5 and 6 are aerial views of the structure, 5 being six inverted bottle bottoms and one not in the center, and 6 being four non-inverted bottle bottoms.
And lastly, I went ahead and boxed in my newest tower using reflective film. I oddly have a window in my closet, and don't particularly want people on the street seeing into it anyway, nor am at a loss without the window light. So I used a large box that my kitchen table came in as a mounting frame for the primary background sheet. I then laid some on the sides of the newly defined 'room.' And finished with mounting a piece along the top of the window fram that drapes over the top of the backdrop piece.
And this is what all of my neighbors get to see as they walk by!
Though it will be substantially brighter once I get my lighting rigged up.
I hope to get the whole thing functioning and assembled over the weekend, and start transplanting plants from my existing farm, so I can move those here sooner than later.
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