I have also upgraded my lighting. I had planned on using these old industrial 150w HPS lamps that we had lying around my house from years ago. And as I got one working, I stumbled across a much better option at my local hydroponic store Green Path Garden Supply, it was a 150w HPS as well, but a whole unit, including a reflector hood, contained ballast, and a more attuned bulb for growing with. It also outputs 1600 more lumens than the ones I had, and had the benefit of not being 20 years old. I have since learned a bunch more specific information about lighting, and think that this will likely be the last HPS I buy, aiming for a well attuned LED assortment next, but I will likely learn how to wire one up myself to achieve the best output for the plant use, and that'll take a little time. Though I certainly do not regret getting this lamp, it is like having my own personal summer in the middle of this unfortunate New England winter, I have even started to get a tan just from working on the tower in the nook. Some of the wattage may be a waste on the plants, but my health is the overarching aim, and I certainly feel much better than I normally do at this time of the year.
Anyways, I have a bunch of pictures:
What I came up with for a reservoir, like 1.5' tall.
The three beads below handles mark approx. 4, 5, and 6 gallons
surprisingly well. It pumps with 4.5 g and up (that I have tested).
The lid is just a piece of copper that I had left over from something
that fit perfectly with some trimming.
This is what I came up with for the airlift using natural materials,
I have actually replaced this tube with a more evenly curved piece of copper.
Using my diffuser, and a 3/4" tall base cut from a beer bottle, I steady the needle.
I have punched a hole in the lid for the tube, and plan to cut 5 DWC sites in a
star formation around for better water reclamation.
I do not yet have the time or materials to get the glass drip ring working,
so I fashioned one instead with copper, and a brass fitting
The standing set-up (sorry this is the best I can do for a 'full' shot)
And that is the magic pump on the right.
A perfect nook for my portable farm right next to the window, on the sill.
And all of my sprouting little plants!
My best aerial shot to show everything in the nook. HPS mounted on right, facing the tower with a couple feet of clearance. Orange tree DWC just under the lamp.
The view for passers-by!
I had initially planned on placing my large vine plants (cucumbers, butternut, watermelon, cantaloupe) in the DWC sites that I will be drilling in the lid, but fear that when they fruit they would slurp up all of the water and cause it to stop dripping, so I will be putting those in the bottom most drip sites instead. If I can get some strawberries, I may put those down below. For specifics on what I am growing and growing progress please visit MyFolia. And as always please visit Windowfarms.org, and, our.Windowfarms.org, and join in on the building R&D-I-Y community over there!
Wow man you have an awesome installation! You really have a knack for tinkering and using the materials that you have on hand! What all are you growing?
ReplyDeleteHey Green Suite, thanks for writing! My primary concern when I started with hydroponics and windowfarms was always to do my best to use what was on hand to make my systems, and avoid plastics at every place I could, so thank you.. as for what I am growing, currently in my hydroponic systems I just have a pineapple due to an unfortunate mishap/ excessive heat and dryness while I was away :/. But I had tomatoes, strawberries, jalapeños, and some basil going this summer. I unfortunately had to disassemble the system that I feature in this post when I moved out of that apartment and couldn't find an ideal residence for it since. But for the spring that it was running I had all sorts of stuff: Three types of basil, three types of beans, squash, watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, peas, an orange tree (which never grew passed an inch, so I repurposed the bucket for my pineapple), jalapeños, eggplant, and for a little bit I even had a mango pit and an avocado pit sprouted and growing but they were damaged beyond repair while moving out unfortunately. With that said, I only had time to get a few tomatoes, a bunch of basil, and a handful or two of beans actually produced, due to light and time constrictions more than anything else (the system had only about 200w of light and existed for about 3-4 months, the window was north facing, so more superficial than a good light source). Beyond that, I am living in the suburbs now and have been utilizing the soil space we have as it requires much less day to day maintenance, and the more I learn about botany and horticulture the more I lean towards established ecosystems/permaculture. Though I do still make all sorts of systems and will be posting about one little foray of this season once I get the pictures/ videos edited and ready for upload, and down the line hope to be able to get an established system that can produce substantial produce yields year round as was my overzealous hope for this system.
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