Window Farms

Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Im getting a program right now that will help me design it in 3d called solidworks... hopefully some stuff in a few days. Anyone here got cool ideas for one? I hear how they work is the different plant benefit each other if put in a certain order. Its also really cool because you just hang it in the window. I was thinking a trellis hung with 2 2 liters;1 with multiple slits for lil patches of strawberries, and then a second big open one for one big plant.... i dont know how to design this vertical system good and am planning to use recyclables and stuff:)
 
cues

cues

Well-Known Member
Tried this. Use a proper drill bit fo the bottle connections. (think you neeed a 22mm flat wood-bit). Put 2 holes in each side and use a pair of nail scissors to finish the holes.
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
I made an airlift system today as a prototype, hopefully ill get something more solid together and get some pictures. I'm now looking into what i want to put in the planters. So many ideas are coming up I want as much input as possible. Thanks!
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
people use hydroton. i forgot about my window farm as i am battling spider mites and cloning. i think u can use rapid rooters and just put them into the hydroton thats in the bottle. use an ebb+flow top fed airlift system u know what i mean? :-D
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
100_3126.jpg
here's the farm I made, all empty at the moment but the airlift works great!!!!
the top 3 are 1 L Poland springs and the 4th is a 1.5 Poland springs and the last is a 1 galllon water jug(the reservoir) with a screw on cap. I will be filling this with hydroton and lettuce and then build a semi-circle of this insulation material (which i used around each bottle) to help reflect light for the lettuce.
the clear 1/4" tubing i used is sleeved with some big black lightproof tubing, and all bottles were spray painted rubberized black before being wrapped
this is how I figured out how to make the airlift http://s5.windowfarms.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/04/contest-with-u-April-7th.jpg

i silicone sealed the only fitting which could leak which is the 1/4" barb nipple coming out of the 1 gallon, but just in case i put a fail safe bucket (2 gallon) because that is more than the maximum water it can hold, and it will save my floor if anything happens

I even put a check valve on the air pump so that water can't siphon back to my pump and damage it :-D (even though it's higher than the reservoir)
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
thinking also about adding in a drip ring for each tier, and running a clean ph'd res, with added h202 http://www.quickgrow.com/gardening_articles/hydrogen_peroxide_horticulture.html , and doing foliar feedings.

any input?? I eventually will get into brewing, I plan on my compost pile being fully ready in a year and I will start a wormbin for vermicompost and also get a brewer and do some ewc's too.

as for now I have nutes I would love to use up so i figured lettuce is something I'd eat up and would love the cold window during the winter.

the biggest problem I think with the drip ring idea would be flow rate. the top tier would have to have say, 6 holes, then the next have 5, the next 4 , and the last have 3.
the reason being, i dont think that the flow rate of the air pump will fill the rings and actually drip out of all of them for each one. if each one has a slower flow rate than the one before it i think it might help distribute everything more evenly, I'd just have to add in a screen at the bottom so i could avoid clogging
the beauty of an airlift though, is there is no clogging because the water never goes through any type of propeller.. I just am not sure if a single drip line will be enough to water these and think it might be better if i made something that would evenly disperse it.
any input on this?? I don't have a lot of exp. with hydroponics and would love any input on putting the 1x1 rockwools into the clay pebbles, and how i should Drip
remember though that each drip depends on the flow from the bottle above it :\
 
whocares100

whocares100

Active Member
Nizza, Why not use more than 1 drip ring? Use a double headed pump and put on more rings, either that or use gravity?
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
wow whocares, thats a great idea haha, ill add drip rings off of several tubes to a multi outlet air pump.... thanks so much!! that was a big thing i was having trouble thinking out
 
whocares100

whocares100

Active Member
Nizza said:
wow whocares, thats a great idea haha, ill add drip rings off of several tubes to a multi outlet air pump.... thanks so much!! that was a big thing i was having trouble thinking out
Click to expand...
Your welcome Nizza, told ya I'm a better reengineer...
 
whocares100

whocares100

Active Member
BTW I got a cheap hose set with connectors, black rubber I think 75 foot for like 13.00 on ebay.

Thatis what I would use, I would attach an outlet to each bottle..., whether u use it or not now...just plug the tubes u are not using...I like to make my stuff adaptable
 
I

IndicaDom

New Member
Nizza said:
Im getting a program right now that will help me design it in 3d called solidworks... hopefully some stuff in a few days. Anyone here got cool ideas for one? I hear how they work is the different plant benefit each other if put in a certain order. Its also really cool because you just hang it in the window. I was thinking a trellis hung with 2 2 liters;1 with multiple slits for lil patches of strawberries, and then a second big open one for one big plant.... i dont know how to design this vertical system good and am planning to use recyclables and stuff:)
Click to expand...
I am guessing you've never grown strawberries because you will not be getting any sitting them in a window.
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
I transplanted the lettuce today.
I cut down the 1x1 rockwool cubes as much as i could, then filled the bottles with hydroton and put each patch as close as i could get them to the edge where the hole is (closest to the t5)
Instead of adding drip rings to avoid over saturating the rockwools, i pulled the bottles at an angle, so that each one drips into the next at the edge furthest from the rockwool. I had a little trouble with transplanting and may have overwatered. Im going to shut off the pump for about 3-4 days and see if they recover nice..
I'm hoping they are fine!!!!


i will eventually do the multi drip idea, but for now i only have clear tubing and am going to try and prevent the algae build up and keep this one simple.
maybe next week i'll do another one!
 
Nizza

Nizza

Well-Known Member
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i think heres the best picture i got. closest to you is a 2x4 which frames in the windowfarm. on the side closer to the window i can remove the insulation to allow sunlight in (in the summer)
i have old plants from over the summer I left out all fall and were almost dead. I decided to take these hempy herbs (sweet mint, basil, and parsley) and put them in there. I also took a succulent i planted in a book but accidentally burned the shit out of in there. Its just a single little succulent and is kind of cute, but anyways, heres the system.

I'm sort of upset because the lettuce hasn't seemed to have grown at all since i planted it. barely any survived and i think i gotta find a better way to transplant the lettuce into the hydroton medium, or try a different type of plant, but i'm determined clay pebbles should work with anything.

any input on this? i don't know if on/off times are the cause or maybe i just need to follow some rules when transplanting? thanks!
 
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