by Windowfarms
Recently Signed Up? How To Use This Site!
August 11, 2009 in Featured Post, Getting Started by Windowfarms
1. Sign Up. If you would like to be a window farmer or just participate in the discussion, please register for the site using the gray bar at the top of the page.
2. Get Set Up. Once you have registered and signed in, more options will appear in drop down menus on that top gray bar. Under My Blogs, roll over Window Farmers, and click ‘Dashboard’. You’ll find links to edit your profile.
3. Explore the Site. On the homepage, you can browse by clicking on featured posts with pictures on the left, recent posts, the categories on the top right, the tags in the tag cloud on the right, or by members down below the fold.
4. Post Something! This whole site is one big forum and we use blog posts to start new threads. Tell us what you are up to. Post a question or a concern. Under My Blogs on the gray dropdown bar at the top left of the page, roll over Window Farmers, and click ‘New Post’. Don’t forget to Categorize it and, if you wish, give it a few Tags. This will help later users find your posts and will help the community answer one another’s questions.
5. Engage with other people on the site. Comment on Other People’s posts or send people messages.
6. Questions? If you are confused about how to use the site or have suggestions that will make the site better, don’t hesitate to email britta@windowfarms.org
Hi
I love your project and would like to set up a trial here at our office!
Chloë
Sweet, Chloe. Please take pictures and write posts as you build your system. Especially if you run into any problems, it’s great to post issues to the site so everyone can weigh in on solutions. Plus, it helps new comers Thanks!!
I’m loving this site &techniques!
Spent this morning tweaking bubblers for air-lift and messed with PV charge controllers to power them.
this is brilliant
Very good..keep it up
Please make a post and show us some pictures. Use gray drop down menu at the top of the page: my blogs>new post. Then it will show up on the home page. Can’t wait to see it.
hi, i want to know if this project requires a lot of electricity consumption. thanks
Hi Valerie. All of the how-tos require some electricity in order to water the plants when you are not home. The air lift version constantly runs a small airpump, like ones you use for aerating an aquarium. The larger system runs a water pump which is on a timer so it only turns on for a few minutes every few hours. If you have a window that does not get a lot of direct light, you will need lights to grow vegetating plants. You can now use 100 W daylight compact fluroescents. They actually only consume 27 watts of power per bulb. For 25 plants in my apartment, we successfully used 4 bulbs to grow about a salad a week. The timer turned the lights on for 12 hours a day.
awesome sight! A veggie revolution!
Anybody interested in helping me set these up in a school in Brooklyn? I love these?
Hi,
I’m hoping to set one up in a school in Yonkers, though our outdoor garden is a going concern and will soon be taking lots of time. Even if I can’t do that, though, I’d be willing to help you set yours up to get the experience (I’ve never done it, but I’m pretty adept in general, so I could be helpful, I think).
Scheduling could be a problem, as I work in schools during the daytime. Please give me an idea of where and when…
Excelente, me gustaría saber cuales son las condiciones de acuerdo o legales para comenzar a implementar esta movida en Venezuela.
Saludos
hey there!
I thought this seemed like a fun idea to try.
I also hope that these will grow and get bigger and spread throughout the world.
I mean really “grow”.
And finally, I would just excuse my bad English.
Are they more Swedes than just me here?
Please write me a message then.
Good luck with your crops
Greetings from Sweden
Create a group for Sweden!
Wow, this is really awesome! I would love to do this on my back porch
I have like nine windows back there! Of course i don’t think i’ll do it hydroponically though since i have about 30 pounds of dirt sitting on my back porch as well.
Hello all, I am new to this and am going to start a garden in my window within the next week. Will keep you all posted.
Heya ^^
what a great idea! I heard about these on NPR and couldn’t be happier! A way to grow my own food and completely avoid the snail problem here in Okinawa
brilliant 
I can’t wait to set my system up. Thanks so much for such an innovative idea.
Hey! This looks great, this is something I would be very interested in trying out. I am curious however, what is the advantage of using this hydroponic method VS just using potted plants on a windowsill? Also is there a way to do this without the pump and use of electricty?
Other than my two concerns I think this is great, growing your own food is very empowering and great way to help the planet!
Hi, folks. I started playing with hydroponics in early 1960’s. Nothing too serious to date. However, I have a very large, south-facing picture window, slightly shaded in summer, that would be perfect for this concept. Will see if this 70 year old body can pull this off successfully. Will post pictures of setup development as it happens. Probably will be a Fall project. Meanwhile, will be checking out project details.
Regards from Cincinnati, OH , hort. Zone 6
I love this idea. Brilliant!
Hi everyone!
this is so exciting! I am so ready to try this!!! thank you for sharing this with the world!
http://www.powerpoplady.com
Hello, I like the way your system works. I setting up a system using a air pump to see how well it will work. Would like to show off your windowfarm at the church. Maybe take some orders for you. What do you think. I have solor power and use 12 volts and 120 volts in my this system. I am setting up a hydroponic system now using information from a book by Lem Jones & Paul and Cay Beardsley. I
have started some seeds to test the system. I am using gravel in my growing pots. For water I just installed a water tank for rain water and find the pH is about 6.5 and good to use for the plants.
I live just north of Dallas, Texas, I will let a lot of people know about your window farm.
Thats all for now, love & light,
Deryl
Hi Deryl! Welcome to window farming! Sounds like you have quite the setup down there. I’m very excited to see how it all works out. Please do make a little video or even just put up a bunch of photos. Do you know how to make a post? Use the dropdown menu at the top to select my blogs> our.wf.org> new post. If you make a post then you can include pictures and that’s what everyone wants to see! You might also take a gander at the new version 3.0 system at our new test site. You can participate in a discussion, ask questions, or share photos of any issues/ideas you are having as you build by using the FEEDBACK tab on the right hand.
One more thing. Be careful using gravel in your system. There’s a reason we all buy and use those clay pellets. Gravel sheds all the water and so your plants’ roots dry out very quickly. Other media get too soggy and cause root rot. Hydroponics is all about having just the right amount of moisture around your plants’ roots at all times because there is no dirt to act as a buffer. Gravel can also have little critters in it that can throw your system out of wack. I highly recommend the clay pellets and some kind of starter cube (like oasis or root riot), especially if this is your first time. I’d sure love to see you have at least one crop really thrive and then have you start with some adveturous experimenting.
Hi Erie, The Windowfarms core team is starting to develop our strategy for dealing with the flood of requests we get from schools. Do you want to join our educators group? Go to the our.windowfarms.org homepage and click on the groups tab. As we develop our strategy we will consult with you guys. We do hope to get you some help and develop curricula without reinventing the wheel given all the good stuff that’s already out there.
Oops. I should say that the airlift pumps can also be put on a timer. They don’t have to run all the time.
Read about you in ODE Magazine. Can’t wait to try this out with my son!
Awesome! which issue was it in?