First day of construction.

I was in the windowfarm-pioneer class last Spring but am only now beginning construction on my first farm. My original goal was to build something kid-proof and avoid using PVC plastics, but I’ve decided to start simpler and work up to those features in future projects. So I’m doing my current project in a spare bedroom in my apt that has a southwest-facing window and more importantly is not frequented often by my three kids.

I got a 10′ piece of 4″ PVC at Loew’s, but I think it’s the 1/4″ kind so I was a bit concerned that it would hold less water than the 1/8″ tube recommended in the docs. So I decided to just cut the tube in half and use 60″ reservoirs. I’ll have to do some experiments to see if it’s too heavy this way. I’m thinking of using a metal shelving unit to support the bottom reservoir, especially during this initial setup period.

I got a Maxi-Jet MJ1000 pump at the Queens hydroponic store. The pumps there seem pretty expensive and this one has barely enough head for my window so I’m going to try to keep the tube between top and bottom reservoirs as straight as possible.

I’m going to try doing a dozen plants in this window, all culinary herbs like thyme, mint, parsley, basil, etc. I’d like to use only organic fertilizer if possible. I’ll post again once I’m further along with construction.