I’m working on my first windowfarm, and building each column iteratively so I can learn from what I don’t like about the previous one.

All columns use a t-joint lift system, which is working well now that I’ve got the hang of it. Each column has its own plastic bottle reservoir (held upside down in a large orchid pot) and I used a 4-way air valve to power everything off one Tetra Whisper 10 pump.

The first column (right) is made using 1.5L water bottles. The second (left) uses white plastic disposable cups. I’ve documented a lot of the basics on my own blog, but I’ll elaborate a few details here.

The reservoir bottles sit about 6″ off the ground, sitting in an orchid pot and held up by some scrap plastic. Each bottle has about 3 feet of 1/4″ OD tubing that coils at the bottom of the pot before heading up to the T-joint. The t-joint height comes to just below the bottom of the reservoir bottle. Airline tubing comes into the side of the t-joint, and black 1/4″ ID landscaping tubing serves as a lift tube.

To keep splashing at a minimum I ran cotton wicks between each cup. The plastic cups are considerably louder than the water bottles, I think due to the shape of the bottom of the cup.

Still trying to decide how to do column #3, but thankfully I’ve got a little time before those seedlings are ready.