My First Airlift Window Farm and Limp Lettuce Seedlings

3:53 pm in Uncategorized by Tony Reyes

Pictures, video, and material list are below.  I just transferred eight lettuce seedlings to my first hydroponic window farm.  They are looking a bit limp though.  The leaves seem healthy but the central stem seems a bit limp.  They were in this state before the transfer.  I started them in General Hydroponics rapid rooter cylinders for two weeks before transferring them.  Do they look normal for this age in the pictures below?  I focused on minimizing the amount of plastic in the system and used copper piping and glazed claypots where practical.  A youtube video describing my windowfarm can be seen here:  http://youtu.be/9mVqVwzEVJ8  (video was still uploading when I posted this so check back in a bit if not yet ready.) I’m using General Hydroponics Flora 3 part nutrients in a 1-1-1 tsp per gallon ratio for general vegetative growth.  During the seedling stage it was a less concentrated mix with 1/8tsp per gallon instead of 1tsp per gallon of each nutrient.

The materials for the build are listed below including prices with tax (a couple of scrap items I missed in the list are a 4′ piece of 3/4″ EMT electrical conduit and 8′ of yellow Nylon string):

Qty Unit Description Supplier  $/unit  Price  Price w/tax
1 pack Lactuca Sativa Lettuce Leaf Salad Bowl Blend Enchanted Gardens  $      1.89  $    1.89  $       2.03
8 ea 4″ Drain Pipe Drop In Grate Styrene Home Depot  $      1.73  $  13.84  $     14.98
8 ea 4.5″ Terracotta Glazed Flower Pots Home Depot  $      2.28  $  18.24  $     19.74
1 ea GE lamp timer 24hr 30min basic timer Home Depot  $      4.88  $    4.88  $       5.28
1 ea 10′ roll of copper tubing, 1/4″ OD Lowe’s  $      8.87  $    8.87  $       9.60
1 ea nylon tees 1/4″ ID Lowe’s  $      2.03  $    2.03  $       2.20
1 ft 3/16″ ID Vinyl Tubing Lowe’s  $      0.20  $    0.20  $       0.22
0.133 30 pack 10-24 1.5″ machine screws Lowe’s  $      5.58  $    0.74  $       0.81
0.2 10 pack 2 1/16″ screw hook Lowe’s  $      6.99  $    1.40  $       1.51
1 ea 3 watt Pump Eco Air 1 Outlet Dr. Green  $   10.49  $  10.49  $     11.28
8 ea 3.75″ Net Pot Dr. Green  $      0.56  $    4.48  $       4.82
0.1 ea PH Meter Hna98107 Dr. Green  $   57.95  $    5.80  $       6.23
10 ft 3/16″ Inner Dia Black Vinyl tubing Dr. Green  $      0.30  $    3.00  $       3.23
6 ft 1/2″ Inner Dia Black Vinyl tubing Dr. Green  $      0.33  $    1.98  $       2.13
1 ea 7.01 PH calibration solution Dr. Green  $      1.32  $    1.32  $       1.42
1 ea 4.01 PH calibration solution Dr. Green  $      1.32  $    1.32  $       1.42
1 qrt Flora Grow Nutrients Dr. Green  $   12.50  $  12.50  $     13.45
1 qrt Flora Micro Nutrients Dr. Green  $   15.94  $  15.94  $     17.15
1 qrt Flora Bloom Nutrients Dr. Green  $   12.50  $  12.50  $     13.45
0.16 50 pack General Hydroponics Rapid Rooter Seed Starter Dr. Green  $   16.70  $    2.67  $       2.87
0.2 10L pack Hydroton Clay Dr. Green  $   10.99  $    2.20  $       2.36
1 ea 10% one time Dr Green Discount Dr. Green  $   (14.82)
1 ea PETCO Anti-siphon valve Petco  $      2.29  $    2.29  $           -
1 ea PETCO brass T valve Petco  $      1.69  $    1.69  $           -
0.571 14 pack Polyethylene Funnels, 16oz 5.25 inch top 0.5″ bottom Food Service Warehouse  $   21.85  $  12.49  $     12.49
1 ea Glass Vase Lying around at home  $          -  $         -  $           -
Total  $  133.84

top pots

 

 

2nd pots

 

 

        

3rd pots

bottom pots

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