It turned out to be a lot less work than expected and building was fun.

Currently I’m trying to grow some strawberries. I have no idea a what interval (or perhaps continuously) the pump should be turned on and I’m experimenten with nutrients. Who knows, it might just work…

It’s still leaking a bit.

I’ve had some problems figuring out how to get the airlift to work efficiently. In my case pointing one needle up and one needle down seems to work.

During the “experimental phase” I discovered that my design wasn’t yet cat-proof.

Made some changes so thought I would make a new post.

Changes:

Removed water pump (Using Air lift method)

Upgraded Air Pump (Twin outlet)

Changed to one reservoir per column (2 in total), they are also closed, instead of open like the last one.

I have roots that have started coming out of the bottles into the bottle below them. What is the best way to deal with this?

Hey, here’s my first window farm. Currently has Mint, Basel, Oregano, Coriander and Marjoram. Will be putting parsley in the remaining bottle in a few days.

Currently using a water pump and air stone (built before I found community).  Will be swapping over to air lift shortly (need to go get more tubing first), will be increasing the size of the reservoir.

I am a garden photographer living near Brighton, Sussex UK. I would love to be able to photograph a window farm somewhere in London maybe or the South East. So if anyone has one and is in this general area, please let me know.

John Glover (johnglover.co.uk)

I recently got my 2 column farm set up. I have to CFL’s hanging between the columns but have found that they are quite bright, and blind you if you look to close to them. I tried cutting up a plastic cup to just shade the back 1/4 of them not facing the plants, but the cups started to melt. Has anyone attempted doing anything like this, or have any ideas?

Okay! So I saw a link to a windowfarms video two days ago, and now I have a working windowfarm in my kitchen! It was really inspiring to make it
Here are som pics Feel free to Leave a comment! Currently I’m only having a tiny problem getting the same ammount of water to all the plants.

Might have to do with the nozzle piece maybe not letting enough water trough…

So Anyways! Pictures follow!

Video comming soon.

here’s my blog with pics of my windowfarm

http://itswonderfulhere.blogspot.com/2011/11/windowfarm.html

I built my first windowfarm a few weeks ago, using the 3 bottle guide and ran into some problems with my air lift and the stability of my ‘tower’.

I did a lot of troubleshooting and finally got it working reliably, and today I decided that the 5-gallon bucket I was using as a reservoir and the garden stake that I was using for support, was ugly.

I redesigned my system, this time using the guide for the 4 or 5 column setup (called the MAMA, I believe), and I have to say I am very pleased. Not only does it look a far sight better than the old eyesore, it worked right off the bat without any tweaking or “debugging” necessary.

Here’s a picture:

Full view of my garden

Changes since v2:

- The setup is now suspended by thick string. I used string with an alpine butterfly loop/knot at every bottle height. I tied the bottles to these loops and suspended it from hooks in the ceiling. It appears to be sturdy, but I am worried about the weight when my plants bulk up. We’ll see!

-The reservoir is now a beautiful, sleek bottle with an incredibly simple airlift (I wish I had tried this method the first time.) I didn’t have any leaks or problems, like I thought I might. I also realized that the paint looks MUCH nicer than the duct tape. I will definitely go this route with the inevitable second column.

In designing my setup this way, I also freed up my second output from my air pump and my second air needle, and I have enough tubing left from round one that I could add a second column if I get more bottles, which makes me excited.

Unfortunately, the lettuce in the top bottle died. I believe that this is from the part of the roof that extends outside my apartment. I think it was blocking the light to the top part of my window. To remedy this, I planted a new little seed and added two daylight-spectrum CFLs in a floor lamp next to my garden in the hopes that it will get light to that top bottle, and also help out in these darker winter months.

The cucumber plant is the most eager, and has grown the biggest thus far, but the tomato plant is a close second:

Cucumber

Tomato

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’ll post again soon about the growth of my babies and the construction of a second column.

‘Til then.

I’ve completed the construction of my Windowfarm, so in the grand tradition of the Windowfarms community I’d thought I’d share some photos and my tweaked design

Materials

1 x 2 liter soda bottle
5 x 1.5 liter bottles
5 x 8” wooden dowels
1 x 4” metal pipe holder
1 x 11 ft large tubing
1 x 3 gallon bucket
11 ft PCV pipe
1 x 10 lb bag of cement
A bunch of zip ties
5 x 3” grow cups
4 x 4” aquarium tubing
1 x aquarium pump
1 x T connector
1 x silicon glue from Home Depot
1 x bicycle inner tube presta valve
Some other stuff I missed

Posts read (where ideas were taken from)

Reservoir and t-lift system (no needles): http://our.windowfarms.org/2011/04/16/the-science-of-airlift-plug-flow-is-the-way-to-go/

Lighting: http://our.windowfarms.org/2010/04/15/super-simple-light-system/

PCV Pipe Setup: I can’t find the link but I do remember I watched a video and a bunch of Swedish/Dutch/Norwegian/German guys showing off their setup in their greenhouse. There are the ones that gave me the idea of inserting wooden dowels through the bottles to support them on the PVC pipe.

Lessons Learned

1. When cutting bottle holes (which dowel is put through to mount to PVC pipe) make sure that you don’t place them in such a way where you block the bottle cap of the bottle above it. If you do the water (without the aquarium tubing) will run onto the wooden dowel, into the hole in the PVC pipe and down into your bucket and/or floor
2. Don’t skimp on the hole saw drill bit which puts the holes in the bottom of the 1.5 liter plastic containers. You’ll slice your hand off (or come close) with a razor.
3. Let the silicone gel that you apply dry overnight prior to using it.
4. You can use larger tubing to encase the smaller tubing with plumber’s tape and silicone gel to stop leakage.
5. Prior to building be sure and plant your seeds in rockwool, or whatever medium you use so that when you are done with the delivery system you can transplant right away.
6. Be sure and secure you pipe to the celling so that it does not fall over when weight is added (as shown in the picture).
7. When drilling holes in the PVC be sure and drill perpendicular to the pipe (mine are a little off which causes the bottles to be off keel).

Next Steps

Repeat timer

I’m waiting on my timer to show up from Amazon so that I can make a repeat timer
http://our.windowfarms.org/2011/09/13/35min-repeat-timer/comment-page-1/#comment-6486

Grow Lights

I also have to mount the final light to my hanging light system and make sure that they are close enough to each of the plants to have a benefit. I wanted to make my own reflectors (which I did out of soda cans on this site) but they get way too hot for comfort so I’m looking for an alternate approach.

Transplant Plants Grown From Seeds / Cutting From Garden

I have already planted seeds (after soaking them overnight) and they have really grown. I’ve used one of the lights on a different extension cord and it sure does make a difference (they’ve sprouted already) and also harvested some mint from my outdoor garden which I plan on putting in my garden as well.

As you can see from the photos the system worked out pretty well. If you have any suggestions to make this design better please feel free!

Pump

The petco pump that I bought for $20 is quite loud so I think I’m going to get a smaller $10 pump and see if it will pump the water up – quieter.

Entire Setup

Base

Top Secured to Ceiling

Reservoir (setup for easy removal and cleanup - just unwind the grow wire and pull out)

Single Bottle With Dowels

My Grow Setup

 November 17, 2011 Update

Here is an update of my windowfarm 

setup

mint

chives

basil

Basil

 Reservoir using presta valve method with 2 metal, 2 neoprene washers and two nuts (and silicone gel)