Hello. I am in Halifax, Canada and my water was pH of 7. I used freshwater pH test drops.

I am not sure what you mean by 1 way air pump, but if it means that it only has one outlet, then I am using a pump like that without issue. The pump I have is super tiny (came with a water filter for a very small fish tank) and works great. The one [...]

Someone I know is trying a variation of a window farm, and she uses water permeable root blocking fabric to hold the roots inside her bottles. It also serves as a good layer to ensure no light gets into the root area. I suppose you could suspend a bag underneath the net cup, or tape [...]

I have my pump running 24/7 and I don’t think its a problem. It’s just on a slow drip. Any nutrient solution the plants don’t use just drips through. Use very dilute nutrients… the bottle will give you the mixing instructions. Just reduce the amount you use. If your plants’ leaves start turning yellow and [...]

I second the suggestion to get a lamp. I have a south facing window, but I really noticed an improvement when I added a fluorescent tube. The one that I have is a really slim profile one… so it’s not too obtrusive.

I tried using the white fluffy stuff (the brand I tried was tempest) and I barely rescued a few plants from it. I really don’t recommend it. The hydroton is way better. The roots get more air, they can grow in and around the pebbles, and the rocks hold just enough water. I have my [...]

I’ve been wondering how to do this too. This video could provide a way to link reservoirs that would act as one big reservoir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8kJ3l4yPLU. That’s been my thinking so far.

Looks awesome!!!

Good idea… I ended up cutting some net cups because they were too big for my bottles.

As for the paint… I bought spray paint that is specifically for plastic… most other paints won’t adhere.

I wouldn’t stress my plants out too much, if you’re going to transplant them you may as well put them in the window farm.

This is awesome! I like how you framed it. Nice and simple.

I’ve only used seeds so far, but I would suggest that you use strawberry plants as opposed to seeds. They take a really long time to sprout and grow big enough to transplant. Lettuce grows fast, so there isn’t really a point to buying lettuce plants. Tomatoes are a toss up; nursery plants will start [...]

Wow, I had roots that were poking out of the bottle cap on my bean plant. Maybe I should do some pruning too!! I suppose if you had a massive bean plant (maybe a seedling of a plant known to be huge), you could ‘bonsai’ it by pruning the roots. It would keep the plant [...]

Brilliant! This is exactly how I use my airlift. Plug flow… now I have a word to describe it.

I completely agree with this method of airlift, and with this it really does not matter how powerful the pump.

Thanks Brian! Your work is inspiring!

Melissa

Excellent post! I love the red paint on the bottles. I have the airlift system, and it is quite unreliable. My plants are definately suffering compared to their brothers and sisters that I had left in the soil. I use the same method of transferring plants into the window farm; washing the dirt out of [...]

Holy!! Thats awesome. I wonder how much heat transfer you get from them as well.

What a neat idea, thanks for sharing.

Cool, growing tobacco? Where did you find seeds for that?
As far as the lettuce goes, I would pick the outside leaves and let the baby ones grow in. Or you can wait until you have a head of lettuce and cut the whole thing off.

I would reccomend getting some pH down from a hydroponic store. But I suppose any acid would do. You definately need to change the nutrients completely at least every 2 weeks. I was looking into root riot cubes, and I would be using them now if I could find a local supplier. I have heard [...]

Holy S***! That is the biggest lettuce plant I’ve ever seen in my life. Nice. Growing two plants in one pot seems to work out well!