With any medium for your Windowfarm, rather it be hydroponics or aquaponics, you start with the first element: WATER. Many new gardeners tend to overlook this basic step, and just pour it in. If you are using water from your tap, one thing to put into consideration before adding any additional nutrients is to simply check your parts per million (ppm) and your waters acids and bases (pH).

The only “pure” water in nature is rain water. The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells.  As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals called total dissolved solids (tds) and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. (*1). Water contains a variety of  trace minerals such as:  fluoride,  boron (Bo), chlorine (Cl), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn),  copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo) and selenium (Se).

Now you may ask, “how small is a part per million?” The simplest way to put it in perspective is picture a filled bathtub. One drop of water is 2 ppm of a bathtub full of water (*2).

One great tool to have for your window farm is a Hanna Digital meter. I chose the HI-98129 (below *3),  so that I can have the most accurate reading of my ppm and pH levels of my water before I add the water to my window farm.  Do a reading and collaboration, let your water sit out for 24 hours (natural dechlorination) before adding nutrients to you system and you will lessen your chance of giving your plants too much nutrients which will kill them.

If you pay attention to your water, you will have happier and healthier plants!

By: Holly Johnson

*Sources:
1= http://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/pdf/2008_WaterCCR.pdf

2= http://www.swep.com.au/pdf/drinking water.pdf

3= http://hannainst.com/usa/prods2.cfm?id=002003&ProdCode=HI%2098129

i just learned about this project in Bust and am so excited to try it out. i wonder about running the electric pump around the clock, though it sounded like, from another post, this is a necessary step for the hydroponic plants.

i had another question about the nutrient solution. is this like compost tea? is it something i can make at home or will i have to continually reorder the nutrient stuff as i maintain my “farm”?