Hello everyone,

I just finished my windowfarm system last night. I started with the 2.0 instructions, but made quite a few adjustments along the way. One thing I really want to showcase is the airlift system. Seeing how many people are frustrated trying to build submerged airlift systems, I really recommend using an external system instead. I skipped using inflation needles, and went straight for the t-joint. But I figured there had to be a better, more reliable way than submerging a t-joint.

I got a 3-gallon water dispenser from Walmart, the kind that has the pouring spout. I took regular 1/4″ tubing, and wrapped a ton of plumber’s tape around it, and stuck it in the spout. (the spout screws apart, so you can actually pull the tube through) The water drains through the tube very well, it gets full water pressure since the spout is at the bottom, and you can even use the lever to stop water flow. I put a check valve on the water tube, so no air could bubble up into the tank, and I connected the tube to the perpendicular part of the t-joint. Then air comes in from one side, and the air/water mixture goes out the other. It’s helpful to keep the water tube perpendicular to the ground, and the air and air/water tubes parallel to the ground.

The system is incredibly reliable, and adjusting things and taking things apart is really easy, because it’s all out in the air and easily accessible. No wet hands!

Here’s a video of my entire setup, you can see the airlift system:

Lincoln’s Windowfarm on YouTube

(I’ll add pictures later)

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A few quick questions, since I’m new at this:

• What kind of water should I use? Is tap water alright, or should I use distilled water?
• What kind of nutrient solution would be best for green veggies? (lettuce, swiss chard, peas)
• Would aeration of the nutrient water help? (via airstone)
• I’ve been reading a lot about the benefits of kelp, and I was wondering if that could be used as a nutrient solution alone, or if it was just supplementary.

I think I’m going to be spamming you guys up with lots of questions in the near future.

I have these two bottles of fertilizer, one for sprouts and leafy plants, and one for booming and fruiting plants. I know I’m supposed to start with one and later use the other. But do I switch entirely, start using both, or split them? What if I have tomatoes and peppers (the second bottle) in the same system as lettuce and chard (the first bottle)? I get the impression this is just the way hydroponic fertilizers come, so hopefully there is a standard answer.

What’s a decent place to order cheap seeds for plants I can’t find in stores? I am in the continental US. I could find a random place and try it, but I’m hoping one of you has actual experience.

How do I know if there’s something like salmonella in my system? You know, before anyone dies of it.

Hi again !

The situation didn’t improve in my clay pot windowfarm since my last post.

The oddest thing is happening : when I take water samples from under each pot of a column, the further down I go, the higher the pH reading.

pH readings took within half an hour from :

inside the upper reservoir : 5,5

at the end of the drip tube : 5,5

under the 1st clay pot (the highest) : 6,5

under the 2nd clay pot : 7,5

under the 3rd clay pot : 8

under the 4th clay pot : 8,5

under the drain tube (after the 5th pot) : 8,5+

and just to make sure : a second, double-check reading of my water source in the upper reservoir : 5,5 !!!

Then, I tested one empty spare pot for pH neutrality by plunging it in water for the night : water pH remained the same.

I tested the pellets : no change (and no surprise) there either.

The only thing left was the rock wool : Bingo ! I found the only culprit. In the 4th clay pot, the water extracted from the wool had a very high pH. Since the poor plants are dying anyway, I drenched the whole pot and its contents with 1 litre of acidic water (pH 5). Then I let it sit to dry for the night and this morning, the pH of the water retained by the wool was 7+.

Is it possible that an agent of some kind took residence inside the wool, reacting chemically with the water and-or nutrient liquid to pitch the pH repetitively up ? Or would it be that the water previously absorbed by the wool would be locked there and couldn’t be diluted by the newly coming fluid, this fluid dripping right through with no or almost no effect ? No, this last theory doesn’t work, because if it were the case, the pH in my bottom reservoir would still be around 5,5.

The simple fact is : even after letting more than 10 litres of acidic nutrient solution (pH 6 or below) pass down through my column over the last week or so, all this water had turned to a pH of well over 8. Therefore, a chemical reaction is occuring during the descent.

I have this problem of raising pH from the day I started monitoring my pH. What would start at 6 would end down around 7 or 7,5. During the installation of my plants, I innoculated my rock wool cubes by dipping a whole batch of them in Eco Root Dip Gel which contains 16 different mycorhizal fungy. I didn’t use them all the same day and some sat in the solution for several days before I used them. As after a few weeks my plants didn’t  grow much or didn’t grow à al in some cases,  I added  my filtered urine in the mix in the hopes of raising the nitrogen contains. From that point, the pH went wild and very high. From Britta’s explanation on the use of human urine as a nutrient, it would be normal for it to affect the pH in that way while it would break into ammonia.

But my system is litres away from that mixture. By that time, I would have expected it to recover, at least partially.

Does anybody have an explanation ?

I’m planning to replace my pots one by one, taking out the bottom ones first (4th ones, which are plagued with the highest pH of all), emptying and desinfecting it, and reinstalling a new plant in it as my new seedlings sprout. Then, pot number 3 would move down one level, replacing pot number 4, number 2 and one following this descent. Pot number 4, newly filled up, would move up high in the column, safe from infection, because no old pot would stand over it to drip in it.

I would slowly replace everything  in that fashion and of course, I would never reuse the water from the bottom reservoir until the end of the process.

Any insight highly appreciated. And I’d like Britta’s point of vue on this. So… @britta

By the way, my affected plants are wilting and then shrivel slowly. The peas that are in the upper levels look healthy.  The only plants I got out from their pot are my most affected peas. They are shriveling but their root system is developped and looks very healthy, with no sign of rot or damage whatsoever. No slime and sign of pests either. The wool rock is clean and evenly moist, just as the roots.

During the first 12 hours or so on this diet, I made a stupid mistake in adjusting the flow of dripping on my two central columns and my whole new 3,5 L reservoir emptied itself in a few hours, drenching the poor plants with my horse remedy. Poor things. When I came back from work that evening, some of the leaves on my peas displayed white spots. I concluded that my solution was burning my plants, so I rapidly cut the solution in two by adding fresh dechlorinated water to it in each of my reservoirs.

So now, we’re talking about 1 : 10 solution of urea. Three days later, my peas seem to be OK and I could swear that my plants are starting to get bigger again. It’s a little soon to be so enthousiastic, though. But I’ll tell you if I was dellusional !

Meanwhile, I still have to adjust my pH daily to try to keep it down around 6. And I don’t know, but it seems to me that needing a daily pH adjustment isn’t the norm for windowfarmers. Next post, I’ll try to add photos.

Hello folks!

I’m just starting my Windowfarm (one column) and the Airlift works fine now. Having started with a small amount of liquid nutrient solution I’ve stumbled upon a product entitled “Lewatit  HD 50″ by it’s manufacurer, (Lanxess, Germany, actually just around my corner). The product is also being sold unter different brand names.

The data-sheet promises that you can put this into your solution and afterwards don’t need to touch the system for 3-4 months because the granulate passes just the right amount of nutrients to the water during this time, until it’s depleted.

I haven’t ouched this stuff yet but consider using it for my windowfarm.

Has anyone around here operating experience with this kind of product?

Link to data-sheet in english:

http://lewatit.com/common/download.php?file=ea38c8a6a78e9fa1e75a8c0065843c52

Greetings

Markus

Hello! I just wanted to post the link to my week 2 update of my window farm. There are lots of pictures on this one.

http://melissawindowfarm.blogspot.com/2011/02/changing-nutrients-week-2.html

I’m almost ready to change the solution in my window farm for the first time. What do you guys do with your old nutes? I have some other plants growing in soil and I was considering watering them with the old solution. I am not sure if this is a good idea or not, I would assume its fine, but I wanted to see what everyone else was doing with theirs.

Thanks!!
Melissa

Here in Dakar are a lot of bats. I didn’t find out yet where they sleep but since there are definitely no caves in the city, I’m guessing it is in trees and on buildings. It may be possible for me to collect some bat guano and I wonder, before I start sniffing around in less clean places, if this may be a good nutrient supplement for our garden.

I anticipate we are going to have trouble feeding our plants as I am quite sure that nobody here is going to go and buy nutrient mixes, so I’m looking for other options.

The second thing we have a huge supply of is fish, fresh, dried, rotten, bones… anyone know if this can be used?

Finally, since we are testing a fermentation pump, can the ripe juices be used as nutrients?

Thanks for any ideas!

I have set up the 4 bottles, and now I’m working on my airlift. I’m trying to do the T version instead of the air needles. But I’m having trouble getting the air to lift the water and not escape through what should be the water intake tube.

Any advice for this system? I’m going to go and cut a longer piece of tube and see if that makes a difference.

Thanks,

Melissa

-EDIT- (20 minutes later)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5378581924/

So the longer tube completely helped! There is no air escaping from the system at all. Now my poor tomato plant that was without water all night is getting some.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5377983157/

I purchased the white frame from ikea and it was around 20$. I plan on having 3 or 4 columns with a string of lights in between the columns. This frame will allow me to move the window farm around and close my blinds at night. I’m going to raise it up to window height once it’s all installed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5378580404/

Here is a short video of my airlift in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qER-HLCHcE

-EDIT- (Later that day…)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5378590143/

So my tomato is definately looking good! http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5379181542/in/photostream/
I have also transplanted a broccoli plant to the top of the column. http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5379182328/in/photostream/
My seedlings are starting to sprout! http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5378589329

I made another change to my system… I zip tied the coil of tube in the water so it is easier to remove and install. http://www.flickr.com/photos/58467192@N06/5379179122

Also, nutrients were added to the solution. I added part 1 and part 2 of the general nutrients, and I also added some “maximum plantroids” because it says:

“Plantroids Super-Vitamin Thrive Enhancer stimulates plant branching, increases photosynthesis and cell division. Plantroids also helps reduce stress as well as stimulates root growth”.

Just a warning about CFLs… I dropped one and it smashed into a million tiny shards. Took a while to make sure I got all the little pieces.

Can anyone give me advice on how to put pictures in my post, rather than just links? Thanks.

Hi all my dear friends at windowfarsms

I installed my windowfarms about one week ago,

now in this week,its running without nutrients,

I’m unable to buy nutrients from stores,its not available in here.

how can I make nutrients ?

I searched the blogs but couldnt find an operational solution.

can any one please help me in making it form food,or sth else ?

thanks.