I was asked by Andrew Carter to do some testing of plant material to see if any unwanted molecules worked their way up the root system into the plant.  I haven’t received the samples yet, but I’d love to keep people up to date with the testing process and where I am at.   I will be posting again tomorrow with the details of the research I’ve done so far and the testing methods I plan to peruse.   I just wanted to introduce myself to the site, and open lines for any specific questions people might have!

In January I posted about my Plastic-Free AirLift Window Farm. I have since modified the materials a bit and successfully grew a bunch of lettuce and basil. I’m now growing mint and stevia — both seem very happy.

The initial version used stainless steel tumblers, mesh strainers, sisal rope, metal rope and crimps, a glass reservoir, natural rubber tubing, and organic nutrients (mostly bat guano). The only plastic part is the air pump.

Here are some modifications to the design:

• Replaced the smaller glass reservoir, which wasn’t tall enough to push the water up, with a 12″ high stainless steel container.
• Replaced the mesh screens, which didn’t leave enough room for the roots, with sink strainers.
• Replaced the bat guano nutrients, which got really slimy after a week or so, with fish emulsion.

And here’s a new image of the window farm and its gourd-based companion, currently in-progress.
More images and video can be found @ jennaspevack.com/windowfarm

Window Farm (Plastic-Free)

I’m attempting to build a version of the Airlift Window Farm without plastic parts.

The initial version uses stainless steel tumblers, sisal rope, metal crimps, a glass reservoir, and natural latex tubing. The only plastic part is the air pump. Everything was purchased fairly inexpensively (mostly on the Bowery in NYC).

You can find images of the project in progress HERE.

If I can get this one to work, I will build a second system next to this one using Chinese bottle gourds, coated in beeswax (see diagram). We’ll see.

PROBLEMS:

1. I’m currently having problems getting the pump to push the water up the airlift tube. I’ve noticed others have had this problem and see that Britta posted some suggestions, which I tried– but they haven’t worked. The air forced into the air lift tube doesn’t seem strong enough to move the water up vertically. It goes for about 6 inches and falls back down again. It also makes a loud bubbling/spattering noise. The pump tubes are dry and the air lift tube is fully submerged and mostly straight. I have an ActiveAqua AAPA7.8L pump. — ANY SUGGESTIONS?