Hydroponics Update: The basil is growing like a weed.
About a month into this little experiment, the basil is growing very well. The roots now reach into the bottom of the reservoir, I may have to find another bucket to set the basket into while I am cleaning/refilling the main reservoir. I don’t want to damage the roots while I’m working. The mildew begins to grow after about three and a half days, and it has been a persistent issue. I have been soaking things down in hydrogen peroxide when I am rinsing/cleaning/changing the water and adding nutrients. I will try to get some more pictures up soon.
Affixing the air-stone in the reservoir
My air-stone likes to float. Air being pumped into air does nothing to aerate my nutrient solution, so I had to devise a way to secure the stone to the bottom of my reservoir. I had a suction cup attached to metal ring, from an iPhone screen replacement I just did, so I ran the air supply hose through ring and stuck the suction cup to the bottom of the reservoir. Perfect, it didn’t float up to the surface anymore. I ran the pumps for a few minutes while I figured out my preferred placement for everything, then I shut it down and left it while my seeds germinated in the closet. When I came back to clean all the components of the system, and put the water/nutrient solution I noticed that the cheap metal ring was already rusting and causing discoloration in...
New Toys!
I picked up some new toys tonight after school: A light fixture Natural temp compact fluorescent Vegetable nutrients pH test solution Rockwool grow media Zipties Measurement vessel Next I will be finalizing the assembly, more to come.
We have germination!
The seeds are already in the beginning stages of germination. I know the picture is terrible, but you can see a layer of mostly clear matter forming around the seeds. It is most evident around the seed on the bottom right, you can see a brown outline. Very exciting!
(My) Intro to Hydroponic Gardening
Last night, we paid $3.99 for a basil plant (no fresh cut basil available at Fred Meyer) that failed to yield a full cup of chopped basil. That plant is down to a few tiny leaves (we have tried to keep these live plants from Fred Meyer alive in the past) sitting on the kitchen counter turning brown. We eat a lot of basil, and it pains me to pay so much for something that grows so readily that we consume so much of. I’ve always been fascinated by hydroponics. Per Wikipedia, hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. We live in an apartment, so no garden plot. We live in the Northwest, so there is no sun to speak of (I kid, I kid… not really). If we want either of these things (including...