First beet #harvest of the year. I got to watch it, because when I don’t harvest them in time, they first get stuck and grow into my growing baskets, and then burst them. But otherwise beets grow really well in my backyard #hydroponics system.
This batch gets pickled, and works really well with things such as hummus.
Moved hydroponic shelves out of hot garage and into basement for summer. Lettuce kept bolting out there. I planted a new batch of lettuce. 12 red romaine starts and 6 net cups with a couple seeds each of "marvel of four seasons". These varieties have served us well for years, and the red romaine are from seeds I harvested.
I'll succession sow another tub if seeds in around 2 weeks to keep them going at different ages.
Today's harvest of fresh dill from the balcony garden.
This is probably the 10th harvest I had and I'm going to use it to cook northern Iranian Baghala Ghatogh (chicken eggs, beans, garlic and dill stew).
Some people have bastardized it and using fawa beans instead, but I use the large white beans (insteadof pach-baghala used in Gilan province of Iran), soaking them in water overnight then peel them and cook them in oil for a few minutes before adding to the stew.
PS. I love the smell of fresh dill, it reminds me of my childhood and my mother's hands that smelled like fresh vegetables all the time.
My hydroponics system had a great start this year, the salad is almost ready. I also built a second horizontal one. The salad is only for testing, I'm going to plant vegetables there. #hydroponics#gardening
I have cut back my purchase of bananas because they are not local and most brands are from questionable companies.
Went to our local shop and found a huge pack of "old bananas" at discount price. So I purchased them.
This gave me the opportunity to create banana juice for my plants. Cut the peels into small pieces, added water and let it sit for w days.
Going to use the water as #potassium boost for my plants and crush the peels in a high speed mixer with coffee grounds, egg shells and a small amount of baking soda to adjust the pH level to create my speed #compost mix.
It will go into the bottom of the container I'm preparing for a friend with cherry tomatoes. Hopefully she will be able to grow them as tall as I managed (3M+) and get a lot of #tomatoes from it.
#hydroponics update: I’ve now got 11 pak choi 🥬 in my #Kratky method setup but it’s been super slow, my suspicion has been that my garage is too cold so I’m now running an experiment, one box is not insulated or heated, the other has a cheap 10W aquarium heater set to 18C and also badly done insulation - let’s see how this goes (also knew all those cheap hygrometers would come in handy!)
This time is about 700g and going to freeze them while waiting for the next batch to grow (I have one more with parsley, one with #leek, #coriander, #mint, and #dill that are not producing as much. Each unit has 15 grow holes. One is almost empty. I am missing #taragon and I'm missing Iranian Shanbalileh (شَنبَلیله یا به فارسی دری شینبل (نام علمی: Trigonella foenum-graecum) ) to have all vegetables I need except to spinach that is not worth growing in small space that I have to be self sufficient in having all necessary vegetables for cooking different Iranian dishes.
This single Ikea unit has givene 5 batch of parsley since I started it and ther are no sign of decline as ww are getting closer to summer.
It has already paid off the initial cost I paid for it and from now on, it's all profit. Next it trying to setup the Mimi tower unit to grow them with solar powered water pumps and sunshine (no artificial LEDs for this trial.
Just need to buy some fertilizer because running low.
I declare the growing season open. Germinating some snow peas and some lettuce. By the time they are ready to be transplanted into the #hydroponics system outside, hopefully the cold nights will be over.
This week's crop for the community fridge / pantry.
It's a small amount, but its just the start. 1 out of every 5 plants go to the community, even on first plantings. As I scale out, this will only increase.
It turns out my #hydroponics pump does not disassemble and so it is nigh on impossible to get roots out of it. Which is annoying because I hear it is a common problem! Any tips for removing roots from a tiny pump? I have dried them out so I could try breaking them up and knocking them out. I have also tried cursing. Also various small implements
I reset my right hydroponics cubes. It had parsley and dill in each of them. However, the leaves were a little yellow and not appetising 😭 only coriander and basil seem to do well. So I’ll stick with those and have a rolling supply. #hydroponics
#solarpunk and #gardening folks, I have a very exciting year ahead of me!! For the first time in my life, I have a garden, an allotment and enough indoor space for a small #hydroponics shelf. I'd really like to get max 2 books to learn about all these things, preferably telling me what I should prioritise for each UK season. Got any good book suggestions?
I also plan to document my exploits so stay tuned 👨🌾🌿
So hydroponics are kicking off (as well as soil container gardens, backyard gardens, and community plot gardens) with me and my friends....
....and with that now is a good time to emphasize that this is not just a hobby (or a hobby at all for some). It's easy. sure. And takes little time, money, and effort... and is fun... and calming... don't get me wrong.
But we're not doing this for shits and giggles.
This is one part of a larger effort at bringing about post-scarcity food. (Note: One part. No one thing is a panacea.)
So right now, we have efforts to garden (hydroponically or otherwise) for one's self and one's family. That's good. It either supplements or fully replaces a corporate grocery store. Great.
But it's only part of it.
The next part is mutual aid. When we plant food, we also plant for our neighbors and greater community. For every 5 plants I harvest, I give away at least 1 plant. At least 20 percent. The question then becomes, how do we get the food out. How do we distribute it?
Food banks are fine. They're already set up. Many accept home grown produce. The issue with food banks is they are often means tested. You have to prove you NEED the food before you get it. That has a shit ton of issues and often just means that people who are hungry don't get to eat.
Instead of food banks, I've been using two solutions to distribute food.
The Olio App ( https://olioapp.com/en/ ): The Olio App let's you list your produce online. Folks can then request the item and arrange for pickup. It's like craiglist and uber eats and specifically is about giving away free food.
Community Fridges / Community Pantries ( https://freedge.org/locations/ ): Free fridges and pantries are physical nodes in your community where folks that have extra food, put it in the pantry. Folks that need food, take it out. Give a food, take a food. No need for apps, low overhead, works really well and is efficient.
The key to all of this is it's NOT charity. This is MUTUAL aid. You give AND you take. As we produce for ourselves we also produce for our neighbors. Everyone eats.
After a long time, found all the pieces for the hydroponic units at home.
It will be 2 different setup, one for the little tower with a solar panel powered pump without a timer and only depends on the sun.
The second one is an airpump with ESP32 as controller to turn it on and off and have a LiON battery for wheb the sun is not enough.
Will have 6 units planted in different parts of the apartment and balcony. Growing mostly leafy vegetables and herbs. Starting with parsley and dill that I have. Then add coriander, spring onions, kale, chuck boy and more.
Getting ready for the soon to come spring in southern France.
My proof-of-concept "Single-Unit Hydroponic Grow Bin".
I don't know if it will work. Follow this thread (for the next three months maybe) and grow with me... maybe... or just watch it fail... :P
The goal of this grow-bin is to be:
Exceedingly cheap (This comes out to around $11 a unit - reusable - and that's mostly the light. Each additional growth will only be a couple of cents per plant).
Exceedingly easy to make.
Have as little moving parts as possible.
Require as little maintenance as possible while the plant grows.
Not require any special space, set-up, or shelving.
Be able to stick anywhere you have a couple of inches of spare room indoors, even if you live in a very small amount of floor space.
Be powered by wall socket or by external USB battery (for folks that are charging USB batteries with solar cells).
If you want to grow more plants... make more of these grow bins and add them wherever you have juuust a bit more space.
This answers the obstacles of hydroponics being portrayed as requiring an expensive startup cost, having dedicated or expansive space for hydroponic growing, require special or complex equipment, or special knowledge and skills.
AND IT'S ADHD FRIENDLY!!!!
Start growing whenever you get around to it. Doesn't require following growing seasons.
Once you start growing, you can forget about it until it's done growing.
Note: This is an experiment. I don't know if this will succeed. But! I plan on tweaking it and correcting any issues as I test it out. So... I'm not showing you a finished product. I'm showing you the design and test phase. Maybe we'll get a finished product out of the end of it!
(Thread continues and will be added onto. Bookmark and check back every couple of weeks. - The next section will go into how to build this.)
When the leaves are growing THROUGH your halo light, it might be an indicator that your light is not powerful enough.
I'm calling it on this experiment. A lot of really cool things discovered!!!
First off, my basic build works! This is amazing! It means:
I don't have to germinate the seed separately, I can just plant it in the grow bin and ignore it until its time to harvest.
You can grow from a tiny single bin that has a six-inch diameter footprint.
The bin is modular. Do you want to grow more plants? Use more bins!
This addresses the following issues that often come up when discussing hydroponics:
"It's too expensive" : the grow bin is free (upcycled protein powder bin). water, nutrients, seed, rockwool, and pool noodle were all less than a dime. The most expensive item here is the reusable grow light. It was $10. A more powerful one might cost $15 or $20 retail (much less in bulk wholesale).
"I don't have enough space indoors" - this has a tiny footprint of half a foot and requires no special shelving. Place it anywhere you have a tiny amount of space.
"I can never remember to maintain my plants, they always die on me!" - This is ADHD Friendly! You plant the seed whenever you get around to it (no need to follow grow cycles). And then ignore it for two months and harvest it when its done.
The one thing that I'll do for my next build is use a brighter grow lamp. This specific lamp was strong enough to get it past germination / seedling and into full plant, but it's started failing once that plant has become mature. The leaves are a bit "leggy" meaning the leaves are reaching towards the light ot get more food. A stronger light means that it can chill and just be a plant without reaching.
All of that said, even leggy plants taste great! I'll let this one grow another week or so and harvest it!
My next experiment will be around grow mediums. I'm using rockwool in a pool noodle on this one and my other grow bins, but I want to try to use a cheaper method that still lets me plant the seed and forget about it until its time to harvest. Watch for that experiment soon!