jeffshydroponicproject

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Automating my hydroponic garden requires a bit of prototyping first here is a simple DIY Arduino project that anyone can do. Hook a single channel 5V solid state relay up to an Arduino and you can have a lot of power at your command. 120V to be exact. This little projject only took me about a half hour but it gets me along way toward controling my lights, pumps and fans all while monitoring PH, light spectrum and luminosity, or even simple air and water temperatures.

[jeffshydroponicproject]

So I have learned yet another important lesson this Summer's hydroponic project. That lesson is that you need to eliminate the unpredictable in hydroponic gardening to be successful. So with this revelation I am currently shuttering my less than successful and highly unpredictable outdoor hydroponic project and simultaneously reopening the indoor hydroponic project I began last Winter in an unfinished corner of my basement. Recent successes derived from my outdoor project and new indoor seed station build, along with improvements in the spectrum output of my indoor grow lighting. Are signaling to me that this is the proper time to move the project back indoors. Most of my notable recent failures in the outdoor project have been a direct result of weather, insects, and animals. Most of the root causes could be countered by traditional methods but all can be eliminated by moving indoors. Something I wanted to do by Winter 2016 anyway so the timing is right. Here are the outdoor notes. I had many successes this Spring and Summer and ate several vegtables from my outdoor hydroponic garden. Kale, Romaine Lettuce and Cherry Tomatos were by far the strongest and most successful plant varieties in the garden. The water plan, nutrient plan, and general structural design were all successful but overall real estate was small for scalability, weight of pea gravel medium presented structural settling leading to small water leaks between pots, and design did not detour opportunistic hunter like the local squirel population. Several plants were lost to high winds. I honestly lost three adult Romaine plants due to a chair that blew off my deck. Insects found the Kale and by the time I got rid of the insects. The squirels had decimated the small pepper and tomato plants. Most lettuce varieties were heavily damaged by weather fluctuations and small leaks in the structure design. Extreme heat combined with lack of water at key times of the day led to critical wilting, while heavy rainfall and high humidity allowed root rot to impact a few of the weaker varieties. v2.0 Indoor Project Description: Garden Hydroponics Garden v2.0 is a cascading pvc pipe configuration that passes hyper aerated nutrient rich water through the root system of each plant on a 30 min cycle. 30 min on and 30 min off. An 18 hour day is provided using cfl lighting aimed at the ideal photosynthetic range for green non-flowering plants. Nutrients again will be off-the-shelf brand with complete water replacement bi-weekly in order to maintain proper ph levels. v2.0 Garden Structure: The primary v2.0 structure design is a 7' l x 2' w x 7' h footprint in a 5 pipe x 5 level vertical configuration allowing for 20 plants per pipe or 100 plants per level and 500 plants per tower structure. v2.0 Garden Planned Residents: Plant varieties to be experimented with will be known success Kale, Romaine Lettuce, Mixed Lettuce varieties, and culinary herbs like basil, rosemary, thyme and sage. v2.0 Project Goal To create a continuious year round indoor grow cycle of 50 days or less from seed to table for one to five plant varieties. Development of automation processes that both reduce labor and increase scalability of production. Harvesting mature plants every 7 to 10 days.

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Documenting the build out of a new more advanced hydroponic garden. This is version 2.0, focused mainly on Romaine and Kale production. Follow along.

[jeffshydroponicproject]

This is pretty much where every idea I have begins. It builds in my mind until I hit a wall and then I have to draw a skeleton in the most basic shapes. Only enough to crunch numbers against. Art is much the same way. You can not get lost in the details until a basic concept sketch has been created. Today its a flood of technical improvements to version 2 of my hydroponic garden. Yesterday it was a new hull design for a catamaran style house boat. I can’t tell you why I create. I don’t know the drive behind it. 90% of my creations do not make it beyond the skeleton sketches.

#garden #hydroponics #design #diy #maker #diy ideas #crafts #gardening #farm #food

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Garden Hydroponics project on day 45 where Romaine lettuce has shown one harvest and today’s talk is one tomatoes. With Kale reaching maturity and cherry tomato on the vine this update shows the struggles of water level in a hydroponic garden.

#garden #hydroponics #diy #DIY Projects #gardening #hydroponic #hydroponic garden #grow your own #Greenhouse #organic #aquaponics #aquaponic gardening #aquaponic #prep #preppers

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 42: Romaine Lettuce & Lite Ceasar Dressing grown from the hydroponic garden #garden #hydroponics #growyourown #gardening #food #fresh #farm #healthy #fit #health #organic (at Overland Park, Kansas)

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 131: 1000 miles walked in 2016. #virtualwalk #jeffsvirtualwalk #garden #gardening #art #fit #fitness #outdoors #life #kcmo #kc #kaufman (at Kauffman Memorial Garden)

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 41: Romaine lettuce harvest in today's update. I took more than 50 adult leaves from the 6 plants and had more than enough for a couple of meals. It is so fresh and special being the first soil free fruits of the hydroponic garden project that it surely won't last that long.

#garden #hydroponics #diy #growyourfood #gardening #aquaponics #diy ideas #organic #health #food #fitness #sustainability #farm #fresh

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 32: 13 Tomato plants, 12 lettuce, 2 bell pepper, 6 Kale, 2 brussel sprout, 15 new lettuce starts and 4 empty pots in a 6'x5’ space. #garden #hydroponics #diy #gardening #farm #green #grow #miraclegro (at Overland Park, Kansas)

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 41: First cherry tomato on the vine. #garden #hydroponics #diy #growyourown #aquaponics #gardening #organic #miraclegro (at Overland Park, Kansas)

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 31: Added 8 new juvenile tomato plants to the hydroponic garden today, moved a few plants with space issues, added support stakes to taller plants, and started some more Romain lettuce seeds.

#garden #hydroponics #diy #tomato #miraclegro #gardening #aquaponics #urban garden #organic #green #diy ideas #plants #farm

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 30 since the beginning of of this hydroponic project and the growth is fantastic. Water, Sun, MiracleGro, and Epson Salt most of the juvenile plants have been in the garden for 2 weeks and have all doubled in size. Seeds planted one week ago are sprouting. Hail storms and high winds this week have been little set back to this project from Garden Hydroponics

#garden #hydroponics #diy projects #aquaponics #gardening #diy #grow your own #organic #farm #food

[jeffshydroponicproject]

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Last night's storm ripped through the Mid-West bringing high winds and hail to Jeff's Garden Hydroponics project. Let's see how the plants faired the rough Spring weather.

#garden #hydroponics #diy #aquaponics #gardening #diy ideas #storm #weather #organic #sustainable #food #farm

[jeffshydroponicproject]

[jeffshydroponicproject]

An aquaponics system offers food to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians as fish and plants are grown in the same system.

[jeffshydroponicproject]

Day 19: Weekend Update, A lot of growth in the 9 day old planted juveniles and 19 days for the seeds. MiracleGro appears to be feeding the roots well and a bit of Epson Salt goes along way for the tomato and pepper plants.

#garden #hydroponics #diy #aquaponics #gardening #diy ideas #farm #food #organic #sustainable #life #miraclegro #miraclegarden