Journal

1/25/17

I spent today working on the development of my online portfolio for the senior project. I was without a mentor as of yesterday, but luckily the employees at Thimble Farm were gracious enough to offer their assistance in any way necessary regarding my hydroponics exploration. Alex Paris will be my mentor. He is highly educated in the field and has been doing work at Thimble Farm's hydroponics garden for some time now. I am looking forward to working with them and learning about the possibilities behind hydroponics systems. I plan on attending a workshop this Saturday (1/28/17) at the farm regarding homemade hydroponics system. I am highly anticipating this adventure and will definitely learn some useful things that I can apply to my project. I have to make sure to take photos and videos of my time spent at Thimble Farm this weekend.

2/8/17

Today I began to apply my knowledge gained through the research I conducted over the last few weeks and assembled my hydroponics system. I used a styrofoam cooler because it requires minimal cash to acquire and a major component of my project includes people being able to replicate my process and design without breaking the bank. I cut two circles in the top of the cooler for the pots to be suspended in the water. The pots that will hold the clay ball medium in which the plant and roots will be situated in provide an adequate and inexpensive design feature to my project as a whole. I placed an order for my nutrients that feed my plants and some PH testing kits in order to function my system properly, and the clay balls which provide a medium for the plants and their roots. I own an oxygen pump that can make the water rich with oxygen that will feed into my system but now I am looking to acquire a water pump so my reservoir and supply the system which fresh water on a timed schedule. I assume the hardware store in Oak Bluffs has one I can buy, but I know West marine in VH sells them for sure. I am greatly looking forward to begin planting my seedlings of either basil, strawberries, or lettuce and cultivate them using my own homemade system. Considering hydroponics is a time efficient and yield boosting form of growing plants it would be optimal for my project if I could actually build another simple system or two and grow all three of these species of plants. I am looking forward to observing and sharing my results and hope that all goes well and I am successful in my feature botanical endeavors.

3/6/17

After returning from my trip to Hawaii, I have successfully ordered all the essentials to my hydroponics system. Nutrients solution, pH tester, ppm meter, growing media, air pump for oxidation, net cups, and seeds. When my materials arrive I'll began the process of cultivating my plants. I constructed one version of a system that could be used for growing, but I am interested in making a few more iterations until I see what version saves the most money and is basic enough to be replicated perfectly.

3/10/17

Today I took a styrofoam cooler I found in my basement and cut two circular holes in the cover. I figured this would be a pretty effective version of my system. Very cheap, easy to make, and provides suitable conditions for growing in water. The styrofoam will not allow any light to reach the inside of the system which is major key when it comes to preventing the growth and spread of algae. Darkness does not support the growth of algae of algal blooms because without light the organism lacks a necessary component for it to thrive.

3/21/17

Returning from my trip to New York City with the school, I was excited to resume working on my project. Some of the materials are still in the mail, but as soon as they get in I should be all set. I met with Alex and Keith at Thimble farm the other day and they showed me around and got me an important contact. Keith has a friend at an indoor garden store in Bourne who can help me order anything else I may need for my project. An important thing I learned is how different nutrient deficencies can be identified through unhealthy characteristics of the plant and its leafs.

3/23/17

I did some research today and learned how important it is to change the water in my system on a weekly basis. This is because the nutrients are quickly transferred from the water to the plant. Monitoring the pH is also highly important, if the pH is too low then it does not allow the plant to absorb certain nutrients, too high (above 8 on the pH scale) also makes it more difficult for the plant to absorb nutrients. Iron, phosphorus, nitrogen, sulfur, potassium, and calcium are key ingredients to a healthy plant. Each contributing to special properties or plant functions. When the pH level dips below or rises above 6.5-7.5 these nutrients are not as efficient and do not get absorbed by the plant. Keeping light out is also very important because algae growth will be propagated by any interference from light. This goes for inside my system, as well as the tubing that connects my airstones to my oxidizer. Opaque tubing works best says the websites.

3/28/17

Now that all my supplies have arrived, I can begin the process of growing my plants. I needed something to start my plants off in, so I went to the horticulture department and the teacher supplied me with tons of rockwool that you use to start your seeds. Along with the rockwool plugs, he gave me these containers which will be used to house my seeds. I need to order a heat pad before I can begin the process of germination and stuff. I learned that basil requires it to be dark while it germinates, strawberries prefer the light though.

4/4/17

My heating pad has finally been shipped to my house and I believe now I have all the things I need to start germinating my seeds. I also went to the hardware store up the street from my house and bought two five gallon buckets, and three lids. That is because when I drilled the holes I knew I might mess one up. I made three holes in the first time, perfect. I broke the second top on the second hole, and the third top it was successful. I set up my light that I ordered to hang above the buckets, which are currently situated on top of crates in my growroom. The buckets have the three net cups suspended by the bucket tops, just touching the water line in the buckets. That is so the roots are tempted to grow further down and reach for the water in order to promote massive roots. So I have an airstone in each tank providing oxidized air to the roots. I have not put any plants in yet. I just started germinating my basil seeds in a dark, warm environment, and I constantly need to keep them on the heating pad and the container humid. It should take a few weeks maybe for the plants to get big enough and grow large enough roots in order for them to flourish in my hydro system.

4/6/17

Now that my system is set up, I am eager to start seeing the results of my system. Since I wanted to get a jump start, I went to Donaroma's and purchased a single mint plant. I washed the roots so I did not contaminate the nutrient filled water. I treated the water with the nutrients before I put my plant in. I am hoping that this plant will be the start to something great.

4/11/17

It is Monday and I thought I would take a trip to Thimble to tell Alex and Keith about the developments associated with my project. They loved the design of my project. Simple and cheap yet high efficient how what I propose to do. Almost any green vegetation flourishes in the deep root hydro system. Alex gave me a strawberry plant that I was told to put in my system to test how well the strawberries liked the deep root system. I am excited to see what will come out of this opportunity. Alex and Keith are really friendly and helpful, they also know tons about this stuff.