Weekly Blog & Updates

Here are some weekly journal entries I have compiled over the duration of this project. These entries include my actions, emotions, thoughts, and reflections after each week.

Hello my lovely reader!

This week I continued to keep track of my plant growth and began to harvest the herbs I have nurtured to peak growth. I took my gardening scissors and snipped the ends of the herbs off, but I did not go down to the root because I want the herbs to continue growing in a cycle. I do this so I can keep harvesting the same ones! Once I had all my herbs cut I set them on a tray and dehydrated them in my air fryer. When they were dried out, I cut them into small pieces and then placed them in a wooden pestle and mortar to grind the herbs into a fine powder or small pieces (depending on the plant). I then poured the herbs into small glass shakers and labeled them accordingly. Pictured above from left to right is Oregano, Basil, Savory, and Parsley. 

As I finish up my project, I am grateful for everything I learned during this process. Not only did I gain experience working with plants, but I was also able to bond with my parents while doing so. I hope that through reading this blog, you are also inspired to begin your plant growth journey, or at least begin to research ways in which you can also reduce your carbon footprint!

Until we meet again,

Havana :)

Hello my lovely reader!

This week I decided to share a behind the scenes bonus project I have been simultaneously been keeping up with aside from the hydroponic tower in my living room. With the help of my parents, we planted lettuce and cucumbers in a vertical hydroponic tower that works identically to the main one I have been blogging about. This tower is located in a small pop up greenhouse we have set up in our garage. In order to regulate the temperature, we have added a heater to combat the coldness of the garage from the winter months. As you can see in the images above, we also have the same UV lights to expose the plants to mimicked "sunlight." I can confirm the both the lettuce and cucumbers are delicious! They taste just like ones you would buy at your local farmers market!

Until next week, 

Havana :)

Hello my lovely reader!

This week I continue to eagerly wait for my plants to be ready to harvest. I have noted in the past that this is the most difficult part of the process. I am a very impatient person so waiting weeks before I can finally do something with my herbs is driving me a little crazy! I have been working on a side project that I will be sharing with you soon! For now, I will have to touch back when I have more exciting news on my next steps!

Until next week, 

Havana :) 

Hello my lovely reader!

Not too much has changed since last week. I am enjoying the substantial help of the hydroponic garden though! It is almost like having a babysitter for my plants, except I do not have to pay it! Some of my plants that were barely sprouted in week three have begun to grow leaves! Soon I will be able to harvest my herbs and turn them into homemade spices! I am so excited!!

Until next week, 

Havana. 

Hello my lovely reader!

This week we set up the hydroponic garden and transferred the containers into it. The hydroponic garden was built entirely by hand and sheer will. With the help of my mother's boyfriend, we cut hole inserts into PVC Pipes, stacked them together in a tower format, zip tied UV lights onto the bottom of the PVC Pipes to shine down onto the plants, and fed water tubes throughout the PVC Pipes to water the plants. The tubes were set into a big rubber bin of water that we filled continuously when it was getting low. The UV lights were set on a timer that automatically turned them on and off every twelve hours. I no longer had to do a thorough check on my plants each day because the hydroponic garden took care of a lot of the plant maintenance. All I had to do was check up on the water! I cannot wait to harvest and try these plants that I have been closely caring for all these weeks!

Until next week,

Havana. 

Hello my lovely reader!

I have been watching my plants each day as they grow little by little! I wish I had set up a time lapse camera to capture the moments of growth over a longer period of time because it is hard to realize how much they have truly grown when I am staring at them everyday. The plants are now big enough to plant into the hydroponic garden we will be setting up! Some of the plants are already two inches tall after only two weeks! With proper care and attention, it can be an easy task to begin gardening! 

This reminds me of my group project partner Georgia. She is also growing plants right now, but she has been struggling and nothing has sprouted. She thinks it has to do with the location of her plant (too dark for sunlight) and the times she misses to water it. Everybody's plant growing journey is different. Sometimes it comes easy and sometimes we really need to work for it. Do not feel upset with yourself if it does not work out the first time around, just try again! Hopefully though reading my blog and looking over the additional resources I provided, you will have enough knowledge to have a successful run with it!

Until next week,

Havana. 

 Hello my lovely reader!

This week I planted the seedlings into their own containers with moss and fertilizer to help them grow. The containers have holes in the bottom to let in the water that is sitting in the trays. The trays are set in an area that is reached by natural sunlight, and the water is refilled on a daily basis. The plants will stay in the trees until they show a good amount of growth and or out grow the containers themselves. 

Until next week, 

Havana. 

 Hello my lovely reader!

Today I take my first steps in beginning my Climate Action Project. I have been inspired heavily by my parents who started growing plants using hydroponic systems inside our house around a year ago. They started primarily to combat the inflation of grocery prices, but I would like to continue in hopes of reducing my carbon footprint. Taking small steps towards being more eco-friendly is easier than you think and has many benefits! For starters, by growing your own food you can reduce your aid to the burning of fossils fuels used during food transportation across countries. Secondly, you can reduce your consumption of yucky pesticides that are sprayed on produce sold in grocery stores! Sounds like a win, win to me! 

This week I am working through the process of germinating my seeds. Germination is the transformation in which a seed turns into a seedling! To germinate, you need to keep seeds in a damp dark place for 1-2 weeks. When the seeds are ready to plant, they will sprout a root that changes to a yellow-green colour at the end of it. This means the plant is ready for photosynthesis and needs sunlight! I sprayed paper towel with water, placed the seeds in the middle, folded the paper towel in half and then stacked the trays on top of each other, leaving them on a counter away from the sun. 

Until next week, 

Havana :)