Update

Hello everybody,

Recently, I've just been maintaining the plants. Next week, I will work on wrapping up my project and possibly passing it on to a student next year. Below are some pictures. On the left is HydroLoft and on the right is the Plant Tube.



Thanks for reading,
Ben

Plant photos

Hello everyone,

The plants have been growing well, that's all that has changed from last class. Below are some pictures. The one on the left is broccoli from the Plant Tube and the one on the right is the Russian kale from the HydroLoft system.

Thanks for reading,
Ben

Update: Plants are growing nicely, Plant Tube extended

Hey everyone,

I have had much success recently with the HydroLoft system and the Plant Tube.

This is the HydroLoft system as of May 10. It is growing some wheatgrass, Russian kale, and broccoli. This is a big win for us, and the electronics are working very well. We have attempted to power the battery with solar panels, but the grow light isn't enough, so it will only work when in actual full sunlight. This weekend, I will leave the battery to run for three days and see if it can keep the HydroLoft system working.
To the right is a picture of the Plant Tube. I have planted broccoli seeds and zucchini seeds. Hopefully, those will grow soon and become healthy plants.

Thanks for reading,
Ben

April Experiment Sucess

Hello everyone,

My HydroLoft system didn't malfunction for a whole week! Because of this, the plants survived and are growing.

 The growing pipe (GroPipe) is also a success. The water level barely lowered over the week, proving that it is super water-efficient.

My next task is to just keep monitoring the plants and making sure that they are growing well.

Thanks for reading,

Ben

Quick note on experiment

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to quickly say that I am leaving my system for nine days over the course of April vacation to see if the system survives. Either my plants will perish, or they'll be thriving. I'll find out the result on Monday.

-Ben

Bottom Row Germination

Hello everyone,

I have been working on 3 projects lately:

1. The HydroLoft system (old)
On the top, the wheatgrass has been growing well, but the other plants aren't, so I'll probably replace them. The ones on the bottom, I checked them to see if they have sprouted their roots. 3 out of 4 have sprouted their roots, so it is a success so far. The green part should, in theory, rise soon after the roots sprout, so wish me luck!

2. Shallow Water Tray

 This is a plastic tray with water in it. That's all it is. Currently, squash seeds and russian kale is growing in it. I decided to do this project just for fun to see what results it would actually yield. Since the system is open without boundaries, the plants may grow in some unique ways. I accidentally let it dry out over the weekend though, so I might have to re-do it.

3. Gro Cube Pipe
This was inspired by Mr. Deets (a teacher) who made this, but vertical. I added some adjustments  and made it horizontal. It is secured by thin rope and is waterproofed on both ends. The right end has a tube for refilling the water, and the baskets hold gro cubes which contain wheatgrass seeds. Using capillary action, the gro cubes will keep the seeds moist until they grow their roots, which will be able to touch the water at the bottom of the pipe without the gro cube being wet. Hopefully, this will result in a super water efficient system.

Thanks for reading,
Ben

What I've been up to

Hello everyone!

Sorry I haven't been writing recently! I finally have balanced the water in the HydroLoft system, and if I remember, I'll make a video of it running and post that.

I'm also working on a few side projects, which I will also try to remember to take pictures of. The first one is a shallow water tray, and the second one is a gro cube pipe (inspired by Mr. Deet's vertical version). I will explain them both on the next post, hopefully.

Thanks for reading,
Ben