This week is a very exciting week. We have been working very hard the past couple weeks to get all of the systems up and running! One of the systems we are working on right now is the NFT system. It is a growing system that contains a series of white plastic trays that have holes in the tops for cubes of Rockwell to sit in. It allows water from a tub underneath the system to run through the trays and keep all the cubes of Rockwell wet so the plants inside the cubes can get the water that they need.
Right now, we are testing to see if we add perlite (a growing medium) to about 2/3 of the trays, if the water will still be able to run through the system and keep the cubes wet. So far so good! We also are trying to see what forms of filtering will work best so that the perlite does not run through the pipe that carries the excess water back down into the tub so that it can be reused again. Our options are a roll of mesh tape to see if it will: A) filter enough, and B) stick to the system so that it doesn’t fall off due to the water running through it. After several days it is still working with the current conditions.
Many other systems are at the very ends of being set up and almost ready to be fully tested. Our foam trays that were used in the very beginning of the school year have been going over extremely well. It seems that they are almost doubling in size every day! Students have started transplanting the plants in the foam trays (lettuce) to different Rockwell cubes that are then going to go into the water culture system. Those too seem to be getting bigger every day.
Culture System. Projected Harvest: December 2nd