Starting Seedlings in Growblocks

It has been quite some time since my last post. Obviously, a lot has been done since then. I am working on connecting the pipes with a plastic tube so the water can "stair step" down the pipes. Doing this properly was of particular concern because I do not want the system to overflow, be filled with too much water, or have too little water.

The plan to connect the pipes is to put PVC end caps on the ends of each tube, and run a 1 inch plastic tube through the cap. By doing so the water in the pipe will flow to the next pipe when the water reaches the height of the plastic tube. I have already drilled a 15/16th inch hole into each end cap. However, the win problem is making the tube fit snug so the water would not leak out.

Despite this roadblock, I still continued to start some seeds so that by the tim the system is running with water, there will be something to grow. I began by soaking small grow blocks in water with a dash of lemon juice. The purpose of this is to change the pH of the grow blocks, so the environment is neither to acidic nor basic when the seeds are put in the blocks. Pictured above are the grow blocks sitting on a support structure within a tray with a dome. The purpose of the support is that the roots will not grow flat, and around the blocks. If they have room to grow down, they will do so. Pictured on the left is the pH measurement of the water I used to soak the grow blocks, about 6.  

Pictured above are the seeds when they first started out. I kept them in a humidity dome for obvious reason. I  also kept my Sunblaze Growlight on the the entire day. Some may argue that this is not good for the plants. However, there are differing opinions on the topic as to wether they should have periods of darkness. I am one to believe that constant lighting is best. 

After several days, the seeds began to germinate. I took off the humidity dome because I feared the growth of fungus, bacteria, etc. Also, as seen in the picture above. The seedlings seem to be "stretched". This "stretching" is not favorable and results from a lack of light. As you can see, I moved the light significantly closer because the strength of a light source relative to distance either increases or decreases (depending on which direction you move the light) exponentially. After 20 hours, the stems began to stop stretching. 

Here are the plants after several more days of growth. As you can see, more leaves have grown and they are less "stretched".  Another sign of a healthy plant but not pictured is a healthy root system. The rots are long, thick, and branching outwards, One of the benefits of growing lettuces are that the nutrient requirement are relatively low. Maybe this explains the low nutritional profile of lettuces compared to other greens such as spinach?

Once the roots grew out, I transferred the plants into small grow cups with slits on the bottom. Surrounding the plants are clay pebbles, often referred to as hydration. Hydroton is very popular because it is inexpensive, works well, and allows for aeration. The purpose of hydration is to support the stems of the plants. I transferred these lettuces as the stems began to droop sideways. This also happened to be to ideal time to do so - The second pair of leaves was beginning to grow. Pictured above is a very healthy looking plant. I still have them sitting in the tray, but without the support structure. Hopefully the system will be up and running soon so these plants can be transferred. 

Constructing the Pipes in an Aquaponics System

Today I finished drilling holes into the pipes. There process of drilling the holes was unexpectedly easy. Also, it was rather quick. To clarify, we are using 4 inch triple wall drain pipes, each ten feet long. In the end, we will have 11 plants growing in each tube for a total of 33 plants. Eventually, I hope to expand the system to have two pipes running side by side for a total of 66 plants.

Looking towards the future, there is still a lot that needs to be done until I can begin to grow something in the system. First, I will need to buy tubing to connect the pipes for the water to drain through. Then, I will need to attach the end caps to the tubing.

An Update After Some Work Today

Just an update with a few pictures of the most recent work on the aquaponics system.

Here is one of the stands the pipes will be resting on. To completely finish them, we will have to add the support boards to the bottom, as pictured above. 

Here are the pipes we will be using. 

Beginning to Build an Aquaponic System

After a few weeks of careful planning, I have finally managed to pool together the resources needed to build my aquaponics system. Some changes were made to the design in order to maximize the amount of space I have available. The major change will be extending the length of the tubing so the system is an entire ten feet long.

Another change being made will be the use of free standing support structures to hold up the tubing. This decision was made to be able to hold the 10 foot pipes up in a sturdy fashion. Another adjustment I made was using caps at the end of the tubing, sealed with a hose clamp. This will allow me to more easily adjust the height of the water inside the tube, which will be very important because I do not intend to flood the plants.

One note about the supports holding the tubes: These were a little tricky because we want the tubes to be slanted slightly downwards so the water moves down the system like a stepping down a stair. So on the right hand side, the highest tube will be 6 ft in the air, the middle 4.5 ft, and the lowest, 3 ft. This must be taken into account by making the support at the opposite end of the tubing hold the pipe at 5'11", the middle tube at 4'7", and the bottom tube at 2'11".

Now that I have explained some changes in the system design, here are some photos of the building process:

Cutting the Wood for the Supports

Drilling together the support for the tubes. 

All of our supplies sitting in one place. 

Aquaponics System Blueprints!

Hi and welcome to my blog. Since this is my third post, I will fill you in on some information about this project. I am designing and building a  hydroponic system for my school. The food grown cannot be used in the school cafeteria. I have decided to donate the majority of the produce grown.

I have developed a design for the system, and need some feedback. I am looking for ways which I can improve the way the system works, if the design is feasible, and if it is not, what can I change to make it work. 3 inch pvc piping would be used (the sheet says 4 in.)  and I would cut 2 inch holes into the pipe to place the netted cups into. The water would be pumped from the reservoir to the upmost pipe on the right hand side. The water would be pulled down the pipes by gravity and empty into the reservoir on the left hand side of the system.

I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

Ideas for the Growing System

Hi there! Today I would like to share some of the ideas involving the growing system I am going to set up in my school. First, the produce grown would be sold to the cafeteria. The money would be put back into the system to make improvements. Second, I plan on the system to be Aquaponic based, using fish waste as the source nutrients. The only problem is that I am not sure what to do with the fish once they die. Can they be harvested before they die, depending on the fish used? If you have any experience with this in a school or non-school environment, I would appreciate your ideas.

Modern Agriculture: An Introduction

Hello, my name is Matt and on this blog, I am going to share with you my experience starting an indoor growing system at my school. To provide some context, I am a junior in high school and have been interested in hydroponics for several years now. My passion started during the summer going into seventh grade. I wanted to have the best science fair project that year. I did a ten week experiment testing the growth of peppers being grown in a hydroponic system as opposed to being grown in soil. I did well in the science fair, however, my eighth grade project titled "Parabolic Reflection" won multiple awards. Since then, I have monitored my own hydroponic system in my basement. Now, I have the opportunity to start a hydroponic system in my school. I feel the need to share my experience with others who might want to do something very similar in their school.