School ponics meets home ponics

Shoolponics on the wall

Until last week, the School Ponics system was enjoying an outdoor summer and beginning fall, but last week end, the schoolponic moved out of Quaint's back patio. Originally, the schoolponic systems was to spend the summer in quaint, and move back to the Bronx Writing Academy, once the fall school semester started. However, this did not happen. The school decides that hydroponic was not fitting their school projects, therefore, the indoor garden could not continue.    Although, after spending the summer and part of the fall at Quaint, I recovered the system and brought it home. I am now looking for another school to continue the project, but in the time being, I am trying to keep the plants installed by the 6 graders form Bronx writing academy live and producing.    So after the last harvest, I brought the system home, but in a new York city apartment, one has to find a space management solution!

Bronx Writing Academy - Students journals

During the spring project, Amrita (Bronx Writing Academy teacher) and I asked the group of 6 grade students to write a few lines after each session summarizing what they have done, how they felt and what they think on that day.
Here are a few excerpt form the notebooks.


3/11/15
Today we were building the frame. I learned how to measure the center [on the piece of wood we used to build the frame]. I drew a X on the wood, the center of the X is the center. I like how we made the legs of the machine [frame], this will make it stand up. Sebastian

We are building a sort of table to grow the plants in hydroponics. One thing I liked is that we build

Update on the composting systems

Its been now 9 months that the indoor worm composting experiment has started. During these 6 months the small Styrofoam (very) mini box grew to a slightly bigger composting crate, then expanded into a soy sauce bucket for the Bronx Writing Academy, and 3 (very) mini worm bin. All of that, in an apartment, with no odour, escapees or inconvenience.
In 9 months, 50 kg (110lbs) of food scraps, 16kg (35 lbs) of paper-cardboard and wood dust (dry weight) have been diverted from landfills and transformed on 20 kg (44 lbs) of compost.

The school hydroponics moved to a new neighborhood for the summer!

Today I was able to set up to system at Quaint, a Sunnyside, Queens restaurant!

The start of the journey of few bloks on wheels,

The hardest part was to pile everything on a dolly and get it to the door.

Hydroponic at the Bronx Writing Academy, be prepared to be WOWed by 11years old kids.

Last week ## edit  now already 3 weeks ago## of the project with the Bronx Writing Academy and Citizen Schools was quite eventful!

A student taking interest in her schoolmates accomplishments

This last week was the WOW! The WOW! Is the culmination of the programs that Citizen Schools offers, and plays out in a unique show, product or showcase by the students. For the Hydroponic apprenticeship, the WOW! was planned to be a public showcase, right in front of the school, to show the community what the students had accomplished.

Bronx Writing accademy - hydroponics in the news !

This week was quite exiting: the local Bronx news Chanel took an interest in our project. Wednesday, a journalist came to the class and did some filming and interviewed a few students. The students where actually quite amazing as they kept "business as usual" passed the first few moments of excitement after seeing the camera.

A quick shot during the class

The news post (click to read)

The TV broadcast:

EXITING !

Earth day Hangout with JT Bear at the Bronx Writing Academy.

This afternoon was quite a day at the Bronx Writing academy!
After watching and discussing what earth day is/means, we had a hangout session with JT Bear. JT Bear is a gentle man from the west cost of Canada, who has youtube channel where he talks about his aquaponic set-up without hiding the problems he runs into.
We had a great time ! the students where a bit shy at the beginning, but they started to show what they had built, from top to bottom, explaining how the water flows from the bucket to the towers, as well as the difference between how on system is fed using store bought fertilizer and the other using compost tea. They showed in detail the different plants growing in the system : lettuce, spinach,"cabage" (actually Swiss chard), basil, cilantro, parsley, basil, and strawberries.

Collard Greens Harvest

After

Before

We decided it was time to harvest the collard greens.

As you can see, the 2 plants got quite stripped!

See the bounty below!

System Completed at the bronx writing accademy!

That's it! The system at the Bronx Writing Academy is completed!

In the past 3 weeks we have been building 2 hydroponic system using mainly re-purposed material with a group of student at the Bronx Writing Academy. We had a slow start the first week with 6 students in the classroom, but the students are enjoying it, so each week there was a couple more students joining the class. This week, we had 10 out of the 12 students who signed up in the apprenticeship!

In the past 4 weeks, we have learned how to use some tools (hand drill, screw diver, woodworking square, ect ...), we also learned the basic ideas that explains how an hydro/aquaponic system works, and how plants use water, CO2 and sunlight to produce sugars. We also learned about Ron Findley, a Los Angelino who started to grow food on sidewalks and explain his story in a TED talk.

Quick update on the Bronx Writing Academy Project

The construction is almost over ! in the last 2 weeks, we built 2 frames to hold the grow-beds using re-purposed wood from a futon, an old build-in cabined, and a bed frame, and placed the half buckets in it. 
The apprenticeship has 12 student signed up, we started with 6 student the first week, then 8, and last Wednesday we had 10 students. So I think we can call that a success
! students are coming in increasing numbers! Her are some picts of students hard at work !

Tower farm update - Collards greens are growing and growing!

The tower farm is doing great, The collard greens growth burst is accelerating, it has put 4 mores leaves on this week (yes 4!!!), the green onions are going too, and the parsley actually put on a new leaf for the first time in
almost 5 weeks! Also the pepper has a tiny new leaf growing - it seems to have recovered from the rough handling
of the tower a few weeks back
The collard greens are really inexpressively growing in the last 2 weeks, they put out new leaves, and the leaves are getting quite big! see below - click to change the pics at your own pace

Hydro /Vermi ponic system building at the school has started!

The students working hard!

Yesterday was the first session with the students at the Bronx writing Academy!
A small group of student joined the apprenticeship that we offer about hydroponics. The overall goal of the apprenticeship its to have the student understand what local food can be, and why it is sustainable compared to foods coming from 1000's of miles away.
Other goals are for the student to

the build of the day

learn how plants grow, what do they need to grow, how one can grow plants without soil. After introducing a bit more about what aquaponics is and showing a couple of videos showing important points on how an hydroponic/aquaponic system works. Then I pulled out the tools and the material and we all go building!
This sessions there was 6 students, 4 worked with the school teacher that accompanies us, and 2 worked with me. Our objective for the day was to build the frame that will support the grow beds, and put it on legs. It didn't exactly work that way, we got to build the frames though! First I showed them how to mark the center of a piece of wood, how to bore a hole with a mechanical hand drill, and how to use auto-piercing screws. The group working with the teacher build on of the frames, the other students and I build a second one.

The worm experiment update #2

The 3 bins on top of the flow through crate

A few weeks back, I have started the experiment suggested by Bentley compost guy. The basic idea, is to take 2 juvenile worms, and let then grow and reproduce in a small container.
Since I have started the experiment, I set up 3 bins, 1 with 2 juveniles, 1 with one juvenile (some worms may be able to auto reproduce) and 1 with a mature worm (mature worm may be fertilized, so we should be able to see population growth there).  The mini bins have been checked every 10 days, and until yesterday's check, I have not seen any cocoons.

A revolution: Grow Food in the city

This is a small sideshow that the students will see tomorrow at the Bronx Writing Academy

If you want to support my project with the school, but that you can't volunteer, you can give a donation to Chfermette see the donation button on the top right corner. Any donation will be used to finance a trip to one of NYC rooftop farms or to insure the continuation of the project after the end of the spring semester. Also, I am in the process of making it a non profit. Please If you enjoy the blog content, comment and/or subscribe.

The vertical farm's update - compost tea a valid nitrogen source ?

Collard green is getting huge (kind of)

 The vertical farm is growing along, I am not sure if it is the days starting to get longer, or my experimenting with the compost tea, but here is what is happening: the collard greens and green onions have grown quite a lost since last update. Especially the collard greens, I might have a mini-salad or something soon.

Hydro(vermi)Ponic @ Bronx Writing Academy

Since last fall, I have been volunteering for Citizen Schools as a Citizen Teacher (that how they call us volunteers). By the end of the fall semester, I proposed (because some student showed interest) an apprenticeship to learn about - build - and grow  hydroponically plants. Earlier this week was the first meeting to organize the apprenticeship and meet with the school teacher that will accompanying me (us if i find a another volunteer within the next few days).

*** If you are interested in volunteering - or know someone, let me know! even if you have little experience your help will be appreciated ****

Compost Tea update - brewing seem to consume the nitrates!

Last week when I tested the compost tea, There was a quite high reading of nitrite and nitrate. The interesting thing is, Even if I gradually increase how much compost I add for the tea, i didn't see it increasing progressively. One thing was quite different though: we had a guest at home, so i got to brewing the tea only on Sunday late in the evening, and let it brew only for about 2 hours. So it got me thinking: what if, there is some nitrate at detectable level in the compost, but that it is used in some way by the living organisms during the brewing process ?

General update the vertical ponic plants and nutrients, the worm crate, bucket and worm- challenges

The star collard greens

I think it is time for a new update about my indoor gardening endeavor.

Worm challenge - update 1

The bedding has compacted

It's the end of the first week of the worm challenge, so I could'nt help myself that opening the container, spread things around and look for the worms to see if they survived there first few days.

 And the answer is : (drum roll) 

Look what I found sticking out of the worm bucket for the school !

2 leaves stretching for light!

And actually more seed have germinated in there :
 2 other tiny seedlings

 Sadly, I've broken the leave when I closed the bucket back ..

The 2 worm challenge

See my little helper checking my work.

Around 3 weeks ago, the redwormcomposting.com guy posted a new experiment. The experiment consists in setting a small container with 2- only 2 - immature worms. The goal is to see how fast can the worm population expand from these 2 founders.

The worms have to be immature, as mature worms can carry fertilized eggs, which may skew the experiment. 

Vertical farm and compost update

This week, the tower farm is continuing to grow. I had to add about half a gallon of water to top of, the green onions are growing like crazy in the bottom of the tower. the rest keeps growing at its rate, except the parsley that is kind of stagnant.
On the nutrient side, I have just brewed some compost tea using 2 cups and 1/4 of worm compost in 1 quart of water, and nitrite and nitrate still read below the detection level in the compost tea , however, in the system, the level of nitrate is increasing. I did add 4 mL of ammonia last week, and again this week, but I think next week I will not add any, and see what happens. I recall that during December, I was adding 1 mL everyday of ammonia and it didn't seem to increase nitrates at all, I am starting to think that the compost tea brings some nitrogen in the system, but not in the form of ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, but that the system processes it into nitrate. Also, there is a little pick of nitrite.

The ponic system, 3 months in!

Collard green BIIG

Tomato and pepper seedlings

It has now been 3 months that the ponic system has been build. In these first 3 months I have lost a few plants, but also harvested a few parsley leaves. This all time the system has run on compost tea and ammonia. The plants seem fine, but a few are not as green as one would expect, but it is indoor, in the middle of the winter, with some artificial lighting that may not be sufficient.

First year of indoor composting (ok not year, just 4 months)

The compost

Worm crate

One day, my beloved lady suggested I'd start a worm composting bin. After coming back from my utter surprise, I quickly started the bin. That was back in august. After a modest start with 2 packs of worms form a fish bait shop, I got a half pound or red wigglers from the Lower East Side Ecology Center. I applied the basic principles gleaned from the Internet experts and a dose of common sense (or so I hope). So there is the results from the first "year":

Input: 1 pound and 3ounces of worms (the bait shop worms included)

           5 kg (11 pounds) - dry weigh - of paper, cardboard, wood dust, dried leaves (actually more than that since i started to record this only later)

           20 kg (45 pounds) of diverse food scraps, including supposed no-noes like onion peel, lemon, garlic ... in moderation, there is no problem really, and anything else vegetable based, and used coffee grounds

           Unknown amount of water - as I almost always put the scraps in the blender, I add some water for the blender to be able to do its job

Output: 3.18 kg (7 pounds) of dark moist earthy smelling dirt!

The crate is fairly small (~1 x 1.5 x 1 ft, or 11 gallons, or 31 x 48 x 31 cm, or 46 L); and because it is indoor, I have been prudent in adding too much food (~140 g a day or 0.3 lbs in average) . If I can, I'd like to experiment with a larger system, maybe 2 x 3 x 2 feet and see how much can be put in it while following a similar feeding rate (I guess per surface unit).

The compost was used for a couple of house plants, to start seeds, and to brew compost tea. With the solids left from making compost tea -which contains some small worms and cocoons - I just started a composting bucket for the school project.

Happy New year and update

Happy new year! Agoucha, Toon, Neko [pronounce N- e (like the first e of there) ko (like in in loCO)] and I wish everyone a healthy and happy new year!

The tower farm keeps growing slowly and surely! Some plants seems that they are really liking it there, especially  the collard greens. I Also am pretty sure that I need to add more light to the system. Also the compost tea "experiment" is continuing, and so far it does not seem to provide significant amount of nitrates. Here is a breakdown of the state of things from top to bottom.