[/caption]Carol Forsloff - It isn’t cheap, but it soon might be as people are experimenting with a number of different concepts involved in window farming. For those folks wanting to get into gardening and who have just a small space, this new concept might just be the answer.
Window farming is an emerging hydroponic farming that is becoming popular among those people who want the joys of a garden but don’t have the acreage to do it. Up until now numbers of people have shared their various designs of bottles and rods and timers and other equipment that allow plants to grow in a vertical fashion in a window, which they call window farming.
These same folks are coming up with a standard kit that has all the essentials for window farming. It is a modular system and can be adapted to fit most windows, according to the description in Gizmag. The system, it is said, requires very little maintenance and costs about $8/year to run.
A one column Classic Windowfarms kit costs US$119.95, that includes four plant containers, four net cups, a metal frame, an air pump, plumbing tubes, a hanger and a stand, a timer, a reservoir and cover, and some clay pellets. A larger system can be had for $269.
Kickstarter is the creator of Window Farms, allowing backers to purchase kits for as little as $99. The company explains its offer as this: “Order your windowfarm today, and join our 22,000+ global community members at Windowfarms.org to share your growing experiences. Conversations center on identifying the "micro-climate" of your windows and finding a good match amongst the huge varieties of herbs, greens, vegetables, fruits, and medicinals available. You can also choose a reward that includes nutrients and baby plant delivery of our favorite, well-tested varieties to ensure that your Windowfarms are always producing fresh herbs, greens, and other edibles.
Windowfarms.org lists a number of plants that can grow well in a window. These include kale, lettuce, basil, strawberries, chamomile, stevia, peas, sage, dill, cress, Swiss chard, squash, or any other plants without roots. The organization also offers a community chat and forum as well as instructions on hydroponics.
Those people who live in condominiums and apartments can’t complain they don’t have space for a garden, as new methods continue to be developed that allow people to enjoy fresh food they raise right under their roof. Growing a garden in a window is another way to simplify one’s life, get back to basics, go green and save money on groceries too.
