I Think I Want a Windowfarm, but ...
How does a Windowfarm work?
A pump on a timer moves liquid nutrient solution up to the top of each column about once every hour. The nutrient solution trickles through the plants' root systems and is recaptured in the reservoir at the bottom. Each column is its own "liquid circuit."
More on how a windowfarm works
What can I grow?
You can grow almost anything in a Windowfarm. Root vegetables like potatoes and radishes don’t work because they require dirt, and cereal plants like corn and wheat are too tall for the system. But even in low light windows, you can grow greens and herbs like sweet stevia, mint, basil, fennel, arugula, sorrel, shiso and more. You can also grow bigger plants that bear fruit, like strawberries, cherry tomatoes, scallop squash, okra, and peppers. Weight is not an issue if you trellis plants by tying them to the metal rack. We are constantly shocked by the large plants Windowfarmers grow in our online community of D-I-Y Windowfarmers. Some community members focus on medicinals, such as Chinese herbs used in acupuncture treatments, while other grow rare culinary herbs like neptilla. We hope that when you join us, you’ll expand the range of Windowfarms plants by experimenting with new varieties.
How do I maintain my Windowfarm?
Depending on your growing conditions and plant types, you may need to adjust the frequency of the maintenance and nutrient schedule. However, this is a good place to start:
How much food can I grow? Can I feed my family off of just my Windowfarm?
That would be really cool, but no. Windowfarms are not the solution to world hunger and all the food system's problems. They are one piece in a very big system. Thank goodness we are working beside thousands of other good food pioneers! It takes million of acres of land to grow enough food to feed one of us humans. Hydroponics can produce up to ten times the amount of food per square foot compared to traditional soil farming. Windowfarms help us grow a lot with the small amount of space we have. You can grow up to eight plants of whatever variety you choose in a one column system. It would take a several horizontal feet of garden space to grow eight vegetable plants, depending on which varieties you chose. Windowfarms let us understand something of what farmer's deal with every day. They help us get some hands-on experience with the way that food is grown of food, so that terms like organic start to make more sense to those of us who live far away from fields. We believe that by bringing some of these issues home to tens of thousands of people in a way that is FUN, we will have a huge impact in the food movement.
Are they loud?
No. The pump only turns on occasionally and it is essentially an aquarium air pump, like the kind that makes bubbles in a fish tank. They are designed to be quiet. So it makes about as much noise as an aquarium would.
What's included with my Windowfarm?
Windowfarms ship with everything you need to start growing, including reusable clay pellets.
Each one-column system comes with:
Nutrients, plants, seed starter plugs-- are sold separately.
* US & CA only.
Will this fit my window?
Probably. We've done a lot of surveying, and we designed the new Windowfarms to fit a lot of different kinds of windows. The systems are four feet tall, and can either hang from a hook above the window or sit on the floor, windowsill, or a shelf next to the window. They can be doubled for tall windows, with one hanging from above and one sitting below. You can also add multiple columns of Windowfarms to fill wide windows!
How do I get plants?
You can:
What about MY windows? Do they have the right conditions to grow?
Your climate-controlled living space makes a great year-round greenhouse if you can make use of natural light coming in your windows. You have to have at least some natural light and then find a good pairing of plants for your window's microclimate. That's what the community is here to help you do. Heat and humidity in the air around your windows changes with the seasons. Try to give your plants the best possible air circulation and plan your farm to account for your "local conditions." If you have low light, stick to herbs and greens. If you have a sunny south-facing window, you can progress toward growing more challenging plants that bear fruit like peppers, strawberries, and cherry tomatoes. If your windows get very little light or only indirect light, you may want to purchase LED growlights from us at some point in the future.
I want more than one Windowfarm. Will they fit?
If you are going to use your Windowfarm with the base stand, its about 16" diameter. But if you are going to hang it, the reservoir at the bottom is 8" diameter. We like to leave at least 8" between columns but you can put them really close together, with about 3” between if you prefer. It depends whether you want to leave room for light to come in the windows, or use them as "living blinds."
But what about the water-bottle Windowfarms? Where are they going?
Water bottle Windowfarms are not going anywhere. Spreading the DIY for the planet is our mission. You can get access to opensource designs, and contribute to our thriving DIY community. This new product helps us to financially support our mission and our 25,000+ member website. This new design allows us to to open the project to people who are not "McGuyvers."
We can also vastly lower the price with this new version. Waterbottle Windowfarms might have looked inexpensive but they were actually costly for us to produce. We had to charge $249 for a two column water bottle kit with bottles sourced from the trash! Ultimately, we want to suport the DIYers in building your own systems, and for everyone else, there's a beautiful easy product that lets them skip directly to growing.
Why is hydroponically grown food healthier and tastier?
In traditional soil farming, good dirt makes food taste more delicious and have higher nutritional value. But you’ve either got good dirt or you don’t, and sometimes it’s hard to tell. In a hydroponic Windowfarm, you can choose the nutrients that feed your food, and you can even customize nutrients for strawberries, kale, or tomatoes. We recommend ocean-derived natural and organic nutrient solutions, which bring a rich diversity of ancient minerals that are difficult to find in over cultivated fields. Ground seaweed, molasses, sea bird guano, and compost tea are common organic ingredients. As a community, we are also pioneering new pairings of nutrient solutions with tasty heirloom varietals to revive biodiversity for future generations.
Is the plastic BPA safe?
Yes! They are made of BPA free and food-safe, recycled, and recyclable plastics. Windowfarms use #5 PP, and we are implementing additional processes that will make them even more safe . . . more than your toothbrush, your baby's bottle, or aluminum water bottles. However, there is a lot of erroneous information out there on this subject.
My windows are pretty cold. Will it work for me?
If you live in a cold climate and you do not have any climate control in your home, then it may not work for you. If your windows are breezy or cool, that's just fine.You will need to select plants that like colder conditions. We have found that a lot of schools in cold areas turn the power off at night and temperature drop drastically, in which case you may need to place a warmer on a timer under your nutrient reservoir. If the nutrients stay within the recommended temperature range and keep plants' roots warm, the top part of the plant can be exposed to pretty cold "indoor weather."
Can I put my Windowfarm outside?
Maybe, but Windowfarms are really designed for indoor growing. Rain can get into your nutrient reservoir and can upset the balance. Wind may also be an issue. We recommend that if you have outdoor space that is warm enough to grow year-round, you stick with good old soil growing.
I live in New York. Can I pick up my new Windowfarm when it's ready?
Unfortunately, no. Windowfarms will not be available for pick-up locally as the fulfillment will be done from the location where the new product is being manufactured.
How much power do Windowfarms use?
Not much. Windowfarms have been designed from the ground up to beat the carbon footprint of typical grocery store produce. We are still collecting data to see where we are with this goal, but early evidence looks good. We have found that Windowfarms use about $8 worth of power per year here in New York. They are low power because we use a low wattage air pump to move water, and the pump is turned on only a few times per day. When you compare this energy with the total carbon use of grocery store produce, which requires petroleum based fertilizers and pesticides, tractors, greenhouse heating for winter production, transportation, and refrigeration both at the store and at your home, you realize that that’s a lot of power associated with the few sprigs of basil we buy and let go to waste in the fridge. Instead, grow your own and have the joy of living produce at home all the time! If you’re interested in helping us research this further, please visit our community site and join the conversation!