While we have a large garden space, we also have a very short growing season. In an effort to grow food year-round, I will need a means to grow indoors during our long winters.
If I want to grow a lot of food indoors and not take up a lot of floor space, I have to grow vertically. To that end, I have been experimenting with Areoponics.
You have likely heard of Aquaponincs where the plant roots are grown in moving water, (soil-less) with nutrients provided by fish.
You have also heard of hydroponics where the plant roots are grown in moving water, (soil-less) with nutrients provided by a nutrient solution.
But with Aeroponics, the plant roots spend most of their time in the "air" and are briefly "misted" and saturated by the same nutrient solution used in hydroponics. Aeroponics is also "soil-less"
The goal is to grow food in
less space,
Using 90% less water,
Being Soil-less,
Grow veggies 3X faster than soil grown veggies
Grow veggies that are more nutrient rich than soil grown veggies
To design and build my own Aeroponic system rather than buying expensive Aeroponic towers
To accomplish this, I designed the pieces I needed and used my 3D printers (using veggie based PLA material) to print the parts. Below are photos the detail my experiments thus far and in an outdoor setting as a proof of concept. When moved indoors, it will require, LED grow lights.
This first prototype will allow my to grow 40 full sized veggie plants in a foot print that measures 16" x 16" (a bit more than 1 1/2 square feet)
I could go higher and grow 50 veggie plants in the same small foot print.
Im recycling, food grade, 5 gallon buckets and parts I make on my 3D printers (the part that holds the plants during growth) Here are some pictures of the set up and early, outdoor results.
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If I want to grow a lot of food indoors and not take up a lot of floor space, I have to grow vertically. To that end, I have been experimenting with Areoponics.
You have likely heard of Aquaponincs where the plant roots are grown in moving water, (soil-less) with nutrients provided by fish.
You have also heard of hydroponics where the plant roots are grown in moving water, (soil-less) with nutrients provided by a nutrient solution.
But with Aeroponics, the plant roots spend most of their time in the "air" and are briefly "misted" and saturated by the same nutrient solution used in hydroponics. Aeroponics is also "soil-less"
The goal is to grow food in
less space,
Using 90% less water,
Being Soil-less,
Grow veggies 3X faster than soil grown veggies
Grow veggies that are more nutrient rich than soil grown veggies
To design and build my own Aeroponic system rather than buying expensive Aeroponic towers
To accomplish this, I designed the pieces I needed and used my 3D printers (using veggie based PLA material) to print the parts. Below are photos the detail my experiments thus far and in an outdoor setting as a proof of concept. When moved indoors, it will require, LED grow lights.
This first prototype will allow my to grow 40 full sized veggie plants in a foot print that measures 16" x 16" (a bit more than 1 1/2 square feet)
I could go higher and grow 50 veggie plants in the same small foot print.
Im recycling, food grade, 5 gallon buckets and parts I make on my 3D printers (the part that holds the plants during growth) Here are some pictures of the set up and early, outdoor results.
