We have gone and done it

[possum]

some green stuff showing at last

the water tanks

[Millymollymandy]

Big tanks! And great that it is up and running and working!

[possum]

seeds are growing nicely, however after the quake we will need to re build the flood and drain table as instead of being horizontal it is the plant seedling equivalent of a roller coaster. Fortunately non of the plants were lost and the tunnel house withstood it fine.

[Green Aura]

Good to hear you're OK - I was a bit worried. I think that means we've accounted for all our NZ posse now

[NaturalBlue]

Wow, that's really impressive, I'm glad everything is working out ok for you especially post-quake
We'd really like to do something like thatvonce our wee people are a little bit older (youngest is only 2) was is difficult to get set up?
I'm looking forward to seeing the next stage
x

[possum]

we needed to get our up and running quickly so hired somone to do the installation, however had we had more time then we would have done it ourselves, especially as we now know what is involved.
There are three main parts to the system - the gulleys which you can make out of pretty well anything - drain pipes, corrigated iron etc, but because of the sheer number of them, they are expensive.
Next the pump which in our case is a swimming pool pump which moves the water around the system
The most important part is the computer which continually measures the amount of nutrient in the water and adds more when needed.

We have a second phase planned for outside which is going to use drip feeders and an area outside. We are told out "soil" is perfect for hydroponics, in other words we have no soil only pea shingle, so growing plants by supplying the water and nutrient is the only option

[becky3086]

Wow, this is just amazing. I have really enjoyed reading this and looking at the pictures.

[possum]

We have just harvested our first crop. Not enough to sell, but enough to provide a meal



and an artistic shot of the younger plants

[Millymollymandy]

Well done Possum! It's looking good.