The title pretty much says it all so I’ll start off this report with the obvious: our last sunflower has died. I’m sort of sad as I love sunflowers. At least we’ve learned that 2 giant sunflowers in one pot on a very hot roof = a bad ending. On to happy news.

Round 2 of radishes has begun. We had a great harvest 2 weeks ago and are excited to taste this batch (except for me because I don’t like radishes).

Out with the old, in with the new. Bye to our tomatoes in the aeroponic system. We’ve replaced that whole system with a bucket flood and drain. Lee planted a new batch of tomatoes, which I am very excited to eat.

Our outdoor NFT system is looking fabulous with sage, Swiss chard, kale and more. Lee snapped some very pretty pictures of them after a rainfall.

Thanks to LunchNYC for shooting at the farm last week. We’ll be on an upcoming show. Details to follow.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!

By Joanna

We just wanted to say many thanks to everyone who attended this past Sunday’s workshop, Getting Started With Hydroponics. We had people from all walks of life including teachers, architects and even a lactation specialist. Our participants asked great questions and were pros at building drip systems.

If you were at the workshop (or attended earlier ones), please take pictures of the plants growing in your systems and send them to us!

About a month ago Lee built a vertical system which we planted with strawberries. They are happy in their new home and about 2 weeks ago began to flower. Even though they aren’t quite ready we did a small tasting this past Tuesday. The result? A little tart but a lot delicious. Our Caribbean Red Cabanero peppers have ripened and they are…hot. We’re looking forward to pickling! Our Red Zebra tomatoes were harvested and are pretty and delicious.

Bushwick Open Studios was this past weekend. Hot and humid as it was we threw open the doors to the farm, inviting people in to see our seven different hydroponic systems. Those who came got to eat a little of our arugula, watercress and lettuce, not to mention Lee’s homemade and perfectly salted popcorn. (Our peppers and tomatoes were not quite ripe enough to sample but should be there momentairly so make arrangements to visit if you want a taste.) The recently planted strawberries have taken to their new vertical system and we were happy so many people admired how pretty they looked. Several people made hydroponic planters out of recycled soda bottles, seeded them with the basil of their choice and took them home to start a windowsill garden.

A tip of our hat to the peeps over at Arts in Bushwick for organizing another fabulous event. We’re looking forward to next year’s open studios!

We had another great visit from a local news outlet. This time WCBS stopped by the farm to check out what we’re growing. They also took a visit to our rooftop installation over at The Bushwick Starr (which is coming along quite nicely despite the secret lettuce nibblers). Many thanks to Mary for the interview. Click here to watch.

P.S. We’ve just updated our photo gallery.

We think it proper to give ourselves a big pat on the back. In fact, we’re giving ourselves the World of Warcraft leveling “woot” because we’re part of CNN’s story on hydroponic farming.

The CNN crew took great footage of what’s happening at Boswyck Farms (the latest pictures can be seen in our gallery), on our rooftop installation at the Bushwick Starr, and of Lee, the self-named spice wimp, sampling a homegrown hot pepper. Check out the video–we’re the third segment in the story.

A tip of our hat to Britta Riley over at Window Farms who pointed CNN in our direction. Thank you!

The workshops will be held at Boswyck Farms in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The fee for the workshop is $40; the fee for materials is $55. Register for the 9/7 workshop or Register for the 9/16 workshop

Note: If you’re interested in learning about hydroponics but aren’t ready to build a system, the materials fee will be waived.