Boswyck Farms » hydroponics

January Planting

sara — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:59:43 +0000

Here at Boswyck Farms, we decided to start the year off right – by planting a variety of peppers! We followed up last week with another round of planting which included red cabbage, echinacea, lavender, nasturtium, and fennel. We are all about sharing here, so we want to share the progress of our little seedlings as they grow – from planting to harvest – with you!

Drilled Holes in the Tray

First, we had to pick out a nice, sturdy tray for our red cabbage and its friends.

We used an electric drill to make holes in the tray for good drainage – about 4 rows of 4 holes in no particular pattern.

We cut away any excess material created from drilling with scissors.

Soaking the Rock Wool

Next, we placed a sheet of rock wool into the tray, and soaked it well with water. After soaking it, we let it sit on a towel for about 5 minutes to let the water absorb completely. This makes the tray pretty heavy!

Finally, it was time for planting. We chose our seeds and got to work.

Planting the Seeds

The rock wool sheet has pre-made holes for seeds to go straight in. Each hole in the sheet takes one seed – which can be tricky because some types of seeds are super tiny – like the cabbage. Of course we don’t want to waste any seeds by dropping them or putting too many in one hole, so this can be a little time consuming (but loads of fun!)

Once our seeds were safely planted in their new homes, we moved the entire tray over to the seedling bed. This bed has a lower hanging light, since these guys are just starting out and won’t need so much room just yet.

Into the Seedling Bed - Week 1

Additionally, we needed to make a customized cover for the edges of the bed (the white part you see around the edges there). By using a sheet of PVC , a straight edge, and a box cutter, it was pretty easy to measure and cut out a piece of PVC that would cover the edges up. This cover prevents water from evaporating and greatly reduces algae growth.

There was already another tray in this bed – which are the peppers that were planted the previous week (the tray in the back of the photo to the right). You can see the peppers were already starting to sprout up.

Now let’s take a look at how these guys are doing THIS week!

Cabbage & Friends -Week 2 Growth

WOW!! The cabbage is coming along nicely! The rest of the gang is also making a good effort. Some seeds just take a little longer to sprout than the others, which is fine, because this group is staying in the seedling bed for about another week before getting transplanted.

Cabbage Closeup - Week 2

The peppers were also coming along very nicely, and it was time to graduate them to a bigger bed where they will have more space to grow.

What we did was take the pepper tray out, and cut out each plant in a little cube (keeping it in the rock wool, of course), then transplanting it into a 2″ pot where they can then fit nicely into a floating raft on a bigger bed. We only transplanted those that had sprouted.

Transplanted Peppers

We have a ton of peppers, and there are a few different types including hot varieties and sweet varieties. In order to know which ones were which we labeled and separated them with bright green tape.

Can’t wait to taste these guys!

Stay tuned for next week’s update on this round of crops!

Boswyck Farms Makes an Appearance on NY1!

sara — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:35:36 +0000

Boswyck Farms is proud to be a part of an ongoing project with United Cerebral Palsy. Check out our recent cameo on NY1, where you can see our Operational Hydroponicist Alex Middleton giving a lecture on the basics of hydroponics, and part of our hydroponic set up at the facility.

Watch the 2 minutes clip from NY1 here.

CDSC Workshop with The Brooklyn Food Coalition

sara — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:39:00 +0000

On November 19, 2011, Boswyck Farms lead a Soda Bottle Workshop and “Intro to Hydroponics” lecture at the Child Development Support Corporation (CDSC) in collaboration with the Brooklyn Food Coalition.

Our very own Lee, Alex M., and Chloe were thrilled to have a full house of community members from the Brooklyn Food Coalition at the CDSC, who were interested in learning the basic principles of hydroponics, and were able to get hands on experience creating their very own mini-hydroponic set up via soda bottle.

The workshop was just a part of Boswyck Farm’s commitment to sharing hydroponics with the community through teaching and example.

The range of community members who attended was truly impressive – from children, to teachers, to food justice activists, to senior citizens and even community members from other neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and Clinton Hill. We were so happy to see such diversity – reinforcing our belief that hydroponics can be learned and enjoyed by just about anyone.

Boswyck Farm’s work with the CDSC began in February of 2011, when the partnership was formed to provide fresh produce for the food pantry, and give children a unique hands-on learning experience with hydroponics.

Nancy from the Brooklyn Food Coalition provided everyone with a wonderful lunch, including cauliflower-cheddar soup and homemade cornbread. Yum!!

Check out the rest of the photos from the event here!

The Friday Farm Report, a few days late

Joanna — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:45:49 +0000

August 19, 2010

By Joanna

This report is a little late in coming. The beginning of August found us waist-deep in workshops, not to mention planting, harvesting an incredible amount of Fine Verde basil and experimenting with a bucket flood & drain system.

Thanks to Growing Leaders, who are partnered with BK Farmyards this summer, for being the first group to participate in the soda bottle workshop in our space. Up to now we’ve always held our workshops off-site. You showed us that our magical, expandable kitchen table isn’t just for dining. It transforms nicely into a workbench. We’d also like to give a big thanks to Heather Butts for bringing several young adults from her program, H.E.A.L.T.H. for Youths.

[[Show as slideshow] click on an image to watch in the dark using arrow keys]

For more information on our educational program contact joanna@boswyckfarms.org.

Swing by for a visit

Joanna — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:25:03 +0000

Summer is here and we know you’re looking for a fun morning or afternoon trip. We’re open for visits year-round but why not schedule one now? You can see our indoor R&D lab and we’ll also take you to our rooftop installation at the Bushwick Starr. Email lee@boswyckfarms.org to set up a time. Hope to see you soon!

All that is yummy

Joanna — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:56:44 +0000

6/20/10

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.

[[Show as slideshow] click on an image to watch in the dark using arrow keys]

Bushwick Open Studios a Resounding Success

Joanna — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 19:21:57 +0000

June 7, 2010

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!

Woot! We’re on CNN

Joanna — Sat, 22 May 2010 19:02:57 +0000

May 22, 2010

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!

Boswyck Farms Talks to The Naturalist

Joanna — Mon, 10 May 2010 12:05:28 +0000

5/10/2010

Today Lee and Chloë will be interviewed by Bernie Wides on his show, The Naturalist. They’ll be talking about hydroponics, the work we do at the farm and our upcoming programs. The show airs between 12:00 and 12:30. Tune in if you can. It will also be available as a podcast.

The Naturalist is a daily radio program on Heritage Radio Network.

Boswyck Farms Rocks NYC Grows

Joanna — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 17:40:04 +0000

We like to give a big thanks to NYC Grows for inviting us to participate in this year’s festival. A huge event that marked the end of Earth Week celebrations in the city, it drew urban farmers, community gardeners, eco-crafters, sustainable technology creators, chickens(!) and more.

The day dawned with a torrential downpour–the gutters ran with deep streams of water, Union Square was a giant puddle. Nevertheless, Lee and Chloë packed up the clown car with our mobile kitchen cart, tubes, buckets, pumps and plants. With a table strapped to the roof they drove from Bushwick to meet Joanna for what turned out to be a great day, despite the deluge.

To be honest, the weather about killed our excitement. With rain pouring off the roof of our tent, we wondered–with the slightest hint of irony–if it was necessary to find water to fill our hydroponic systems. We decided it was and as Joanna went off with buckets she heard it remarked more than once, “Why is that woman looking for water?”

Late morning brought a surprising twist of fate. The sky became less ominous and the rains let up. By noon we had people swinging by our tent to see what was happening. We had several homemade demo systems on display. We set up our large NFT system in the front of the tent. Our aeroponics system was going strong and a huge, hot pepper plant was growing in our drip system. (We grow all our plants from heirloom seeds.) People were psyched as Lee and Chloë explained the beauty and relative simplicity of home hydroponics. We’re pretty confident we won some converts.

The other big seller was our free “build your own passive hydroponic system” workshops run by Joanna. Made from recycled soda bottles, gaffers tape and cotton rope these systems are a perfect way to introduce hydroponics. (We often use them in our school programs.) We originally envisioned the workshop to be for kids but it turned out that lots of adults wanted in on the action. Approximately 30 soda bottle systems were built and planted with basil. People also left with a package of nutrients and Chloë’s Boswyck Farms pesto recipe.

The only downside of the day was that we weren’t able to break out our one-of-a-kind mobile kitchen cart. It was just too wet to have people kneeling on the ground to make farm fresh pesto.

All in all we had a fabulous time. We hope to get the chance to participate in next year’s NYC Grows. In the meantime, keep checking back to see what we’re up to.