RDPrototyping

Walkin' through the hydroponics garden, and being greeted with some tiny surprise guests (ahhh!!!) and feeling like the internet lied to me! See how the beybey plant sprouts are doing and some beautiful, graceful green pepper sprouts that look like tiny sculptures.

Getting a second harvest from the tomato monster(s)! They are looking good, still getting copper fungicide once a week and keeping it trellis'd off of the ground. Seems to be more good tomatoes and not as many eaten by caterpillars, so, maybe that's a good thing?

An incredible discovery on the internet about how to really grow some Brussels sprouts! Fast paced and exciting... like the most incredible thing you've ever seen!

A surprising follow up of using copper fungicide on the tomato monster and the unexpected event that changed all of that.

A look at some very old beets (in the garden since fall of 2023) and asking if the 4" basket was necessary, because the plant grew on top of the growing medium. Then, we make favorite beet dish and planting a fresh new tower of beet bebeys and beet sprouts! I hope this inspires you to start your own hydroponics system and enjoy the fun, flavor, and challenges!

A quick look at a few different basket options available for your hydroponics system and an attempt to compare the things that are important. I hope this makes your inner nerd happy to see that you can even math-up hydroponics things and stuff!

Bringing out the re-designed 3D printed hydroponics tower and moving in the old basil and some new sprouts (and not-sprouts) from the sun lamp. We are putting in peppermint, sage, and dill with the “pool surviving” basil. The new 3D printed hydroponics design boasts tabs on the distributor cap to help grip it for easier open/close, threaded connections, and loop holes to tie it down so it doesn’t fly into the pool again. It still has the same great cup design and everything except the base can be printed without supports. PLA works great, the .stl files will be available on RDPrototyping.llc.

A mix-up from long ago, are these leeks, garlic, onions, or chives? I don’t know, but since it’s all edible, and since I’m looking for a change, these greens will be next on the menu! I take the time to pull one of the plants out of the tower to show the extensive and healthy root system. When the plants are healthy, everything is clean and beautiful, a miracle that I hope will inspire some of you to grow your own food!

Another update on the baby plants, with some bonus material! Most of these were planted on January 11, 2024, and put into the towers on Jan 20th, just nine days later. They have really enjoyed the nine days of sunlight, and you can see a lot of thickening and greening since they were put out. You also get a bonus update on the Brussels Sprouts and Buttercrunch! Some data for my technical friends: --Tomatoes, Early Girl, planted 1/11/2024, 7-10 days to sprout, 52 days to maturity. --Kale 8-12 days to sprout, planted 1/11/2024, 55-60 days to maturity --Pak Choi, planted 1/11/2024, 10-14 days to sprout, 30 days to maturity --Brussels Sprouts, planted 11/12/2024, 5-10 days to sprout, 85-110 days to maturity --Buttercrunch, planted 12/8/2024, 5-10 days to sprout, 21-65 days to maturity One errata: the Brussel Sprouts were planted Nov 12, 2023, I mis-spoke on the voice track and said Nov 11.

An exciting do-over on the broccoli soup, this time with much less of the "broccoli bark". That stuff that feels like you're chewing on a whole handful of toothpicks. It really was delicious, and I hope it inspires you to make your own hydroponics system to be self-sufficient and grow your own vegetables.

I’ve been waiting a few weeks to harvest some spinach for this tasty soufflé! Spinach, fresh dill, egg whites, a touch of organic whipping cream, salt, and olive oil. It was a real treat from the broccoli greens, and also rich in flavor! I hope this inspires you to try your own hydroponic system and discover the next-level goodness of growing your own veggies!

Joy and horror as I pick tomatoes and see my tomato monster has some funk! Possibly because I moved the basil tower next to it (the basil has some funk) or maybe some other natural causes. But, Copper Fungicide is the medicine that “Dr. Internet” has prescribed. See the very delicious unwashed no-glam tomatoes on display and on the scale. I hope this inspires you to build your own hydroponics system, you can overcome any obstacles!

Moving the systems into the sunshine. You can see that more than 2/3rds of the patio doesn’t get sunshine this time of the year, and the systems on the shady side are wanting that beautiful glow! We’re going to make them all happy in this video!

A tragedy strikes the 3D printed basil bucket, but hope springs forward in a life lesson for everyone.

Six weeks of growing butter crunch lettuce from seeds to little poofs to plants in the hydroponics tower. A lazy dialogue describing what’s happening for those of you with some time on your hands. I hope it inspires you to build your own hydroponics system and growth these delicious little miracles yourself!

My broccoli trimming mis-adventures, but still a tasty soup… what do you think?

Showing how I plant the seeds for the hydroponics towers. This uses the 2" baskets (linked in the locals account) and 42 mm netted coconut coir. Showing the seeds to starter plants for Kale, Tomatoes (2nd generation seeds from my hydro tower), and Pak Choi. I hope this inspires you to grow something!

A fun Saturday lunch, this time with broccoli greens, basil, tomatoes, eggs, olive oil and lemon juice! Delicious! I hope it inspires you to try planting and growing your own food. Especially if you don't have enough area to plant a full garden and you want more plants in less space then consider hydroponics!

This is your lazy weekend “long” lunch movie, it was such a beautiful day you can see the current progress of the plants (and problems). I saw the tomato monster has caterpillars eating them, so later I cleaned it up and traded rotten tomatoes for fresh eggs from a friend! Today’s delicious lunch was basil, broccoli greens, tomato, dill (from my mom’s hydroponic system), egg, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I hope this encourages you to build your own system!

Learn how to build a fresh water hydro tower in your backyard to grow your own fruits and vegetables effectively in a small footprint. A standard system is roughly 27x30 inches with 56 plants. You can grow healthy, sustaining foods like tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, strawberries, leeks, bok choi, herbs, squash, bell peppers, jalapeños, Brussels sprouts and more! Follow along to watch our progress as we continue to improve our systems and experiment with other fruits and vegetables to fill out our garden and our tummies.

Another throwback to early January, this time with a surprise sauce-making short. Lunch was: broccoli greens, eggs, and tomato sauce! Delicious!

Exciting early morning lunch from the hydroponics garden because this is the first green bell pepper I’ve picked! It was delicious! Crisp, rich, and oh so flavorful, truly a gift. They say only God can make a tree, well, same is true for these beautiful plants! Grow your own and see, because it’s a whole new world! Today’s lunch is: broccoli greens, tomato, green bell pepper (remember to save the seeds!), fresh basil, some more of that fresh dill from my mom’s hydroponics garden, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. If you are thinking about making your own hydroponics system but aren’t sure, then please leave questions in the comments, below! Thanks for watching!

Another lunch made before sunrise from the hydroponics garden: fresh basil, broccoli greens, tomato, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Then, a side of hard boiled eggs mixed with fresh basil from the hydroponics system my mom is running. I’m hoping to encourage those of you who want to grow your own food, on a tiny footprint, using these hydroponics designs. I plan to have a livestream soon to help answer questions and I would love to know how I can help you do the same. Leave questions in the comments, below! Thanks for watching! :D

Picking my lunch in the morning darkness, broccoli greens, fresh basil, eggs, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I decided not to use the tomato… because, well, it’s going into sauce later.