Fabric Workshop

- Bay-Pro -

- DecoClips -

Hydroponic Air Farms

---

- Bigger yields in smaller spaces-

The Air Farm with month old pea plants. Just Add Water!! Deluxe Grower: Includes everything but the water. Two gallon pail with drain valve, lid with holes to accommodate 9 pots, Air pump, Air hose, Airstone, Nine plastic net pots, Grorox, Nutrient and the Trellis Kit. $74.95

Click here to order
Click here to order

---

The Air Farm

Growing Ideas

A Soilless Growing System
The Air Farm is a simple soilless growing system. It consists of a 2 gal. square pail with sealing lid, a solenoid operated air pump, some hose and an aquarium airstone. The top has nine holes stamped in it to accommodate 2" plastic net pots. The growing medium is an expanded clay pellet called Grorox, but also accepts 1 1/2" rockwool cubes. Each grower measures 10" x 10" x 8"high without the trellis. They can be used without the trellis for annuals, perennials or vegetables that don't require support.

Operation

The plants or seeds are planted in the net pots in the Grorox. Air is pumped through a tube to an airstone submersed in the nutrient solution. This creates bubbles in the solution. The plants are fed in three different ways:

1. As the lid is a sealing lid, the air pump creates positive atmospheric pressure in the tank. This escapes through the Grorox, carrying nutrient soaked air up through the rocks.
2. Once the roots grow into the airspace between the pots and the solution, the bursting bubbles bathe the roots in solution.
3. Eventually the roots grow into the solution. At that point their need is for air, and the airstone oxygenates the solution.

As the air pump operates at 4 watts, it is a very economical system. They operate twenty four hours, seven days a week for pennies. Air Farms operate for less than a penny a day.  With the addition of one fluorescent fixture, they operate at under $.15 / day.  It can produce 9 heads of lettuce per month at a cost of $.48 / head with lighting or $.04 / head without.  Compare this to supermarket prices of over $2.00 for hydroponic lettuce, or even $1.29 for iceberg lettuce, and you'll see how the Air Farm will pay for itself in under five months.

The plants require less care, watering, and worry than their dirtbound cousins. Weather is no longer a factor, disease, insect and animal pests are less likely. The plants are easily portable and yield greater amounts in smaller spaces. Imagine having fresh tomatoes, peas and beans in the dead of winter. All of this in 3 sq. ft. of space.

For planting annuals or perennials, the Air Farms work beautifully without the cages.

This is an indoor system, and as such, your vegetable crops will continue to yield beyond their outdoor seasons. In our lab we have a four month old pea plant that is still producing delicious peas and we expect it to yield through summer with air conditioning. In the fall, we'll start new plants and harvest fresh produce all winter.

Growing Ideas

---

Hydroponic Air Farms - Fabric Workshop - RoundTrip Reels - Lars Mars Music- Amistad
©Copyright 1999 New Tool Co.
Home E-mail us.

Fabric Workshop
P.O. Box 204 Centerbrook, CT 06409
Tel. (860) 388-3769 Fax (860) 388-3203

 Go to ORDER PAGE for Ordering Information