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Gardening has its challenges. And finding the time to plot, plant and pluck may be enough to deter you from having one outdoors. Or maybe you live in an urban space and don’t have the option to plant outside. Either way, gardening is not something that can be done without having some background knowledge in horticulture. In many ways, it’s a science and without an understanding of the process, it’s very likely that your little seeds will never make it to beautiful buds.
Windowfarms, a social enterprise that encourages the use of vertical hydroponic gardens which are made to hang from windows, offers a unique product for people who don’t want to bother with the challenges of — or don’t have the option of — an outdoor garden, and who may need some “green thumb” support along the way. The project thrives though an open-source online community called our.Windowfarms.org, which provides a forum for users, so that they can share questions, tips and how-to comments with one another. Currently, our.Windowfarms has approximately 26,000 users and is growing rapidly.
The cost of a Windowfarm has dropped dramatically from $249 to $99 since its birth one year ago. It has become one of the most successful food projects on the market, supporting growth for the larger urban gardening movement. Consumers can opt to build or buy a Windowfarm, which produces herbs, edible flowers, fruits and vegetables (except root vegetables, or large plants like corn and wheat). The online community will then provide the necessary support, especially for those who go for the DIY option.
One of the biggest perks of having a Windowfarm is the ability to grow fresh, local (as local as it gets) vegetables year-round — something that is lost over the winter months in many places across the United States. Production depends on the size of the Windowfarm and care provided by the owner. All garden kits are made with recyclable, or easily accessible (in cases of DIY Windowfarms) materials. A new data structure, scheduled to be implemented in the near future, will utilize community-shared variables about plant species, nutrients, and microclimate conditions, which prove to be the most successful under the unusual conditions of personal scale hydroponic food growing.
