Window farming grows in popularity for cool weather, tight spaces
With food security on everyone’s mind, eating local has become as popular as eating organic. And what could be more local than your own windowsill? Window farming is the city dweller’s unique solution to gardening.
Window farming, as opposed to container gardening, utilizes a vertical design to create an ideal growing environment for vegetables and herbs.
Britta Riley, founder of windowfarms.org, came up with the idea in 2008 after moving into an apartment. Living on the fifth floor, she didn’t have access to a patio and discovered that roof-top gardening was difficult.
So she devised a system where empty plastic drink bottles were inverted and connected with tubes.
Each plant would have its own bottle, and water would be fed through the system using an aquarium pump. This set-up could then be hung on the inside of a window to take advantage of natural sunlight.
The climate control of the apartment also allows individuals to grow their own produce year-round.
Although crafting your own hydroponic system from scratch is possible, kits are also available online for those who aren’t too handy. The only downside is the price tag. While the kits come with practically everything you need, the least expensive runs $140 US. M
For more info, visit windowfarms.org.
