A few weeks have gone by since my last post. I checked my ammonia and nitrate levels a week ago, and the results were dismal. I had 0ppm nitrate, and 6ppm ammonia. I resolved that my second fish was going to die, because dependent on the pH of my water (which I neglected to check) as low as .1 ppm can be lethal. I suppose I must have around 6ph water, because fish survived the hard week of high ammonia, and is now super healthy! This week, my levels were up to 30ppm nitrate, and 0ppm…

I soon began a series of modifications to new Aquaponic garden. Shortly after constructing the initial build, I moved, and had a much bigger window. So, I offset the fish tank, and built four more columns for the WindowFarm following the DIY instructions found on the WindowFarm website. After numerous trial and error attempts, I got the system working with only the occasional leak.

Eventually, it became clear that the sun penetrating my window would not be sufficient to grow plants to…

Fast-forward 2 years. I’m turning 18 and my mom asks me what I’d like for my birthday. Well, I can’t really think of anything else, so I ask her for a Windowfarm. What is a WindowFarm? Windowfarms are vertical hydroponic gardens which are designed to produce food in a small space, namely a New York apartment window. As described on the WindowFarm website;

 “WindowFarms is a Brooklyn-based social enterprise that helps city dwellers around the world grow some of their own fresh food. …

Hey, I’m Devin Solkov. Four years ago I had coffee. Not for the first time, not even for the twelfth time. But this coffee opened my eyes to a different world. No, it wasn’t the first time I tried pour over, or even Blue Bottle. In fact, the reason I even mention coffee is to contextualize a conversation which would define the next chapter of my life. I remember the day well. It was mid-July, the time was 4:35 pm, across from me sat the intelligent and…