Herself’s Houseplants

Between rising prices and tomato scares this year, and spinach scares last year who isn’t thinking of an indoor garden?

Farm Fountain is a system for growing edible and ornamental fish and plants in a constructed, indoor ecosystem. Based on the concept of aquaponics, this hanging garden fountain uses a simple pond pump, along with gravity to flow the nutrients from fish waste through the plant roots. The plants and bacteria in the system serve to cleanse and purify the water for the fish.

This project is an experiment in local, sustainable agriculture and recycling. It utilizes 2-liter plastic soda bottles as planters and continuously recycles the water in the system to create a symbiotic relationship between edible plants, fish and humans. The work creates an indoor healthy environment that also provides oxygen and light to the humans working and moving through the space. The sound of water trickling through the plant containers creates a peaceful, relaxing waterfall. The Koi and Tilapia fish that are part of this project also provide a focus for relaxed viewing. [ to learn more about how to create your own Farm Fountain and view the movie and more photos see Farm Fountain]

Visit the site to see more photos, read how to build your own Farm Fountain and chat in the forums.

credit to: Inhabitat who always has really cool stories like this one.

So you have this Chia pet that’s been in the back of your hall closet forever. Did you know that the Chia seeds are very high in omega-3 fatty acids? Perhaps they would be better added to your salad.

( Just kidding, the seeds may be treated with something, buy some food grade ones to eat. )

Several U.S. researchers maintain the seeds used in products such as Chia Pet are actually good for the human body, it was reported Sunday.

The research that determined the seeds are high in omega-3 fatty acids comes as the omega-3 supplement market in the United States is reaching new heights, the Chicago Tribune reported. . . .

Chia seeds are derived from Salvia hispanica, a mint-related plant, and chia is regulated as a food by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Researchers: Chia seeds are good for you

Better to find some Chia seeds and plant them yourself for a healthy addition to your salads and sandwiches.

This is a really cool idea. Yagil was looking for a way to grow food on the space station and came up with the perfect balcony garden.

. . .

Yagil’s technique relied on floral bricks made from phenolic foam, that familiar green and spongy material which, placed at the bottom of a vase, is used for holding the stems of cut flowers.

Yagil, who worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, believed that his floral brick growing technique could be used in a space station, where room for growing plants is limited. Each of Yagil’s plants requires only 1 square foot of growing space.

Yagil’s method results in incredibly rapid growth. A 4-inch tomato seedling, for example, can grow into a 4-foot tall, fruit-laden specimen in only 60 days.

To grow any plant according to this technique, you will need to take a 3-by-4-by-9-inch floral brick. Remove a plug from one of its short ends that is equal in size to the root ball of the seedling you wish to plant. A seedling that has produced two to four leaves - available at the nursery in six- or eight-packs - is perfect.

Wrap the brick, except for the bottom end, in black plastic and secure it with strapping tape. Stand the brick up in a 1-gallon (6-inch diameter) plastic container - the kind you get when you buy a 1-gallon plant at the nursery - with holes in the bottom. Keep the brick stable by running pieces of strapping tape up one side of the container, across the brick, and down the other side.

Place a deep, water-retaining dish under the container. Keep the brick wet by filling the dish. The dish is filled as soon as the water in it evaporates, as often as once a day in summer. Liquid fertilizer is added to the water every third time the dish is filled.

. . . [ read more What to plant on a balcony ]

I wonder if you couldn’t just stand the brick up in a water dish and put some rocks around it to keep it stable? Or place the brick in a pretty flower pot and toss some gravel at the bottom to hold it in place and upright?  Totally cool and a great way to have a garden in a very small space.