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Saturday, June 21, 2008

Hydroponics

Week one






Week five

Inside of the tub. See the roots?


Basil


Parsley


Erik's sous chef, Omar, made him a hydroponic herb garden last month. I guess I always understood the general idea of growing plants with water, but seeing before my own eyes has given me a fresh appreciation for the alternative growing method. The set up is basic, a plastic tub with water, 6 circular sections filled with porous rocks, a sponge and a UV lamp overhead mocking the sun. As far as I understand it, the roots grow directly into water that has bubbles blowing into it to create oxygen. Seems simple enough.

The results are amazing. Though I live 20 floors into the sky in the middle of a concrete wonderland, I've got herbs growing in my kitchen. We started with 6, but the mint didn't make it. Now our little babies have grown into chives, basil, dill, cilantro and parsley. We are just now starting to harvest the herbs and I can't wait to add them to food. Well, Erik will do the adding. I'll do the eating.

DCW_NYC

-Hilary-

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Awesome post! The herbs look great. I love this blog. Go wives!