Window Garden
WINDOW GARDEN
Growth of Plants
Plant Growth(cm)
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Chili pepper
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Thyme
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Spring Onion
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Week 1
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26
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15
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28
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Week 3
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30
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20
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34
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The growth of our plants started out quite minimal in the first few weeks. After watering them every second or third day, the growth drastically improved. The plants that we picked were quite well suited to the conditions of the window garden. The thyme thrived very well and another thyme plant sprouted next to the one we planted. Most thyme plants are generally drought resistant so we made sure not to water the plant too much. The chilies have experienced the least growth. After doing some research, we found out that chilies require a moist and humid environment. This is why we introduced a drip system.
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| Window Garden - Set up day |
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Spring Onion thriving from the start.
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| Chilli plant flowering. |
CHANGES DURING HOLIDAYS
When we first finished building our window garden, it lacked ingenuity. Our plants were struggling and we needed to find a solution. We set up a hospital drop irrigation system. This ensured that our plants remained moist and the water was distributed slowly, so we didn't have to refill the water every day. We hope that this system will help our plants to flourish during the holidays.
We predict that our water will eventually run out after the first week of holiday. The holidays have extended to four weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak in South Africa. This means that I plants will be without water for 3 weeks!
We predict that the spring onion will most likely die first.
The time might follow next.
Then the chilies might die due to lack of moisture.
We are extremely excited and slightly anxious to see how are plants do during the holidays and if they survive.
We predict that our water will eventually run out after the first week of holiday. The holidays have extended to four weeks due to the Covid-19 outbreak in South Africa. This means that I plants will be without water for 3 weeks!
We predict that the spring onion will most likely die first.
The time might follow next.
Then the chilies might die due to lack of moisture.
We are extremely excited and slightly anxious to see how are plants do during the holidays and if they survive.
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| Setting up the drip system. |
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| Drip system in action! |
CHANGES MADE SINCE INSTILLATION
- We have made a series of changes since instillation. After the first week, our plants were struggling. One of the staff teachers suggested to us to add more soil. We added more of our loamy soil and some sand. We added the sand for better aeration. The plants needed more soil for more nutrients. Link to good website: - Which_Soil_Is_Best_for_Plant_Growth
- After doing some research, we found out that chilies require a moist and humid environment. We needed to water the chilies more often but we couldn't. We decided to implement a hospital drip irrigation system. This lead to improved soil moisture and better plant growth. We also didn't need to refill the water very often as it was let out very slowly.
- Our plant holders were weak and not keeping the plants upright and facing towards the sun. We decide to add wooden dowels which we screwed in to add structural integrity.
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Wooden dowels added for
structural integrity.
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Drip system over spring onion.
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COOL VIDEO ON HOW TO GET STARTED WITH YOUR VERY OWN WINDOW GARDEN!
PERSONAL REFLECTIONS/ COMMENTS
ZAC COOVADIA
Our group had our fair share of troubles in the past weeks but we have been working extremely well recently having made major upgrades to our garden and distributing the workload evenly between all members of the group i feel that this project has really been an eye opener to projects from bishops in the future and how to handle them. Our team really struggled when the workload was uneven but as we cooperated better we started flying before the holidays our plays were looking very healthy and happy with a lot of growth since planting I think this is due to constant warring a a change to better loam soil. I am very excited to see what is going to happen in the holiday period but I am also quite nervous we will have to wait and see what the plants look like after this extended holiday.
Malick Majiet
For the first couple of blogs, the work was not spread out very evenly and fairly. Very little effort was being put in by some people in the group. We struggled to work well together. Through the course of the term, we started becoming more collaborative and worked together better. Work still wasn't evenly distributed, but there was an improvement. We looked after our plants well together which led to improved growth every week.
This project has taught me many things about teamwork, organisation, fairness and Window Gardening. It is very tough to build a window garden by yourself, but if combined effort is put in, the work becomes easy. It is very hard to maintain a window garden without an effective irrigation system. A drip system works much better then hand watering every second day. It is very important to choose plants that are suited to where your window garden is situated. It is also very important to not over water your plants. This will drown the plants and kill them. Loamy soil is generally a good soil to plant and grow most plants in.
This project has been a total eye-opener for me. It is possible for everyone to grow their own sustainable food , reduce poverty and achieve food security through window gardens.