Tag Archive for 'Britta Riley'

Jackson’s Journal (6/9/09) – Working on Window Farms!

jackson published on June 9, 2009 in food, superforest journal, technology and zeitgeist. 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

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Good Morning SuperForest!

Today was a very exciting day!
Last month, I posted about meeting Rebecca and Britta, the heads of the Window Farm project. Today, Julius and I walked the Jackpot through the pouring rain over to Eyebeam gallery, where Miss Rebecca and Miss Britta are setting up an exhibition of their hydroponic DIY food growing machines.

3611844202_30015c71e4_oWe made our own pants!

Once we got there, Julius and I got to show off the Jackpot, and then we were lucky enough to be able to help out by dipping old water bottles in paint to use as plant containers. The paint will protect the roots of the plants from sunlight, as sunlight makes plant roots turn into leaves.

3611844516_9fa12a9515_oJulius hard at work.

Now we’re back home for a brief rest before heading back over to Eyebeam for a meeting of the Window Farm pioneers group. The pioneers group are a gang of folks who are all independently working on their own Window Farm designs. By crowd-sourcing the prototype process and sharing our results, we will all be able to collectively create the cheapest, most efficient food system much quicker than if we all worked alone. Isn’t that wonderful!

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Imagine all of humanity collectively working on problem solving and idea-sharing and you have a basic idea if what SuperForest is aiming to achieve. Whether SuperForest aggregates other positivity/idea-sharing blogs, or is itself incorporated into a larger site, (or a combination of the two…) EVERYBODY WINS!

The end result of a group of people prototyping DIY food systems is a cheap, DIY food growing system for anyone who wants one. Booyah.

Now imagine if everything were handled this way? Imagine if every problem humanity faces were attacked by a collaborative group of humans.

In my opinion, the problems we face don’t stand a chance.

Now this is just a humble food-growing machine…

Imagine a hundred million humans all working on defusing racism, negativity, and intolerance.

A hundred million humans working out ways to best use the Earth’s resources. To provide and care for all humans.

A hundred million humans decoding the genome and finding new therapies and vaccines for every disease and affliction imaginable.

Imagine if everything we did, made, and knew, were re-examined and updated by everyone at once.

That is the present we are working to create. And it is happening.

All around us, the seedlings and shoots of the new millennium are poking their heads above ground, and soon all of humanity will be able to join hands at the table of abundance and give thanks for the generosity of the natural world and the boundless nature of human creativity.

The TV news is wrong. The entire news media is wrong. If you’re only looking at the back end of the horse, you’ll miss seeing where it’s galloping.

Everything is going to be just fine.

Let’s take a nice deep breath, roll up our sleeves, and get to work. The present needs us.

Love to all,

-Jackson

p.s. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Jackpot Update: In Which We Meet Britta and Rebecca from WindowFarms.org, and Seedlings Get Sewn

jackson published on June 1, 2009 in build, celebrity, food, technology and zeitgeist. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

picture-9(Britta and Rebecca and their most excellent Window Farm prototype)

Hello Sexies!

Last month I posted about the Jackpot, which is a DIY home hydroponics food machine, and I wanted to update you as to the status of the project.

Just before I left for Texas last week, two fun things happened:

I met with Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray from Submersible Design and got to chat with them about their own rad window farm project. (Britta and Rebecca also came out with DrinkPee, a clever home kit that let you turn your pee into plant food, via the miracle of chemistry. Swoon!) Check it, check it out:

These talented ladies have an exhibit up of their window farm design at Eyebeam here in NYC, for those who wish to see in person.

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We met up at Eyebeam, and Miss Rebecca was kind enough to show me their design, which uses a high-powered water pump to move the water from a bottom tank to reservoir up top, where it trickles down through a cascade of growing chambers. Super smart.

I love how their design can fit in any window, and is easy to make and set up, as it uses recycled 1.5 liter bottles. I mentioned to them that my design uses an airlift and only requires a low energy air pump to lift the water. So, a hybrid system, where one uses a window hanging cascade instead of one central pillar AND an airlift instead of a water pump, would be a big winner.

The problem with a water pump is that one: it has to be really powerful to lift the water from bottom to top. And two: because it’s so powerful, it does its job rather quickly, and thus sits idly unused for the majority of its life.

And the problem with my central pillar idea, while being visually appealing, is that you have to rotate it every week, so that one side doesn’t get more sun than the other.

So by pooling our ideas and sharing freely, we’ve already begun a refinement process that helps not only the three of us, but anyone who later stumbles upon (ahem) these blog posts.

The internet has allowed for huge multiple wins. Thank you internet.

And secondly: Although I’ve already grown past the first design for the Jackpot, I still want to try it out, because it’s cute and makes my heart glad. So I’ve sewn a bunch of seedlings to later transfer to the Jackpot. Here are a few of them:

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Melon in the foreground, and assorted yumyums behind
(including a lovely little sculpture by my friend CEO, which makes an excellent jalapeno drying rack. <3)

photo2A milk carton, split lengthwise, makes two very nice growing beds.
Here we can see marigolds, tomatoes, salad greens and nasturtiums poking their wee little heads out.

photo3Mean Mr. Cilantro and his pals Jackson and the Kitra the rosemary sprigs. You’ll notice that J & K are alive and well.
From garnish to growing plant! It makes the heart smile.

photoHere we behold Jeremiah Salad Greens and Edward Cullen the vampire-basil.
Both are looking well and spry.
The salad greens are a mesclun mix and will go in the top chamber of the Jackpot.

Britta and Rebecca have been kind enough to invite me to join their Window Farm project and I’m thrilled to take part!

Check out the Window Farms site.
And definitely check out Submersible Design.

Thank you Britta and Rebecca! Thank you lovely growing plants. And thank you to all the makers and dreamers and doers out there.

Love to All,

-Jackson