2 Years Later. 2018 Update

Well, LIFE happened. Got sidetracked on other things and had to put the hydroponic greenhouse on hold. My computer died and now I am blogging with my phone. Pls ignore the typos.

Takeway lessons: 

1. Time intensive. Unlike planters, I was busy monitoring water flow and nutrient mix. Planters take up more space, but they are more plant-and-forget until harvest time.
2. My family is frustrating. I would harvest fresh greens and the family would let it rot on the counter. Imo, thats means loss of my time which can equate to loss of earnings.
3. Fresh tastes good. The greens and arugula were great when eaten fresh and unlike the bag produce, the greens did not reduce in size when cooked.
4. My backyard sucks for growing. The growlights worked, but i had a hard time remembering to turn them off at night which brought more bugs.
5. Bugs. Bugs. Bugs. Aphids and slugs were a constant battle. Again, my backyard is not good for growing.
6. Planting from seeds is an art. To save money, i tried planting from seeds and i still have not found the knack. Buying seedlings adds to costs and are priced as much as getting the grocery version.
7. You have to find your own motivation for growing. Just saying i was growing to save money isnt enough motivation, because cost wise, i think i went over. Find additional reasons for keeping the routine.
8. Sometimes, convenience is a demotivator. I slipped too many times in buying fresh vs picking the stuff i grew.
9. I didnt like going into the local hydroponic store for the nutrient mix.
10. I still love the zipgrow towers. Over the pther methods, i was actually able to harvest food. Btw, bright agrotech was purchased by plenty june 2017. Plenty plans on bringing greenhouses to the world.
11. I need to automate the greenhouse. Lighting, air circulation, nutrient levels, and drip flow at the plants should be automated as much as possible.
12. Worms are great. Kept the algae down, kept lines from clogging, and the plants prospered from the worm nutrients.
13. Need a bigger fan to circulate air. Mildrw and dew would build up in areas with little airflow. This meant the plant leaves could not breath. Because the greenhouse is so small, vertical vs horizontal airflow dozen matter. Its volume of airflow.
14. Plants will grow to the better lifht source. In my case, plants grew to the sun. Again the lighting i used was not the best.

The new plan.

1. The greenhouse has degraded from snowfall and dis-use. I have purchased a new replacement.
2. I need new lights and proper spectrum.
3. I need to plant from seeds.