System 2.0

I'm predicting that the lychee will out grow their window this year. Three of them have already begun to send leaves past the top of the light which can't be moved much higher. The solution I've chosen is to build a new system and use both of my windows instead of just one. Here are a few pictures of my current set up before I change it.



In this picture here you can see I've taken a tupperware container and cut holes in the lid to place the pots. The bottom of the container is painted black to block as much light from the rootzone as possible. The top has been painted white to reflect as much light as possible back to the trees as possible. You can also see the tube that is used for both drain and fill. (the plant on the right of the photo my pineapple plant Amy which I grew from fruit purchased from Sam's club)



Here you can see the reservoir and the water pump. The water both drains and fills through the pump itself. In the bottom left portion of the photo you can see drain tune which connects to the container housing the trees.



Here is a photo under the lid. If you look closely you can see the bottom of the pots are partially submerged.


Not shown in any of these photos is the light which is a 125W hydrofarm CFL and the timer which is controls the light and pump.

What I liked: This system has held up pretty well for a while now. It was much easier than watering individuals plants. The timer


What I didn't like: water only submerged lower 20% of pots, the plants closer to the window grew much faster than the one on the farther side, forcing me to raise the light, making the problem worse. The pots are made of a soft thin plastic which prevents me from easily removing the trees for cleaning/foliar feeding.