Progress continues (mostly) on schedule!
As of today, the internals of our system are almost complete. We got our waterproof tape and were able to secure everything in an effective manner. We had a bit of trouble with the cream cheese containers floating until Ryan realized we forgot to fill them with water after we put rocks in them, so the buoyancy of the air was counteracting the weight of the rocks. This was easily remedied, though, and they are now soundly sunk. With that settled, we got our first test of the water pump, and it works great! We also sealed the holes left by the bucket handles using the tape and some waterproof sealant. Unfortunately, we did not quite have time to add the misters, but this should be a relatively quick add for the next time.
I also forgot to include a picture of the hole we cut for the water pump’s power cord in the last post, so here is one now:
Next Steps:
We are hoping to get this completely set up and running on Monday. With this, here is what we have left to do:
1. Add the misters to the tubing & reattach the end plug
2. Find good sized cups to house our potato plants and cut holes in them for the roots to grow out
3. Cut holes into the lid of the bucket sized to the cups we choose
4. Add nutrients proper nutrients, set timers for misting & lighting
5. Add cups to holes, potatoes to cups, and cover potatoes with clay
6. Turn everything on and start growing aeroponic potatoes!