I love the idea of growing my own sprouts and plants, but find my schedule too chaotic to commit to regular waterings and maintenance. Some may call it laziness. I wanted to automate a system and realized an otherwise untapped abundance of fresh tap water goes down the toilet each day. I also live in an apartment so any systems involving water MUST be closed and/or have overflow protection. The toilet solves these issues as is. I've been knocking this idea around in my head for awhile, so here goes.
Theory is that since sprouts need to be rinsed at least once a day with nutrient free water, why not utilize the many times a day that a toilet is flushed to remove the labour and memory factors from the equation while all the while looking for uses for 2L pop bottles.
It consists of a fill tube, a grow chamber and a bracket to support the assembly above the tank's water level to allow proper drainage and avoid contamination.
Please keep in mind that this ugly little contraption is a prototype and can easily be enclosed or made more attractive and/or permanent. It can also be expanded upon to provide gravity fed multi-level, multi-chamber systems that even provide nutrients to the point of rediculous. In Theory, that is.
Other plants could also be grown if light conditions allowed and feeding provisions were built in. Grow chambers and fill tubes could be customized to meet various requirements.
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Tools - 1 pair of scissors
1 pair of pliers
1 lighter or torch
Drill bits as required (Drill not shown)
Materials - 1 length of flexible tubing, length and diameter as required. (I used clear vinyl, 3/8 ID)
1 2L bottle, cut in half (cut along bottom of label)
1 2L bottle bottom (cut the same, but discard top)(shown in green)
1 2L bottle cap
1 bracket or platform to secure bottle in place (mine was a handy piece of plastic, but I intend to make it more permanent and pretty)(not shown in this photo)
Note: The tubing and bracket will vary from toilet tank to toilet tank as well as personal preferences and resources at hand. I threw mine together quickly just to test it's basic function and look for problems.
1 pair of pliers
1 lighter or torch
Drill bits as required (Drill not shown)
Materials - 1 length of flexible tubing, length and diameter as required. (I used clear vinyl, 3/8 ID)
1 2L bottle, cut in half (cut along bottom of label)
1 2L bottle bottom (cut the same, but discard top)(shown in green)
1 2L bottle cap
1 bracket or platform to secure bottle in place (mine was a handy piece of plastic, but I intend to make it more permanent and pretty)(not shown in this photo)
Note: The tubing and bracket will vary from toilet tank to toilet tank as well as personal preferences and resources at hand. I threw mine together quickly just to test it's basic function and look for problems.
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It has no effect on the toilet except for the sound of the water falling into the tank through the open air space.
I'm thinking of a redo for the food contest.
And thanks.
It works F#$%*& great. The only problem is you HAVE to eat the sprouts because, unlike the store bought ones, they continue to grow rapidly into woody little plants and they're are not slimy at all.