annemphillip

I am happy to announce that I have installed the first Möbius Microfarms system in Tabla Pasta e Vino in Portland, OR. The system has been running for the past several months and is consistently growing all of Tabla's microgreens in-house. 

Portland Metro Aquaponics Meetup group at the Ingenuity Innovation Center!

Our group holds workshops, tours, and informational get-togethers to exchange information about growing food with aquaponics in the Portland Metro area.

Our Meetup group here in Portland, OR is growing! We are over 150 members strong as we approach our first anniversary as a group. Our last Meetup at the Ingenuity Innovation Center was our largest yet! 

Thanks to Kate Wildrick, Aaron Imhof, and Tyler Muir of the Ingenuity Innovation Center! 

Check out our Meetup at the Ingenuity Innovation Center:

It's been a while since my last post, since I have been 110% involved in the Cleantech Challenge. My team and I created an aquaponic prototype that grows microgreens and herbs directly in restaurants.

Not only that, but we won the Cleantech Challenge!

Our self-sufficient system grows greens at half the current cost, using 90% less water than traditional soil methods and eliminating the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. By growing greens precisely where they are needed, we eliminate the environmental and monetary costs of transportation. Restaurants harvest premium, on-site-produced greens while promoting their commitment to sustainability and local food.

Bolted plants

Many plants in my aquaponic systems bolted with the onset of the hot summer weather we experienced in the last couple of weeks. The lettuce and arugula were about 4 feet tall! Some plants were even breaking through the chicken wire roof I constructed in the greenhouse. The cilantro plants also bolted, but were not nearly as tall as the arugula and lettuce. I was tempted to keep the flowers going on the plants to see if I could get some seeds, but the plants were taking up valuable growing space - and nitrogen!

The first photo in this series shows how wild and overgrown the aquaponic systems became with the bolted plants and over-abundance of kale. The last photo shows one grow bed after I removed all the bolted plants (and trimmed off the kale leaves that were affected by powdery mildew- see the previous post). There is so much room in the grow beds now! Also, I have taken down all of the lights over the grow beds since it is now officially summertime and we will have three, or maybe more, months of pure sunshine. 

Powdery mildew attack!

While working on other aspects of my project this past week, I had not been harvesting the kale regularly. As a result, the kale became very densely packed in the grow beds and air circulation through the leaves drastically decreased. Our recent heat wave made the conditions perfect for powdery mildew to thrive. Powdery mildew needs a dry, hot, shady area, without much air circulation. That was a great description of conditions in my greenhouse as temperatures soared into the mid-90s.

After doing some research into powdery mildew, I found out that it is species-specific (whew!) and that the best approach is to remove all the affected leaves. The whole plant could be removed if it was very infested. So, I started by removing ALL the kale leaves. Really, all the kale in my aquaponic systems was affected. It hadn't spread to my outdoor beds and I hoped to prevent it from ruining more kale. I cut back all the leaves except the very smallest, hoping to remove the threat of powdery mildew from later kale growth. I bagged up the affected leaves and composted them with the city compost. Apparently the spores can travel and affect other plants, even if left in your normal compost bin, so I took no chances.

I am happy to report that the new kale growing in my aquaponic systems is powdery-mildew-free and is growing very quickly!

http://www.pdx.edu/research/profile/node/21664

Tech4Change is a first-of-its-kind event focused on solving some of the world’s toughest problems through technology and entrepreneurship. MercyCorps and StartUp Weekend came together to host the event this past weekend and I am very happy I attended.

At the very beginning of the weekend, after giving my 60 second pitch for my business idea, I was joined by two other people who are also passionate about the importance of access to fresh, quality food. Robin Wang and Josh Gartenbaum brought a wealth of knowledge and experience in business, marketing, and gardening to my aquaponics experience - the result was a winning combination. 

Our team, AquaStart, won Crowd Favorite and Honorable Mention!

It was an intense weekend. I am so excited about what we accomplished and am even more excited about what is in store for the future.

  Read about Tech4Change here: (We are even featured in the photo!)

http://www.oregonlive.com/small-business/index.ssf/2013/06/ecovaluate_awarded_grand_prize.html

Learn more about Tech4Change and MercyCorps:

http://www.oregonlive.com/small-business/index.ssf/2013/06/mercy_corps_joins_the_startup.html

http://portland.startupweekend.org/events/tech4change/