Window Farm: Part 3, Planting!

Alright, last step in creating your window farm!!! You can see how to build it here, and how to install it/hook up the pump to it here.
So for this last part, what I used was these clay pellets.   Botanicare Pure Blend Pro grow (nutrient solution) and a General Hydroponics pH control kit. Those little blocks down there are rockwool. I tried to start some from seeds but didn't have much luck. I'll explain more later.   And then you're going to need little containers that will fit inside your bottles. I used a little fruit cup and then one of the cups that came with the plants I used. Drill holes in the bottom and sides so the roots/water can come out. Also, the fruit cup was a little wide so I made a cut down one side so that it would overlap and fit. If that makes sense. You can also buy "net cups" but I didn't want to and decided to just recycle something. And most importantly, plants! These two are basil and oregano. Shake off as much excess dirt as you can and then try to rinse more of it off. Be careful of the roots though!!!  So first, you need to rinse your clay pellets.  Then, stick your plant in your little cup and fill with clay pellets. Make sure your plant is nice and supported.   Then, fill your bottle with a layer of clay pellets.  Stick your cup in just below the bottom of the hole and fill in with more clay pellets. 
And you're done! All you have to do now is put water in it and turn your pump on! 
About the water. Every other time I fill it up, I'll put a couple drops of the nutrient solution in the water and then test the pH and make sure it is balanced (just follow the directions on the control kit). I turn my pump on during the day and off at night. I make sure my blinds are open as much as possible too. Also, to water, you can pour it in at the top or just pour in one of the plant holes (I do the latter). Just make sure you don't overflow it! I find the pump works better when the water reservoir is more than halfway full. 
Ok, so tips on keeping your plants alive! I tried to start some from seeds but didn't have much luck. 1. because I just have a hard time keeping seedlings alive (I forget to water them or eliza knocks them over or something) and 2. when you plant them into your hydroponic system, they need to be large enough so that they're not sitting directly under the stream of water coming from above. They do NOT like this. This may be a drawback of this type of system but you can just make sure you put plants in that are large enough to kind of stick out. Also, I may have been putting too much nutrient in them the first go around which will eat up the roots. So don't do that. 
Also, when you first plant them, make sure to water them a lot. Mine are now a few months old and I can get away with watering them only once every 3 days. Not that I do that but if I go on vacation (like Las Vegas) they won't keel over and die if I don't get to turn the pump on every day. 
I'll probably try again with the seedlings and let you know how that goes. But I'm pretty satisfied with this little project! Having fresh herbs at hand is so nice. 
If you guys have any questions about this, feel free to email me at samwish3@gmail.com. It can be a little confusing (trust me, I know!) so I'm here for the help if you need it. 
And happy Saturday everyone!!! 

Las Vegas: Part 2!

Starting off with some instagrams again. 

 1. Hotel 2. Eliza wearing my wedges  1. Crazy cat lady 2. Store display 1. Zach Galifianakis 2. Eliza wearing our glasses!  1. & 2. Our trip to the oxygen bar 1. Airforce banquet outfit 2. Cirque de Soleil outfit (kind of the same?) 1. Brandon trying on masks at Cirque de Soleil 2. Brandon with our new niece! 
Alright, some more baby love comin' your way!   Isn't she just darling?! 
This was the hotel we stayed at. There's a wall in the way of the bottom part but the top is supposed to look like the New York Skyline! It's actually all one building! And if you can see towards the top of the wall right there, there's some people at the top of the roller coaster. This was the hotel that the rest of our family stayed at.  On Saturday we went looking for pawn shops! We didn't have much luck until we ran into this cool place!   And that night, we went to an Airforce graduation/banquet for our brother-in-law. Although I'm not into that kind of stuff, it was very interesting and inspiring. We are so very proud of him :)They called me Mrs. Connor ;)   Brandon and his uncle.  My mother-in-law (Brandon's mom) mingling.  Brandon and his mom.  Classic brother/sister picture!  The graduate getting a present, can you guess what it is??!!!! A SWORD!  The wife, she looks excited lol.  Me trying to be serious.... fail. Once I got the giggles, Brandon knew it was over. Brandon's obviously better than I am at keeping a straight face.  except for in this one.... the view from the hotel where the banquet was  Cousins, aaaaahhh so cute. Leaving. 
The first night, we went out with Brandon's sister and her husband as well as some of their friends. We walked around for a bit, site-seeing, and then ended up at a club and danced the night away. 
The second night we were in Las Vegas, we went to the banquet and then took our turn watching all the kids! 5 total! I think I enjoyed it more than Brandon, tehehe. It was fun being a mom to 5 kids for the night. A lot of work but fun! Maybe we'll have 5 kids in the future?? :)
And our last night in Las Vegas, we went to Cirque de Soleil (Ka) and it was AMAZING. Seriously, the best show I've seen in my entire life and I don't think anything else will top it. So good. Then Brandon and I wondered around the streets of Las Vegas just kind of seeing everything. We walked all the way down to the Bellagio in hopes of seeing the fountain but when we got there, we found out it stopped running at midnight! Total bummer but I'm kind of a pro at walking in heels now. I guess Vegas will do that to ya. 
So ya, it was a good time. Not anything too crazy but we enjoyed getting out of Texas for a while and seeing our family. Las Vegas is a cool place, lots different from Houston and definitely a fun place to explore. 
When we flew back, my sister picked us up and we drove straight to Austin to catch a graduation party! Now that's when things started getting crazy. But I'll elaborate more on that later. Have a good weekend everyone!