Fast Plants growing systems are designed to:

• Be low-cost
  
• Provide continuous water to the plants
  
• Alleviate weekend watering
  
• Prevent water logging
  
• Be made from readily accessible materials

Bottle Growing System - made from 20-24 oz. Plastic soda bottles

Film Can Wick Pots and Reservoir

Wisconsin Fast Plants™ Growing System

Bottle Growing System (BGS)

Construction and Planting Instructions

The Bottle Growing System (BGS) is a low-costs growing system. Made from recycled soda bottles this system is simple, cheap, and accessible at all levels. The BGS is a hydroponics system, wicking nutrients and water from the reservoir below. Optimal planting density in is 6 plants in a 20-oz. soda bottle. BGS is ideal for group and individual projects with Fast Plants.

Materials:

• 16-, 20-, or 24-oz. soda bottles     
  
• Unpolished cotton string (20-cm lengths) or Watermat® for capillary wicks
  
• Vermiculite (medium-grade horticultural)
  
• Planting medium (a soilless mixture of approximately 1 part peat moss and 1 part vermiculite, e.g. peatlite, or Scotts Redi Earth®)                  
  
• Peters 20-20-20 ProfessionalTM fertilizer with trace elements
  
• Fast Plants seeds (One packet of 200 seeds should be sufficient for 24 bottles.)

Construction:

1. Cut a soda bottle 0.5 cm below the rim of the bottle shoulder to create the growing funnel, which will hold the vermiculite and planting medium. Make a second cut in the bottom portion of the bottle to create a reservoir, 8 to 12 cm tall, for the water or hydroponics nutrient solution.
   
2. Drill or melt a 5-mm hole in the bottle cap. Screw bottle cap onto bottle top.
   
3. Insert a string wick or other capillary wicking, approximately 0.5 cm X 10 cm, through the hole in the bottle cap. Check your wick before planting to be sure that it draws water well.
   
4. Invert the growing funnel (bottle top) and place in the reservoir (bottle base). The wick should extend from the funnel to the floor of the reservoir.

Planting

1. Layer approximately 50 cc (~1/4 cup) of vermiculite into the funnel and then layer approximately 100 cc (~1/2 cup) of your planting medium soil on top of the vermiculite so that it fills the funnel to the rim. Tap the funnel to help the soil settle loosely, then level off the excess. Do not press or compact the soil.
   
2. Gently soak the soil and vermiculite with tap water, letting it percolate through the soil until it drips from the wick at the bottom of the growing funnel. The layer of soil should shrink down in the funnel about 0.5-1.0 cm from the rim.
   
3. Uniformly distribute 8 Fast Plants seeds (or desired number of seeds) on the surface of the moist planting medium. Plant around the perimeter of the funnel about 5 mm from the bottle edge.
   
4. Cover the seeds and planting medium with a layer of vermiculite (0.5-1 cm) so that the vermiculite is level with the rim of the growing funnel. (Do not compact the vermiculite.)
   
5. Gently moisten the vermiculite with tap water until water again drips from the wick at the base of the funnel.
   
6. Pour off the water remaining in the reservoir, and replace it with 1/8 strength Peters Professional fertilizer (hydroponic nutrient solution) to the level of the bottle cap.
   
7. Make a full strength (or "1X") Peters solution by dissolving one level soda-bottle capful of Peters crystals into one liter of water. Then dilute a portion of the full-strength solution to 1/8X for your hydroponic nutrient solution. (For every cup of full-strength solution, add 7 cups of water, and then mix well.)
   
8. Place a label on the completed BGS indicating the date of planting, variety of seed (e.g. Basic or Petite), and name of the student or group.
   
9. Put all BGS's under high intensity fluorescent light for 24 hours a day and follow growing instructions.

Film Can Wick Pots

Construction and Planting Instructions

Materials:

• Black plastic film cans
  
• Forceps
  
• 4 cm long wicks (diamond wicks available from Carolina Biological Supply Company, WaterMatTM material, or felt from a fabric store)
  
• 10 cm squared piece of WaterMatTM (piece of felt or WaterMatTM large enough to cover the top of your reservoir and a piece to hang down to the bottom of the reservoir.)
  
• Recommended soil and vermiculite
  
• Water reservoir (1/4lb and 1/2lb deli containters work well)

1. Drill or melt an approximately 0.5 mm diameter hole in the bottom of each of the film cans.
   
2. Use a 5 cm length piece of wicking material to wick each film can pot. It is easiest to insert the wick by grasping the piece at its center with a pair of forceps and inserting the wick into the hole in the bottom of the can.

Planting

1. Fill the film cans with slightly moistened commercial peat/vermiculite soil such as Jiffy Mix® or Scotts Redi-earth®. Fertilizer: if you are using NPK (20-20-20) slow release fertilizer pellets, fill the wick pots half full with soil mix and add 3-4 fertilizer pellets for 1-2 plants in the film can at maturity. (If you are planning to grow hydroponically with Peters Professional® fertilizer, fill the film cans with only the soil mix.) Fill the rest of the wick pot with the soil mixture while tapping the side of the can to help settle the soil. Do not press down on the soil.
   
2. Gently water from above until the wick drips. The soil will recede from the top of the can about 5mm. Place additional soil mixture to fill the canister to the top and rewater.
   
3. Plant four seeds by carefully placing them on the surface of the soil. Do not push the seeds down into the soil.
   
4. Gently cover the seeds with a thin layer of vermiculite.
   
5. Water from the top again and place the wick pots on the wicking mat of your Fast Plants reservoir(s). Be sure that wicks are touching the wicking mat.
   
6. Plants should be grown under standard Fast Plants lighting 24 hr/day, with the growing tips of the plants 5-10 cm from the lights at all stages of the life cycle.

(CAROLINA GROWING SYSTEM)

The growing system components provided by Carolina Biological Supply Company, include everything you need in order to successfully grow Fast Plants, except for the lighting system. Unless otherwise specified, Classroom Kits are designed for use by up to 32 students working in pairs. Planting and growing instructions for the Wisconsin Fast Plants Kits™ are provided with purchase.

The following materials are included in the growing system:

• Fast Plants seeds, rapid-cycling Brassica rapa (Rbr). Seeds are small and have to be handled with care.
  
• Quads - 4-celled planting units in which you will grow one plant to maturity in each cell.
  
• Potting mix and vermiculite
  
• Diamond wicks - conduct water from water mat to soil in cell of quad.
  
• Water mat - conducts water from reservoir to wicks.
  
• Fertilizer pellets - slow-release source of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Pellets are larger than the seeds.
  
• Plant labels - to record student name, planting date and experiment.
  
• Pipet - to water cells from above when necessary.
  
• Dried honeybees - to make beesticks for pollinating.
  
• Algae-squares (tinged blue) - contain copper sulfate to prevent algae growth in reservoir.
  
• Water reservoir
  
• Wooden stakes and plastic support rings - to support the plants if necessary.