Ready, Steady, Grow: Our Windowsill Challenge Has Begun

After weeks of planning, ordering equipment, sorting seeds and wondering whether everything would fit on the tables, Grow Together finally began at Tŷ Pawb on Thursday 20 August.

There is always a little bit of nervousness before the first session of a new project. You can plan everything, organise the space and get all the kit ready, but you never quite know who is going to walk through the door or how people will take to it.

Thankfully, it all went brilliantly.

Meeting the group

Once everyone had arrived and settled in, we introduced Grow Together and got started.

There was a real mix of experience in the room. Some people already knew a little about growing, while others had never tried hydroponics before.

That did not seem to matter for very long.

People were chatting, asking questions and comparing what they knew almost immediately. One participant later said they particularly enjoyed “getting to meet others that are new to growing”, while another picked out “the social aspect” as their favourite part of the session.

That is exactly what we hoped Grow Together would be. It is about the plants, obviously, but it is also about creating a reason for people to come together.

From boxes to working planters

Then it was time to unpack the hydroponic kits.

With support from Mark Roberts from Grozen, everyone worked through setting up their own planter, learning what the different parts were for and what they would need to do once they got home.

The planters were assembled and the seeds were planted during the session, but participants were shown how to add the water and nutrient solution themselves at home.

There were plenty of questions along the way. Where should the planter sit? How much water would it need? What happens when the plants get bigger? When should they be trimmed?

Rather than just listening to instructions, everyone could actually assemble the equipment and have a go.

That practical element came through strongly in the feedback. People told us they enjoyed the “mix of talks and hands-on learning”, the “practical session” and how easy the instructions were to follow.

One participant summed up what they had learned very simply: “how to grow hydroponically – I had no clue before.”

A little extra inspiration from Incredible Edible Wrexham

We were also joined by Katherine and Lewis from Incredible Edible Wrexham, who came along to talk about the community gardens they have helped create in and around Wrexham.

It was a lovely addition to the session because it showed another side of local growing. While we were focusing on small hydroponic planters for windowsills, they shared examples of growing spaces that are open and accessible to the wider community.

They also arrived with a huge selection of plants for participants to take home for free.

And when we say a selection, we really mean it.

There were chillies, figs and even Himalayan strawberry trees, along with plenty of other plants for people to choose from.

So quite a few participants left Tŷ Pawb with considerably more greenery than they had arrived with.

Starting to grow

Each participant planted five edible plants from seed before getting their planter ready to take home.

For some, even the basic principles of hydroponics were completely new. Feedback included learning that plants can grow without soil, that seeds do not need to be buried and how much can actually be grown in such a small planter.

There was also a quiz during the session, and one participant told us:

“Scoring 10 in the quiz made me realise I had retained the information given!”

We will take that as a win.

The biggest thing we noticed was how quickly the uncertainty disappeared once people had actually had a go. By the end of the session, participants were talking much more confidently about what they would need to do next and how they would look after their planters at home.

Now it goes home

The interesting part starts now.

Everyone has taken their planter home and will be adding the water and nutrient solution, finding the right spot for it and then watching for those first green shoots.

We will be keeping in touch too, so people can ask questions, share pictures and compare progress.

We are fully expecting some plants to thrive immediately and others to be slightly more dramatic about the whole experience.

That is part of the challenge.

What did people think?

We asked participants to tell us what they thought afterwards, and the comments were lovely to read.

“The interaction, the information, and the relaxed atmosphere.”

“I have thoroughly enjoyed myself, I've learnt so much!”

“Amazed that this is free – fantastic!”

“The session exceeded my expectations tenfold.”

It was especially nice to see people mentioning the atmosphere, the practical learning and the chance to meet others, because those were all things we wanted the session to offer alongside the growing itself.

What happens next?

We all meet again on Thursday 10 September.

By then, hopefully, there will be plenty of plant progress to compare.

We will also be joined by UareUK, who will be doing some easy cooking demonstrations, adding another practical element to the project and giving everyone some ideas they can use at home.

For now, though, the planters are out in the wild.

Five plants at a time, our 12-week windowsill challenge has officially begun.

We cannot wait to see what everyone grows.

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