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Post by daisybelle on Mar 3, 2023 18:56:51 GMT -5
I planted my Aerogarden two weeks ago tomorrow, everything is thriving and it's so exciting to watch it grow. I read conflicting advise about maintenance, help please. Thinning - 1. I planted Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, if I understand correctly, I don't need to thin this 2. Basil - I have 3 seeds that germinated, do I thin this to 1 basil plant, 2 basil plants? 3. Dill - I'm so excited to grow dill, I'm not thinning and I will prune when it reaches a few more inches 4. Parsley, it's the smallest of the plants, it's just sitting there, it's coming along though. Water ~ Tomorrow I feed nutrients, but should I also change the water?
And finally, I assumed each variety would grow at the same rate All pods were all planted at the same time but I have one smaller lettuce plant and one small basil plant. I thought perhaps it was the light in the room the windows are pretty far away but I have a small lettuce on the left end and a small basil on the right end, so it must not be the light.  Once again, thanks to all who take time to answer my questions, you have all been so helpful. I'm enjoying this so much! My granddaughter planted my 360 Sunday and everything has germinated. She's almost nine and absolutely fascinated with it, so much so that I will be buying her one for her birthday in April. What a great experience this is for kids to watch things grow.
I was thinking I would purchase a Harvest Slim Elite for her, but if she wants to grow dwarf tomatoes and mini peppers will this be sufficient or should I purchase a Bounty Elite.
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Post by scarfguy on Mar 3, 2023 19:36:00 GMT -5
Aerogarden recommends adding nutrients every two weeks and changing the water every other time. That is, changing the water once a month. You can't go wrong with that schedule.
I've been adding the nutrients and changing the water every two weeks. I change the water more frequently cause I don't dump all of the water and rinse the roots. I just use a siphon and suck out most of the water and put in clean RO pH 6.0 water. I leave just water in the bowl for 24 hours to let the plant flush out any accumulated waste products. Then I add the nutrients the next day. With 17 aerogardens it's a full-time job!
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A bounty elite I would think would be a bit of overkill for a young lady. You might consider a harvest XL. The XL has the simplicity of the harvest and a little bigger size to accomodate tomatoes and pepper. The only drawback is that you have to be awake in the morning to initially set the light on time.
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I'm a dill lover also. To grow dill in my kitchen was the impetus for buying my first aerogarden.
I've found that I like a variety called "Teddy Dill" the best. "Fernleaf Dill" is good also.
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Post by daisybelle on Mar 3, 2023 19:50:07 GMT -5
Good information. I'm saving your dill suggestions, thanks!
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maskedsonnet
AGA Farmer
Without the burden of comparison, everything is beautiful
Posts: 1,563
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Post by maskedsonnet on Mar 4, 2023 1:00:35 GMT -5
I’ve had plants grown from the same seed packet grow at different rates in the same machine. Your plants look great!! I’ve never found it necessary to thin lettuce. Basil will get pretty big, you really only want one plant per pod. Parsley can be a bit of a slow starter but should start to grow and bush out after having some time to think about it. The only time I grew dill it turned into an absolute monster of a plant, something you really have to stay on top of trimming.
As for water, I don’t do rinse and refills at all. But I also have extra reservoirs attached to my gardens instead of them being stuck with just the machine water, and I’m pretty sure that’s what keeps my plants so healthy without the extra work of siphoning and replacing water every month. I just refill the jugs when they start to get low, and I stick with the recommended nutrient schedule. For starting out, you’ll probably want to go with AG’s recommended schedule for water changes.
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Shawn
Administrator
Posts: 16,220 
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Post by Shawn on Mar 4, 2023 9:48:54 GMT -5
Your plants look great and as previously mentioned, they will grow at different rates.
Lettuce I do not thin however basil you would thin to one. I have only grown dill once and parsley will get bulky so I pick off as it grows.
Water changes, usually do a first water change after a month or two only because there is really not much happening in the beginning. Also I do not add nutes until things are over the labels. Being a beginning you may want to stick to the AG recommendations however there are times that algae will form (green slime) but if you are interested you can check out why here.
Also herbs and lettuce love cooler water temps so if the water does heat up throw some ice cubes in the bowl.
As for a Bounty, I love them and the Harvest but you mentioned pepper and tomatoes. Then can grow in a harvest but I prefer the wattage and space and height of the lights (although the Harvest XL is high too)
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Post by tompepper7 on Mar 4, 2023 10:13:17 GMT -5
.....I've been adding the nutrients and changing the water every two weeks. I change the water more frequently cause I don't dump all of the water and rinse the roots. I just use a siphon and suck out most of the water and put in clean RO pH 6.0 water. I leave just water in the bowl for 24 hours to let the plant flush out any accumulated waste products. Then I add the nutrients the next day..... I have been doing something similar. I also use a siphon. I think the siphon gets 90 something percent of the water out. Then I 'll refill with just water and let it sit for an hour or so then siphon again. I assume siphoning the second time gets most of the old nutrients out. I'll do that at two to four weeks depending on what is going on. I use tap water filtered in a Zero Water pitcher.
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Post by lynnee on Mar 4, 2023 13:19:07 GMT -5
daisybelle, it's fairly easy to dump the water from the Bounties and smaller gardens, so I change the water every 2 weeks starting at week 6. As Shawn said, there is little happening before then. I'm an admitted Bounty snob, but I would recommend a Bounty for your granddaughter. The Bounty is the most versatile of the AGs--you can grow virtually anything in a Bounty (dwarf and small varieties) because there is 24" of growing height and extra wattage for lights. If your budget allows it, a Bounty Elite, with adjustable light and pump settings and up to 60 watts of light, is the most versatile of the Bounties. Everything grows really fast in a Bounty because of the extra light, though of course a Bounty uses electricity comparable to a 60-watt light bulb (plus a little more for the pump). 
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