To Thin or Not to Thin

I would thin them now.   Pull the cull carefully from the pod.  If there are roots still attached, get another sponge and cut a slit in it.  Wet the sponge pod and transplant the cull.  Voila'!   Another plant!!   (Or you could just clip the cull with scissors and not bother.  )

Yes to what everyone else has said, thin to one.

So I thinned my tomatoes and jalapenos down to one stalk per pod. 

And they did prosper and grow.

So now I have this --



I planted 3 tomatoes and 3 jalapenos from an Aerogarden 9-pod Salsa Garden seep pod kit, assuming that if I was lucky, I would get maybe 4 to sprout given the Aerogarden track record.

They all sprouted, and they all look healthy.

And it is getting pretty crowded in there.

So the question now is -- Do I pull up one tomato and one pepper so that the survivors will grow better? Or do I just let them keep growing? Can a Bounty handle six pods?

Same question for this Bounty --



It originally had 4 tall plants -- poblano pepper, anaheim pepper, banana pepper, and fairy tale eggplant.

Then, when I planted the tomatoes and jalapenos in the other Bounty, I stuck a tomato in at the back figuring that if one of the others didn't sprout, I would just move this one in.

It is now the biggest plant in there. I figure it has to go so the peppers and eggplant can thrive, but I am hoping someone will talk me out of it. ('Clovis, why don't you just move that one tomato in with your other tomatoes.')

I don't think the scallions are much of a problem since they grow straight up.

Thoughts? (Another Aerogarden is not an option right now.)

Thanks. I ordered some Kratky jars pers slw's suggestion and will remove some tomatoes and pepper to them. It will be a good experiment. I am slowly learning that just because there are six or nine holes in an Aerogarden and six or nine pods in a box, you don't have to plant them all at once.

I do have some single crop gardens. I have two Harvest Slims planted with just lettuce, and I eat those fast enough that they don't really get crowded. And I have one Harvest planted with just chives, because chive is so hard to get growing and because I really like chives and eggs. I may, however, switch a slot or two in this one to scallions. They seem to grow faster, and scallions and eggs are good, too.

What about companion planting? Is that a thing in hydroponics?

Can I nestle a marigold in with the tomatoes?

A basil?

Some scallions?

And I have read that borage is a good companion for both peppers and tomatoes.

But it also appears that the benefit of companion planting is either to deter pests or to attract pollinators, both of which, I sincerely hope, are at a minimum in my apartment. 

Still, one could always benefit from the occasional splash of floral color or some extra garnish for one's Pimm's.

And one could always use some extra scallions.



(Some people call them green onions, but really, they're scallions.)

Clovis Sangrail, one Fairy Tale eggplant is plenty for one Bounty. They are large plants with fairly large leaves. I found that two FTEs were all that a Farm could handle.

Clovis Sangrail, there are two eggplants in that photo. I got many, many small eggplants, and multiple harvests from them. I finally terminated them after 461 days, when they were still producing, because I was tired of the project. Still feel a tad guilty.

aerogardenaddicts.com/post/46795/thread

Link to photo showing one batch of harvested eggplants (part of one blooming period).
aerogardenaddicts.com/post/48703/thread

The trick to multiple harvests is that you prune them way back after each blooming period is done producing. The leaves come back, along with new blooms.

🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆

My Kratky inserts came today, along with a 2-pack of wide-mouth quart jars. If these look like they are going to work, I'll get more jars.

So I rinsed the jars really, really well, then I filled up to the shoulder with water. I figured a Harvest holds about half a gallon of water, ands it gets 2 capfuls of nutrient, so a quart mason jar should get 1 capful, or half what the Harvest gets.



Then I put the shroud on the jar and began to wrassle the tomato plants out of the Bounty. They had lots and lots of roots, so I hope I didn't mess them up.

I stuck them in the jars and sat them on the shelf between two Aerogardens so they could steal light. 






One even had some flowers.

Gardens are much better now. I can get underneath and trim.





I might get some more jars tonight, and if I do, I'll move one of those peppers.

No worries, the fan is still in place if it's needed. I'll probably just leave the parsley alone then. Thanks!