slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 775
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Post by slw on Oct 23, 2023 11:38:12 GMT -5
tdse--I notice that you don't use rings on your Kratky jars. Will they not fit with your covers or do you just prefer not to use them?
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tdse
AGA Sprout
Posts: 122
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Post by tdse on Oct 23, 2023 12:15:44 GMT -5
tdse --I notice that you don't use rings on your Kratky jars. Will they not fit with your covers or do you just prefer not to use them? To be completely honest, I've never even thought about it. lol They do fit (I just had to go check to be sure), but I've never really thought about using them. I kind of like the ease of being able to fill the jars without needing to remove the ring. What would the benefit be of using the ring? Better plant stability? Do the rings tend to rust?
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Post by scarfguy on Oct 23, 2023 12:20:34 GMT -5
Today with my AeroGarden I was just THINKING... agonizing...
So I've got these wonderful, mature peppers, 8 of them, growing 2 in each of 4 bounties. They are large, healthy, with prolific fruit. I'm producing more peppers than I can eat and have been giving them away to friends and relatives. SO, why would I want to crap a couple out?
WELL..., I've got 2 tomato plants, one mature, one seedling. I want to try that homeslice tomato variety AND I want to try a Giant Aconcagua pepper!
NOW, HERE"S WHERE THE ADDICTION COMES IN... The addiction solution is to just buy 2 more bounties! I'm fighting that urge. I've got no space for any more.
The thrill, the enjoyment, is watching new plants grow and bloom. If I wait until these peppers end their life naturally, my addiction isn't being fed for awhile.
What would YOU do?
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Post by AnnSako on Oct 23, 2023 12:53:05 GMT -5
Today with my AeroGarden I was just THINKING... agonizing...
So I've got these wonderful, mature peppers, 8 of them, growing 2 in each of 4 bounties. They are large, healthy, with prolific fruit. I'm producing more peppers than I can eat and have been giving them away to friends and relatives. SO, why would I want to crap a couple out?
WELL..., I've got 2 tomato plants, one mature, one seedling. I want to try that homeslice tomato variety AND I want to try a Giant Aconcagua pepper!
NOW, HERE"S WHERE THE ADDICTION COMES IN... The addiction solution is to just buy 2 more bounties! I'm fighting that urge. I've got no space for any more.
The thrill, the enjoyment, is watching new plants grow and bloom. If I wait until these peppers end their life naturally, my addiction isn't being fed for awhile.
What would YOU do?
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Post by AnnSako on Oct 23, 2023 13:00:29 GMT -5
I would: 1. Control the lust for new Bounties and feel good about how self-disciplined I am. 2. If that doesn't work, figure out a new space that can handle 2 new Bounties.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 621
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Oct 23, 2023 13:04:23 GMT -5
Not so much 'today', but lots of AG maintenance this past weekend. Rinsed & refilled 2 Bounty's (AG Cukes & AG Mega Cherry tomatoes). Rinsed & refilled the Harvest Slim with Tasoi planted - also moved 2 plants to Kratky jars, leaving 2 in the units Rinsed & refilled a Harvest with lettuce. Topped off multiple Kratky jars. Maintenance is not my favorite, but I did my nutrients for my second Tatsoi garden today, glad to have it done. I never actually "rinsed" in the past, more of a "drain and refill", perhaps next round of nutrients, I'll add a gallon of filtered tap, siphon that, then add nutrients for a rinse. The AG Mega Cherry tomatoes are finally ripening. I think I've picked about 9 or 10 nice sized ripe cherry tomatoes so far (today is day 84). The AG cukes look totally ratty, but still produce 6-7 small cucumbers each week: The Tatsoi (planted 10/1) after moving the other 2 plants to Kratky: Time to add the Trellis before the Iznik takes over the livingroom. The plant on the right side is a semi-determinate bush tomato (hoping for tomato sandwiches!) If you've ever wondered how algae impacts your plants - these Thyme plants were planted at the same time, same seeds, same nutrients, same lights. The only difference is - the one in the front was in a blue jar, which allowed algae to grow. Just changed it out to the amber jar, but amazing difference. The one in the back has been trimmed a couple times: Happy Monday, everyone! Nice tomato harvest coming! Loved seeing your Tatsoi! Nice lesson about the algae! I've not tried a Kratky jar yet, but I'm thinking I might, perhaps with mint.
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Post by lynnee on Oct 23, 2023 16:01:36 GMT -5
tdse, Very interesting, the photo showing the two Thymes!
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Post by lynnee on Oct 23, 2023 16:03:59 GMT -5
scarfguy, "New hardware solves all problems!"
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 775
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Post by slw on Oct 23, 2023 16:10:02 GMT -5
To be completely honest, I've never even thought about it. lol They do fit (I just had to go check to be sure), but I've never really thought about using them. I kind of like the ease of being able to fill the jars without needing to remove the ring. What would the benefit be of using the ring? Better plant stability? Do the rings tend to rust? I find the plants are more stable with the ring, especially when they get taller and start to lean. To refill, I just unscrew the ring and slide the ring/top to the side, and pour in the water/nutes. I don't completely remove anything unless I'm doing an R&R.
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 775
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Post by slw on Oct 23, 2023 16:13:51 GMT -5
Well, you probably already know my answer. Of course I would buy new Bounties, especially if the sale is still going on. (And I'm suffering from AG Burnout right now but still look at the deals. How sad is that?)
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Post by scarfguy on Oct 23, 2023 17:27:28 GMT -5
I would: 1. Control the lust for new Bounties and feel good about how self-disciplined I am. 2. If that doesn't work, figure out a new space that can handle 2 new Bounties.
I'm gonna try real hard to be self-disciplined.... (this time)
The act of ripping out a perfectly good mature pepper plant may be more than I can take, though...
My wife will come home from work and find me curled up on the floor in the fetal position.
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 775
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Post by slw on Oct 23, 2023 18:27:56 GMT -5
SG, take the pepper plant and put it in a pot on the patio. You can wish it well when it croaks of natural causes. You will feel like less of a cold-blooded killer that way.
I'm so excited to see a Tom Thumb pea beginning to sprout in a "grow anything" pod!!! I'm also starting a few peas in a soil seed starter just in case, so we'll see how this goes.
Also see a sprout on the pickling cucumber that I started a couple of days ago. I'm really excited to see how that one will do.
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Post by swimmom500 on Oct 24, 2023 4:07:28 GMT -5
Not so much 'today', but lots of AG maintenance this past weekend. Rinsed & refilled 2 Bounty's (AG Cukes & AG Mega Cherry tomatoes). Rinsed & refilled the Harvest Slim with Tasoi planted - also moved 2 plants to Kratky jars, leaving 2 in the units Rinsed & refilled a Harvest with lettuce. Topped off multiple Kratky jars. The AG Mega Cherry tomatoes are finally ripening. I think I've picked about 9 or 10 nice sized ripe cherry tomatoes so far (today is day 84). The AG cukes look totally ratty, but still produce 6-7 small cucumbers each week: The Tatsoi (planted 10/1) after moving the other 2 plants to Kratky: Time to add the Trellis before the Iznik takes over the livingroom. The plant on the right side is a semi-determinate bush tomato (hoping for tomato sandwiches!) If you've ever wondered how algae impacts your plants - these Thyme plants were planted at the same time, same seeds, same nutrients, same lights. The only difference is - the one in the front was in a blue jar, which allowed algae to grow. Just changed it out to the amber jar, but amazing difference. The one in the back has been trimmed a couple times: Just some random Kratky jars: Happy Monday, everyone! What nutes do you use on your Mega Cherry tomatoes? You have a ton more tomatoes than mine. I have been using AG nutes and CalMag.
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tdse
AGA Sprout
Posts: 122
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Post by tdse on Oct 24, 2023 8:51:42 GMT -5
What nutes do you use on your Mega Cherry tomatoes? You have a ton more tomatoes than mine. I have been using AG nutes and CalMag. I use AG nutes and Cal Mag as well, but when I do a rinse and refresh (monthly) I also add Silica Blast and about a Tbsp of Alaska Morbloom (once the plant starts flowering). I'm also testing for pH & EC and adjust accordingly (trying to keep pH around 6.0, and EC above 2.0 (2-3). So that typically means a little more nutrients than generally recommended by Aerogarden.
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Post by AnnSako on Oct 24, 2023 17:33:24 GMT -5
That is VERY sad, and you better watch out or you're gonna see a deal you MUST TAKE. I did that "just looking" stuff when I had one little Harvest and I wound up bidding on an incredible deal for a Bounty Elite, new, in the box, $100. And I didn't even WANT a Bounty Elite. I just thought I CANNOT pass up that deal. Then I got sick about being the high bidder for a couple weeks and was SO happy when somebody came in at the last minute and saved me from paying for a Bounty Elite I didn't even want.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 621
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Oct 25, 2023 15:55:49 GMT -5
Watered. The 7-pod Tatsoi garden is really starting to drink. So is the salad garden in the Harvest Slim Elite. The 6E+ is not quite as thirsty, presumably because it's a couple days behind the other gardens and only has the two Tatsoi plants.
It's looking like I'll be harvesting the 7-pod Tatsoi garden again, and I'm kind of wishing I'd planted the 6E+ fully with 6 pods. But we'll see how it goes. Might be fun to let the 2-plant machine grow the Tatsoi plants bigger before harvesting.
Now that my lettuces are getting bigger, I noticed that the pod spacing is MUCH, MUCH smaller on the Harvest Slim. Like roughly 2-1/4" apart, going center to center! Whereas my Classic 7-pod, 6E+ and Veggie Pros all have a roomy 4" center to center!
Why did AG go to such tight spacing? If all 6 pods had sprouted in the salad garden, it would have been difficult and tricky to get in harvesting outer leaves as the plants got bigger. It would certainly be crowded. I'm not convinced that tighter spacing is an upgrade. Maybe to make units more compact and cut shipping costs? Hard to see why it would be more beneficial to actual growing and ease of use...
Next thing I need to do is order seeds! As other than Tatsoi, I have none. I want to grow some Italian dandelions, arugula, flat-leaf Italian parsley, dill, cilantro, and possibly watercress. With hopes of being able to add these to my green juices. Maybe romaine lettuce as well.
I'm thinking parsley, dill and cilantro could all go together in one AG, any caveats I should be aware of?
Any particular varieties that do especially well, or could I just get a sampler of herb seeds?
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 775
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Post by slw on Oct 26, 2023 17:01:54 GMT -5
I'm thinking parsley, dill and cilantro could all go together in one AG, any caveats I should be aware of? Any particular varieties that do especially well, or could I just get a sampler of herb seeds? Since I have a ton of AG pods, I usually just use their herbs and I've had great success with them. I've had no problem growing different types in a single garden, except stuff like dill and basil grow so much faster and will be tall and into the light before the parsley and cilantro barely clear the labels.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 621
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Oct 27, 2023 16:15:18 GMT -5
I'm thinking parsley, dill and cilantro could all go together in one AG, any caveats I should be aware of? Any particular varieties that do especially well, or could I just get a sampler of herb seeds? Since I have a ton of AG pods, I usually just use their herbs and I've had great success with them. I've had no problem growing different types in a single garden, except stuff like dill and basil grow so much faster and will be tall and into the light before the parsley and cilantro barely clear the labels. I tend never to have AG pods, as I usually just grow whatever comes with a garden, then switch to seeds. I did do a few herb gardens back when, so yeah, I definitely would start the parsley and cilantro before the basil and dill to give them an even chance.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 621
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Oct 27, 2023 17:00:50 GMT -5
Bounty (40W) arrived yesterday! Looks good. I took it out of the box and put it together last night down in the "south 40", i.e. basement room. I'd have liked to have it upstairs for easier watching, but the lettuce will probably prefer the cool. My office room is small and gets warm easy. Planted it this morning. I like that I could put an entire gallon in the reservoir! When the salad kit is done, maybe it can come upstairs. However, it is pretty bright and might bother me if in my office. Some irks along the way ... discovered my old trusty power strip had finally had it, naturally AFTER I'd taken the time to dust and clean it. But I had another that is working, I just had to do some painful crawling under the garden tables to get it disconnected from the outlet so I could move it to the table I cleared. The Salad kit pod covers had fallen off about half the pods. They don't seem anywhere near as securely attached as the ones that were on my Harvest Slim Elite salad kit. I did my best to stick them back on. Also irksome is that not one of the pods actually has the lettuce variety on it, just "Heirloom Salad Greens". Gee, that's informative! The Harvest had the lettuce names on each pod (old stock maybe?). What is AG thinking? It makes no sense. Probably they are trying to lock people in to buying expensive pod kits, but realistically, a lot of folks are perfectly happy with pod ease and convenience and would buy the pods anyway! But those who want to do their own thing just become annoyed! Half the fun is learning and how can you learn much if YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT VARIETY YOU ARE GROWING? Mini rant over! Anyway, I filled Bounty with filtered tap water, tested the pump, turned on the lights, all seemed well. So I planted the 9 pods of mystery lettuce. I have not yet added nutrients, I think I'll wait until I see some germination action. The new plant spacers came in with the garden. They work and look great on the Harvest Slim Elite! When I lifted the old style spacers from the Harvest, I did see some signs of algae, so as I suspected, they were letting a little light through the sides. The interesting thing is that I lifted the spacers in the 2-plant Tatsoi garden in the 6E+ ... not one speck of algae! Zip, nada, none. So the algae in the Harvest Slim Elite must be a combo of less than ideal fit, stronger light, and possibly also reflection off the light-colored grow deck. To wrap it up, the NEW plant spacers DO NOT securely seat in the old AGs! The OLD plant spacers DON'T seat particularly well in the new AGs and may let light through to form algae. So I will keep both sets of spacers. No huge surprise. Now I need to go order a fan before the lettuce starts sprouting!
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Post by lynnee on Oct 27, 2023 22:06:35 GMT -5
pfunnyjoy, I got one of those salad greens kits that had nothing but Heirloom Salad Greens in it--it surprised me. It was okay, because I like those best, and often never plant Black Seeded Simpson, Parris Island, or Deer Tongue. But when you buy a new Aerogarden, it helps to hook you when you get pods with these "exotic" varieties. I hope they have gone back to variety in the intro kits by now.
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