pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777 
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Dec 28, 2023 16:42:14 GMT -5
2023-12-28: Day 0 Seeds: Baker Creek “ Dwarf Siberian” and “ Russian Red” kale Planted: 1:16 PM Aerogarden: 2023 Bounty Elite Location: South 40, front table Water: tap, filtered, Big Berkey Grow Medium: 2009 AG Grow Anything sponges Preferred PH: 5.5–6.5 Preferred EC: 1.6–2.5 Nutrients (per gallon): 2.0ml GH CALiMAGic 2.5ml GH Flora Micro 2.5ml GH Flora Gro 2.5ml GH Flora Bloom 5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide Nutrient mix PH: 6.0 Nutrient mix EC: 0.8 Dwarf Siberian plants are on the left, Russian Red on the right. 4 pods planted, 3 seeds per pod. Garden terminated: Conclusion, 4 kale plants in an AG Bounty is two too many! Roots were INSANE, and it was difficult to keep the pump clear. Had to use insane amounts of nutrient to keep them happy. Won't be doing that again, though I do plan to grow kale again.
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Post by lynnee on Dec 29, 2023 10:58:11 GMT -5
Do you grow kale because you like it? I like spinach and chard, but uber-nutrititious kale is a bit too much.  |
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Dec 29, 2023 14:03:28 GMT -5
Do you grow kale because you like it? I like spinach and chard, but uber-nutrititious kale is a bit too much.  I love all the brassicas, so yes, I do like kale. I'm mostly hoping to have a regular supply of a few leaves here and there to add to green juices, but I also enjoy it sautéed. Or if I'm air frying other vegs, adding some kale at the end to crisp up into chips is fun too! I'm also curious as to how young leaves might taste raw in salads. I munched up a chicory (Italian Dandelion) leaf yesterday, straight out of the garden. Definitely on the bitter side, yet, I think I'd like it in a salad with other greens. Though that garden is still not happy. Only the one plant is taking off so far. One seedling I think is dead, and the other struggling. But I'm just going to let them go at this point, see what I can get. |
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Post by lynnee on Dec 29, 2023 23:39:07 GMT -5
pfunnyjoy, I used to like coffee with chicory in it. I wonder if that was the same kind of chicory as your dandelion. Hmm. 
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 2, 2024 1:05:52 GMT -5
pfunnyjoy , I used to like coffee with chicory in it. I wonder if that was the same kind of chicory as your dandelion. Hmm.  I suspect there are different kinds of chicory, but it might possibly be the same kind! |
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 2, 2024 1:07:25 GMT -5
2024-01-01: Day 4Sprouts! 
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 9, 2024 20:32:33 GMT -5
2024-01-09: Day 12
I thinned sprouts a few days ago to one per planted pod. The seedlings look good so far, and I'm crossing my fingers.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 13, 2024 0:24:30 GMT -5
2024-01-12: Day 15The seedlings seem to be progressing nicely with the Dwarf Siberian showing faster growth than the Russian Red. It’s one day past rinse and refill. I debated whether to do stronger nutrients, and now I’m worried I went too far. I expected to need some additional water again, thus diluting the nutrients, but the roots must be taking up that space as I didn’t need to add extra AT ALL! If the plants show signs of distress, I’ll try to do a rescue R&R fast. Nutrient Mix:3.5ml CALiMAGic 5.0ml Flora Micro 5.0ml Flora Gro 5.0ml Flora Bloom 5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide Nutrient mix PH: 6.0 Nutrient mix EC: 1.8 (a bigger bump than I meant to do!) Hoping for the best. 
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Post by tompepper7 on Jan 13, 2024 19:21:05 GMT -5
Do you grow kale because you like it? I like spinach and chard, but uber-nutrititious kale is a bit too much. lynne, I tried to do some kale when I was doing some meal kits. I found I would either use half the kale in some recipes or not use the kale at all. I grew some kale in my Aerogardens and found I do like kale chips, they're great.
I like salmon with kale chips.
Just cooking kale straight needs some acid (like vinegar), and garlic helps as well.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 18, 2024 14:25:39 GMT -5
Garlic and kale are wonderful together! I'm probably going to try some in a salad when snow goes and we can more easily get to the store. I think the AG kale leaves are tender enough for that to work.
At any rate, it seems both kale varieties have been fine with the nutrition bump. I'll probably switch them to MaxiGro next feeding.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 20, 2024 20:06:02 GMT -5
2024-01-20: Day 23Just a pictorial update, the kale seem very happy with their nutrients and are growing nicely. I harvested one largish leaf from the Dwarf Siberian (the two plants on the left) last night and tossed it in a juice. 
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Feb 3, 2024 2:48:59 GMT -5
2024-02-02: Day 36Rinse and refill! It's a week before they are due for feeding and they are LOW on nutrients NOW! So, I’m upping the dose. Roots look good, all intertwined, so I didn’t trim, other than to rid the water level sensor of some infiltrators. I’ll likely harvest a few leaves tomorrow for juice. Nutrient Mix:2.0ml CALiMAGic 8.0g GH MaxiGro 5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide Nutrient mix PH: 6.0 Nutrient mix EC: 2.2 
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Feb 14, 2024 23:27:07 GMT -5
2024-02-14: Day 48Rinse and refill. Massive root system going under the deck! Harvested 4 large leaves today, need to harvest more tomorrow. Nutrient Mix:3.0ml CALiMAGic 10.0g GH MaxiGro 5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide Nutrient mix pH: 6.0 Nutrient mix EC: 2.4 Taken on Day 49:Apologies for the less than optimally sharp photo. I took the advice of turning off the Bounty lights and using room light, which is better for color (no more purple plants), but challenging for sharp photos, as the overhead fixture is not terribly bright and that's the only lighting in the room other than the AG units. The phone was set for flash, but sometimes it does, sometimes it deems there's just enough light and doesn't. At any rate, the one shot I got with flash was less sharp than this one. For the sharp-eyed, that blue can to the right is kitty treats to lure them back out of the room when they inevitably dash in.
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Feb 21, 2024 23:02:37 GMT -5
2024-02-21: Day 55
Pale kale! Slightly pale leaves, and a little yellowing. The Red Russian kale has no red! Rinse and refill after only 7 days! I’m increasing nutrients. Still harvesting, grabbed more leaves this AM. I feel like four plants are too many in the Bounty. Next time, I’ll try three.
Other than the frequent feeding, the garden is going well and I'm getting lots of kale! Plus I got the garden connected to WiFi and the app successfully tonight.
Nutrient Mix (per gallon):
4.0ml CALiMAGic
13.2g GH MaxiGro
5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
pH Up as necessary
Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 4.2
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Mar 1, 2024 0:28:16 GMT -5
2024-02-29: Day 63
Rinse and refill, one day late. The plant had no objections to increased nutrients and some of the red is reappearing on the Red Russian. The plan is to increase nutrients a little further. Harvested another 5 leaves tonight for green juice. Also grabbed a meritorious Tatsoi harvest and a large handful of Italian Dandelions for the same juice.
Nutrient Mix:
5.0ml CALiMAGic
15g GH MaxiGro
5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide
2.0ml pH Up
Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 4.7
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Mar 17, 2024 0:42:13 GMT -5
Overdue for another rinse and refill which I plan to do tomorrow. Got a lovely harvest today, could've cut a few more leaves, but I usually don't want quite this much kale in a single juice! However, I added an additional apple, and a carrot, and carrot greens and it all balanced out very nicely. Juice ingredients (kale is in the striped cup in back) The juice, before straining |
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Post by Clovis Sangrail on Mar 18, 2024 14:40:17 GMT -5
pfunnyjoy , I used to like coffee with chicory in it. I wonder if that was the same kind of chicory as your dandelion. Hmm. I suspect there are different kinds of chicory, but it might possibly be the same kind! I didn't see this back then, and if I had, I would have posted because I am a big Cafe du Monde coffee snob. Coffee chicory is the same species as salad chicory -- Cichorium intybus. But it is a different variety -- Cichorium intybus var. sativum. Coffee chicory is grown for its roots, which are big honkin' things that are roasted and ground and added to coffee grounds when brewing. If you like cafe au lait and have not had it made with a chicory coffee like Cafe du Monde, you have not experienced the unique comfort and placidity of the soul that is wrought upon you by chicory cafe au lait. |
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Mar 18, 2024 15:35:03 GMT -5
I suspect there are different kinds of chicory, but it might possibly be the same kind! I didn't see this back then, and if I had, I would have posted because I am a big Cafe du Monde coffee snob. Coffee chicory is the same species as salad chicory -- Cichorium intybus. But it is a different variety -- Cichorium intybus var. sativum. Coffee chicory is grown for its roots, which are big honkin' things that are roasted and ground and added to coffee grounds when brewing. If you like cafe au lait and have not had it made with a chicory coffee like Cafe du Monde, you have not experienced the unique comfort and placidity of the soul that is wrought upon you by chicory cafe au lait. I have never tried coffee chicory, sadly! And I doubt any place serves it around here! I've saved date seeds though, roasted them, and ground them for date seed "coffee." Which is rather nice! The fun thing is that after doing a date seed "coffee" pour over, you can then do subsequent pour overs for some date seed "tea" which is also quite good! My main coffee is cold brew. I like coffee, but my stomach can get irritated by it, especially when black, but that is not a problem with cold brew. I make it at home, with a lovely organic Sumatran dark roast from Camano Island Coffee, and it's great. Sometimes I have it black, much of the time I have it with home-made hemp milk, which I don't strain, so I have to shake it up, and that makes for a lovely froth! I sweeten the hemp milk slightly with the aforementioned dates. |
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 777
|
Post by pfunnyjoy on Apr 1, 2024 0:55:32 GMT -5
2024-03-29: Day 92Rinse and refill a day or so late. The plants went 10 days, no problem. Ate up their nutrients like the champions they are: EC 1.4. They went nuts because I hadn’t harvested in a few days. I had hubby come take a look, and he was, ah, impressed! Now he understands why I never ask him to bring home kale from the store anymore. And then he commented on how the store organic kale costs around $3.50-$4.00 a bunch, only the bunches aren't nearly as large or nice as the one I was waving around under his nose. Nutrient Mix:5.0ml CALiMAGic 16g GH MaxiGro 5.0ml 3% Hydrogen Peroxide Nutrient Mix pH: 6.0 Nutrient Mix EC: 4.4 Day 92 before harvesting (side view) Day 92 (top view) The harvest! Kale sautéed in butter and garlic, with a little balsamic vinegar, and seasonings
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Post by lynnee on Apr 1, 2024 9:23:30 GMT -5
2024-03-29: Day 92Rinse and refill a day or so late. The plants went 10 days, no problem. Ate up their nutrients like the champions they are: EC 1.4. They went nuts because I hadn’t harvested in a few days. I had hubby come take a look, and he was, ah, impressed! Now he understands why I never ask him to bring home kale from the store anymore. And then he commented on how the store organic kale costs around $3.50-$4.00 a bunch, only the bunches aren't nearly as large or nice as the one I was waving around under his nose. So you're actually saving grocery $$, in addition to having absolutely fresh greens! Love your food photos.  |
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