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Post by kanewai on Apr 3, 2023 15:01:51 GMT -5
Nope.
Everything died.
I don't get it.
The herbs were all drying out. It looked like I had root rot - when I looked at the pods the roots just came off in clumps. I cleaned everything. Checked the pumps. Checked the lights (they look ok). Added some hydrogen peroxide. Added ice each morning to keep the water cool. I planted a few more seeds, they sprouted, they looked very healthy, then they turned brown and died also. When I pulled the pods I didn't see any roots.
I have no idea what is going wrong.
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Post by kanewai on Nov 26, 2022 19:09:26 GMT -5
The days are cooler, the trade winds are back - and my new seeds are sprouting. My last round (two bounties and a harvest) was an absolute failure; most pods didn't grow, and the few that sprouted were soon consumed by green mold. Even the basil struggled and died young.
Only one single plant out of 15 pods, a red epazote, made it to maturity.
I'm going to blame it on the tropical heat. I delayed a couple weeks in setting up a new garden; it just didn't seem worthwhile.
I'm glad to report that things are going so much better this time! After one week I have: summer savory, winter savory, marjoram, pipicha, Greek oregano, Persian basil, dill, and zaatar all sprouting. I'm still waiting on chives, chervil, and Italian parsley.
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Post by kanewai on Nov 21, 2022 14:56:52 GMT -5
My lone survivor is a Oaxaca red epazote, and he has decided that the Bounty is his and his alone. Luckily it's an attractive plant. I replanted my other gardens this past weekend. The days are cooler now, and our trade winds are finally back ... so hopefully this round goes better than the last two!
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Post by kanewai on Sept 21, 2022 2:19:36 GMT -5
Well those peppers died a tragic death. I went on vacation for one week, and set the garden to "vacation mode." I came back to find them all dead. I tried replanting using the same seed source - but nothing grew. Not even the herbs. It's almost as if the water itself were contaminiated. Weird. Very strange! What about the room temperature? My plants stall when their room gets very hot in the daytime. It can make the water in the bowl too warm for them to grow. . I think room temps, and water temperature, were the causes
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Post by kanewai on Sept 21, 2022 2:17:57 GMT -5
No luck. I think they might have over heated, as was suggested in another thread. I live in the tropics. During quarantine I would “feed” the seedlings a few ice cubes each day. I wasn’t t doing that as much now that I’m working a gazillion hours each week. I’ve got some straggly survivors, and I’m trying to be better about keeping the water temps down.
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Post by kanewai on Sept 6, 2022 20:36:50 GMT -5
I don't quite know what is going on - only marjoram, chives, sage, and two basil ever grew - out of fifteen pods planted in two units.
At least the basil is tasty! Though even that is weird. My Persian basil takes up half the unit, and the Genovese is only a single stalk after 2 1/2 months. Usually the Genovese dominates everything.
This weekend I think I'll throw out all the water, give the units a deep scrub, and start over.
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Post by kanewai on Sept 6, 2022 20:33:33 GMT -5
Well those peppers died a tragic death. I went on vacation for one week, and set the garden to "vacation mode." I came back to find them all dead.
I tried replanting using the same seed source - but nothing grew. Not even the herbs. It's almost as if the water itself were contaminiated.
Weird.
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Post by kanewai on Aug 2, 2022 13:35:30 GMT -5
Like everyone. I no longer buy AG Kits. I do all custom. . I’ve been doing custom herbs and peppers; I’ll need to do more research for custom flowers
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Post by kanewai on Aug 1, 2022 16:29:04 GMT -5
I grabbed a random selection of pepper seeds from my local store - cayenne, jalapeno, and "kim chi" pepper. Unlike my herbs, I had a 100% germination rate! I kept one plant of each, and replanted the rest outside. Also pictured, a habanero in a pot. I didn't do much research into how big these guys get - so it will be a true experiment.
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Post by kanewai on Aug 1, 2022 16:25:33 GMT -5
Or is it round five? I planted one Bounty and one Harvest using seeds I had on hand. Almost nothing sprouted. Shown below are the only four seeds that were still viable - Persian basil, Genovese basil, pipicha, and ... I think it's a chive? I replanted last weekend with fresh seeds, mostly using traditional herbs: oregano, marjoram, thyme, parsley, sage ... and others that I've forgotten already. I wrote everything down! I just can't find the paper I wrote it all down on.
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Post by kanewai on Aug 1, 2022 16:17:32 GMT -5
I missed taking photos of the garden in its prime! It was nice and lush, though eventually the snap dragons took over. I went on vacation for three weeks, and when I came back it was an out of control jungle. I tried to trim it back, but it never quite looked the same.
Now I'm waiting on flower pods to plant another work garden - though AG has cancelled my last two orders. Literally - I'll wait a couple weeks for a set to ship, and then will get a notice that the item is out of stock. Not sure what's going on.
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Post by kanewai on Mar 16, 2022 15:35:52 GMT -5
Three months on ...
The all-basil garden was a good idea. I've been making pesto in bulk now, and freezing half of what I make each time. Basil crowds out so many other herbs; it's easier just giving them their own space. The Persian and Genovese basils produced much more than the lemon and lime. Sadly, I wasn't paying attention when I was harvesting, & cut right through the power cord. The plants had a couple weeks of darkness before a new cord arrived. They seem to have survived.
I moved plants around a lot as they grew too big, or were getting crowded out. Here's where things stand now:
Harvest - currently my "Mediterranean" garden
lavender marjoram thyme oregano
These are all nice and compact, and doing well. The marjoram flowered, but I cut it back & it's doing fine. These are all slow growers, so I get just enough to cook with.
Bounty - the basil garden
Genovese basil lime basil lemon basil Persian basil
Bounty 2 - The big herbs.
epazote - really interesting addition for bean and mushroom dishes. After it flowered the leaves didn't have as much flavor. Grows quickly, so I'll need to keep it trimmed better in the future.
Italian parsley - Looking a little straggly. OK flavor.
chives - I have a couple chives. Not enough. Next round I'll plant some in a pot near the garden; that worked better for me in the past.
sage - Straggly. Good flavor. I don't use sage a lot, but I like having it on hand.
No longer in the AG
zaatar - I like this variant of oregano better than the standard version, but this round my seeds didn't sprout.
savory - The first savory I planted was excellent. I think it was winter savory. The next two weren't as flavorful, and flowered early. I wonder if these weren't summer savory. Both seed packs were only labeled "savory."
fernleaf dill - Poor thing was crowded out by other plants.
lemon balm (melissa) - nice flavor, but super aggressive! The roots formed a solid block in the water. I planted some sprigs outside that appear to be doing well in the shade.
pipicha - It grew so well and strong that it lifted itself right out of the pod.
chervil - didn't grow well in the AG, but is doing well outside.
spearmint - way too aggressive for the AG! I think I would need one unit just for mint.
didn't sprout
cilantro mitsuba cress
I'm ready to replant my second bounty. I'm looking at pipicha, winter savory, zaatar, epazote, and maybe one or two more.
I liked when I had companion plants around the units, though I'll need to watch out for aphids and other pests. For these, I'm looking at negi onion, mint, and balm.
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Post by kanewai on Dec 7, 2021 18:51:04 GMT -5
I've noticed everything grows much faster in a bounty than in a harvest. I have one lavender in each, planted at the same time, and the one in the bounty is close to twice the height. Perhaps the lights are stronger?
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Post by kanewai on Dec 7, 2021 16:21:48 GMT -5
Mountain Meadow week four - everything is looking good!
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Post by kanewai on Dec 7, 2021 16:18:01 GMT -5
kanewai , gotta be careful about that naked gardening! Kinda sorry I missed the photo. It wasn't flattering! Otherwise I might not have rushed to delete it.
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Post by kanewai on Nov 29, 2021 20:07:59 GMT -5
set the garden on vacation mode and left town for ten days. It's time to check on the kids ... Harvest, from bottom left: marjoram, lavender, thyme, Italian parsley, sage. It's time to trim the sage and marjoram. Both do very well dried, so I'll start in on my Italian herb mix. I can use that on everything. Bounty, from bottom left: epazote, savory, Greek oregano (still tiny), chive (singular), fernleaf dill, lemon balm, pipicha. The epazote is used for black bean dishes in Latin America. It's pungent, so I'm not sure what else I'd use it for. The savory looks very different this round. Last time it was much more compact. Perhaps one was summer and one winter savory? It has the same nice peppery taste The Greek oregano is still so tiny. I'll have to make sure he gets enough light. I would use a lot of chives if I had 'em, so I'm hoping this single one turns into a bunch. It's nice to see that fernleaf dill behaves itself, and doesn't try to take over the unit like regular fill. I don't know what to do with lemon balm. It smells nice I'm glad the pipicha is doing well. I'll make a batch of salsa verde or guacamole with it this weekend. Bounty 2: Lime basil, lemon basil, Persian basil (still small), Genovese basil, and a tiny little Thai basil in back. It's time for a trim. I don't have enough to make a proper pesto, so I'll mix these in with some goat cheese. *oops - photo removed by myself ... I didn't catch my reflection in the mirror! And, er, I was gardening naked. I'll repost with a proper one.
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Post by kanewai on Nov 15, 2021 1:47:58 GMT -5
All look great! What are you planting next I don't know yet. Right now all my units are occupied with herbs and flowers. I think I'd like to try Aleppo again plus one or two new hot peppers. I loved the pimento, I just wished it had produced more.
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Post by kanewai on Nov 12, 2021 20:21:16 GMT -5
I thought I closed out this thread - I guess not. I was out of town for six weeks in September and October, so I knew that this garden had a time limit. I harvested everything at the end of August, and planted the plants outside. They never had a chance in my yard (sandy soil, no sun) and I knew that. All my gardens are full now, so I don't have room for peppers (unless I buy another garden), but I do intend to plant them again. I'm not sure which ones, though. On to the show: Sheepsnose pimentoThe slowest grower, this guy was crowded out by the other two and didn't produce as many peppers. They tasted great, though. As one would ripen I would stuff some goat cheese in it & eat it then and there. If I could grow pimentos in quantity I would! AleppoThese produced a nice, spicy fruit with thin flesh. I mostly used them as a condiment - I would mince a little bit to use in a dish to add some heat at the end. I tried cooking with them, but they didn't add anything that dried chiles from the store would have added. I would plant these again. MirasolI'm not even convinced these were "mirasol" - there seems to be a lot of ambiguity in the naming of chiles. This plant was a bit big for the AG. The fruits were also much bigger than the other two. I dried some of them, and I liked the taste. I think I liked them better dried than fresh.
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Post by kanewai on Nov 12, 2021 19:58:49 GMT -5
We just had our office renovated, and my work corner was looking a little bit sterile. But not for long! This is the standard Mountain Meadow AG mix, three gazania, two dianthus, and two snapdragon, plus one chamomile and one lavender. Everyone looks happy and strong after two weeks. I don't know if this is too much for one unit or not; I'll find out soon.
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Post by kanewai on Nov 12, 2021 19:43:32 GMT -5
I try to keep such good notes - but I replant seeds that don't grow, I move pods around ... and now I have mystery pods and I can't remember that they are! HarvestAfter algae slimed a couple pods I washed out the machine, and moved some plants over that already had roots. Hopefully that will help keep the algae in check. I only have this problem with the Harvest, never with the Bounty. Current inhabitants, from left to right: marjoram, lavender, thyme, Italian parsley, chervil, and sage. I'm a bit worried about the chervil; it sprouted nicely, but doesn't appear to be strong. The basil garden: lime, lemon, Thai, Persian, and Genovese. There is going to be a lot of pesto in my future Harvest II: savory, epazote (first time!), Greek oregano (just planted last night), mystery, cilantro, fernleaf dill, pipicha, lemon balm. The two mysteries (I think they're chives and oregano) and the cilantro haven't sprouted. Everybody else looks good; I should have a better picture in a week or two.
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