Monday, April 9, 2012

PLANTING: Tomato and Pepper

Since vegetable production in an AeroGarden is quite a bit more tricky than greens or herbs or even some flowers, I am starting off with a more detailed run-down of what I am growing.


I have one Tomato plant and one Pepper plant in the same AG Extra planter.


Seed brand and max height
  • Tomato: Totem Hybrid from Park Seed, Co.
  • Pepper: Sweet Mini Bell from AeroGrow (as pod kit)

Pod planting scheme
  • Front Row, end pods.
  • 4 seeds in Pepper Pod.
  • 3 seeds in Tomato Pod
  • Grow medium for both pods: AeroGrow sponges.

Nutes I am using
  • AeroGrow supplied liquid nutes, per instructions (8ml, 5.5ml, etc.)

What machine I am using
  • AeroGarden Extra

Sow date
  • Both Plants: March 19th, 2012

Date of germination
  • Tomato: 3/23 for first seed.
  • Pepper: 3/26 for first seed.



P+10 Days: Arrival
Not much. Just vegetation.


P+21 Days: The Tortoise and the Hare
Guess which is which!
This is an AeroGrow kit pepper so I assume it is right for hydroponics, but man, is it pokey.



PLANTING: Aerogrow Love Blooms

These are actually miniature pink Petunias. The are, so far, SLOOOW growers. I planted them the same time as the Basil and they are just now getting up over the pod label.




I have never grown flowers from seed so I have no idea how fast I should expect them to grow.


P+26 Days: One Pod is Picking Up
The back right pod has quite a few roots out of the sponge and directly into the solution. I assume this is why it is a little further along than the other two.


P+31 Days: More Vegetation
All 3 pods are growing but the back right one is still ahead.


P+35 Days: Even More Vegetation
You really can't see any of the pod labels now. A decent amount of growth in 4 days.


P+46 Days: Vege-gedden!
Leaves, leaves everywhere, but not a bloom to see!



P+57 Days: Bloomerific!
Wow! Here is what I've been waiting for! New blooms every day now.
Did a water/nute refresh tonight.



PLANTING: Genovese Basil

Ok, so I am Finally going to get going with my second garden. This one is in my pink AG3.
It is a Pesto Basil seed kit from AeroGrow that came with this AG3.
I got my pods going on Sunday the 12th of February.
Today I notice my first sprouting. A single Basil plant. Once a few more show up and grow up above the label cap, I'll post some pix and start my, "P+x Days" counter.


P+7 Days: They're Here!
All 3 pods now have little Basil-ette seedlings up above the pod label.
I'll keep the lids on for two or three more days.



P+17 Days: Looking Good
Not growing as fast as the Romaine, but WAYY faster than the Petunias. Those things STILL have not gotten above the pod label! I have replaced the water and nutes, once.



P+21 Days: Good Growth
Nothing fancy. I figure in 3-5 days I'll have my first pruning.


P+26 Days: Not Quite Yet
Its not quite ready for its first pruning. But soon. Probably a couple of days. Its has been fairly cool inside for the last couple of days and that may have slowed it down. I noticed quite a few suckers so I'll take those also, when I prune. Looks like I'll be raising the hood in the next day or two, also.



P+31 Days: Oh Yeah. I'm Pruning Now.
I have raised the hood twice. Seems to be every other day. I am pruning tomorrow (15th).


P+35 Days: Pruned and Eaten!
I pruned about 25% of the plants and converted it into a small amount of pesto. I then mixed the pesto into some pizza sauce and used the mixture as a base for a homemade pizza. Super yum!
You might be able to see, on the lefthand side of the AG, that the basil is like a long stem and then finally leaves on top. Well, I waited too long to prune and I though I was doing good by removing the "suckers", except they weren't suckers. They were the next set of leaves. Not any more. :-(
Ahh well. Live and learn.


P+46 Days: More Pruning. And Freezing.
I tried just refrigerating the leaves but I don't use them fast enough. So I tossed them into the freezer, in a Ziploc bag. Also, right after the previous post, I performed a mega-prune. All of the plants were about 1/2 the height of what was shown ion the photo.
Now, about 11 days later, they are ready for more pruning. I also did a water/nute replace on about day 38 or so.


P+57 Days: Same Ole Same Ole
Leaves still look the same, still smell the same, still prune the same, etc.
Really not too much to see. Still getting regular harvests. Not a ton of leaves, but even crushed up, I now have a Ziplock sandwich bag full of Basil. Once the full leaves are frozen I crush them up inside the baggie and then put them back in the freezer.
I did a water/nute refresh tonight.