Trixology
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: elagache on October 31, 2014, 09:03:56 PM
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Dear WeatherCat gardeners, (http://www.canebas.org/WeatherCat/Forum_support_documents/Custom_emoticons/gardening_smiley.gif)
One reason to become more aware of the weather is when you desire to grow your own plants and food. Of course that is harder to do in wintertime - in many places darn well impossible! [snowflake] So suppose you would like to have some fresh growing things in the middle of winter - what can you do?
During the shopping months before Christmas, we received a flier from AeroGarden which is owned by Miracle Gro (the fertilizer folks:)
http://www.aerogarden.com/ (http://www.aerogarden.com/)
With two members of the household having mobility problems and thus having become frustrated gardeners, there was enough interest to buy what is now called the AeroGarden Extra:
(http://media.aerogardenimages.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/398x398/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/e/x/extra_gherb.jpg)
http://www.aerogarden.com/aerogardens/aerogarden-extra-1/aerogarden-extra-1.html (http://www.aerogarden.com/aerogardens/aerogarden-extra-1/aerogarden-extra-1.html)
Our goal was to set it up as an herb garden so that we could at least have fresh herbs to add flavor to winter meals.
The scheme is very space-age indeed. The plants grow from little pods inserted into the device. Here is a photo of the plants first sprouting:
(http://canebas.smugmug.com/photos/i-SHRTqGF/0/L/i-SHRTqGF-L.jpg) (http://canebas.smugmug.com/Miscellaneous-/Aerogarden-growth-over-5-weeks/n-64m9j/i-SHRTqGF/A)
The roots go straight into a tank of water below. There is a pump to circulate the water daily. Liquid fertilizer needs to be added every 2-weeks and the water needs to be topped off frequently. The odd feature of the AeroGarden is the source of "sunlight." Instead of using any sunlight at all, it uses high-intensity bulbs of the sort that are used in light fixtures for treating Seasonal Adjustment Syndrome. The lights and pump are controlled by a small processor so that the optimal conditions are met for the type of plants you are growing. I took photos over 5 weeks and there is no doubt - the plants do thrive in this environment. Here is week 2:
(http://canebas.smugmug.com/photos/i-WdSRWTS/0/L/i-WdSRWTS-L.jpg) (http://canebas.smugmug.com/Miscellaneous-/Aerogarden-growth-over-5-weeks/n-64m9j/i-WdSRWTS/A)
Here is week-3:
(http://canebas.smugmug.com/photos/i-S9zrZ8Q/0/L/i-S9zrZ8Q-L.jpg) (http://canebas.smugmug.com/Miscellaneous-/Aerogarden-growth-over-5-weeks/n-64m9j/i-S9zrZ8Q/A)
Week-4:
(http://canebas.smugmug.com/photos/i-83Tm8tP/0/L/i-83Tm8tP-L.jpg) (http://canebas.smugmug.com/Miscellaneous-/Aerogarden-growth-over-5-weeks/n-64m9j/i-83Tm8tP/A)
Finally week-5:
(http://canebas.smugmug.com/photos/i-g7g7R3n/0/L/i-g7g7R3n-L.jpg) (http://canebas.smugmug.com/Miscellaneous-/Aerogarden-growth-over-5-weeks/n-64m9j/i-g7g7R3n/A)
By the time spring came the AeroGarden was a complete jungle of tangled plants. Still we got herbs from it for about 4 months and might have been able to get it to last longer with more careful pruning and additional fertilizer.
Since some of you live in parts of the world were the winters are especially harsh, I thought I would share our experiences with you'all. These units are quite expensive and you need to replace the seeds, fertilizer, and bulbs every season. Even so, if you intend to keep it for many years, that's a lot of fresh herbs and/or vegetables that you be able to enjoy in winter that would otherwise be impossible. We plan to buy the resupply parts and get our AeroGarden started up again soon.
For your information . . . . .
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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We've had two AeroGardens growing for several years. Mostly the salad mix, started at different times. We've tried tomatoes, but not had much to show for the time. I'd like to plant spinach in some of the pods, but never remember to do so. About time to dig mine out, as we should get temps in the 30s tonight which will finish off the outside garden.