By gisette
Aerogarden Lettuce & Flowers 2012
Submitted on Sun, 2012/01/08 - 9:11pm
Last updated on Sun, 2012/01/08 - 9:24pm
Posted in
Should have put this in a new topic last week... No longer 2011!
Replanted the 7-pod garden yesterday, and started replacements for the 3-podders as well, in a Park Starts block. Camera battery died before I got pix of the minis 
but they look much the same, except the Korean red curl is getting kinda spent.(Edit: added mini pix.)
One nice side effect of growing the vinca in the AG mini is that I've been collecting vinca seed this past week. 
Vinca cora and the mediterranean broadeye vinca do reseed themselves out in my garden, and the plants come out pretty nice, though rather late in the summer if they grow from last year's seed outdoors. Nice replacement plants, anyway. But it's hard to collect the seed outdoors. Much easier from the AG.
Sun, 2012/01/15 - 11:41pm
#2
Mon, 2012/01/16 - 4:26pm
#3
HI Gisette,
Your Aerogarden looks great!
Can you tell me how you deal with spider mites? I think that is what I have (vison no longer 20/20 here), since one plant (who knows what it is) has webs the other (same type who knows what variety) does not. These are in <gasp> dirt.
Any hints?
Chuck
Mon, 2012/01/16 - 5:05pm
#4
Hi, Chuck! Thanks!
Well, I didn't deal with the spider mites very successfully - just killed them back, didn't kill them off. (Though I don't believe they spread...) There's a product called GardenSafe Fungicide 3 (or 3-in-1), which is a little misleading - the "3" are fungicide, insecticide, and miticide. Active ingredient is "clarified hydrophobic extract of neem oil."
Maybe I bought it at Walmart?
Be careful to test a little bit of plant, spraying that stuff on. It was too harsh for cucumber leaves, as I recall.
Hey, I grow my indoor cucumbers in dirt. 
My indoor/outdoor tomatoes and peppers, too. Hydroponics is awesome for lettuce and herbs, some flowers. Cucumbers not so much - the roots rot too easy. And with the other big plants, it's sure easier to keep the nutrients/pH stable in dirt! And yeah, they need more roots that way. But, you know, they kinda need roots to support the plant... Dirt works for me.
Good luck!
Tue, 2012/01/17 - 11:21am
#5
Thanks - Found it at Lowes also - Will pick it up today and will post how it worked - Need to get my Aeroponics going, keep procrastinating for some reason - Have an Emilys Hydro setup in a box that I bought for Wife 2 months ago - should not have bouth the aerogarden 3 - it is too easy for her - so I guess I will fire that up too.
Lots to do, lots to see, life is so good to me (and mine).
Take care,
Chuck
Sun, 2012/01/22 - 3:05pm
#6
Chuck - glad life's good to y'all! 
How'd the Fungicide work out?
Lettuces coming along. Probably give it another week before picking. Can usually pick looseleaf at 3 weeks, Korean curls and romaines - 4 weeks is better. Who knows when the flowers will bloom.
Sun, 2012/01/29 - 5:52pm
#7
Sun, 2012/02/05 - 8:30pm
#8
I have replacement CFLs... I'd forgotten that! Replacing lights on all 3 today... It's too late for the lettuce in the kitchen, though. Should just replant that soon. I cook in the kitchen in winter. 
The lettuce does not like that.
Might have first flower by next week! The zinnia is developing quick!
Mon, 2012/02/06 - 9:53am
#9
gisette,
Lowes website said they had it - turned out not - used some other stuff and it stymed them a bit - finally put plants out on back deck. That should kill the mites (12 degrees here this AM). So far the plants seem to be surving the cold. They have been out there at least 10 days.
If the plants go, they go.
I bought my wife a 3 pod aerogrow for Christmas. The Basil is growing good, the thyme not so much and the dill produced one shoot that has since given up. She wrote to Aerogarden and got a reply. Cut back on the Basil to let the others get more light. Huh? Perhaps she did not give them enough detail. Anyway she is going to try and call them and get some better guidance.
Would you believe she is talking about getting a 10 pod (and may turning in the 3 pod for credit)? Persitent is a term that well describes the love of my life.
I will let you know how it all works out.
Chuck
P.S. - I will let you know if my cucumbers (in my aeroponic tub) develop root rot. I have the time set up for 1 minute on, 10 minutes off right now. Had to go to 1 minute on, 15 minutes off during Summer as the tob nutes got to hot. I will try other methods this Summer.
Mon, 2012/02/06 - 1:21pm
#10
Chuck - I'm amazed the plants are surviving 12 degrees. Not many do.
Well, if she wants a bigger garden, she must like your present. Basil does simply grow a lot better than the other herbs, though. But Aerogrow often replaces dead pods - their customer service used to be stunningly good. I haven't dealt with them lately.
Good luck with the cukes! I'd love to see / hear more about that grow! My deep-water cuke experiments didn't do well.
Retired the vinca today - aw. Its ongoing spider mite problem got serious again, and I just don't want spider mites in the house.
I was bored with it, anyway.
The KRC mini gets another week, because 3 pods of KGC lettuce failed to start in the 7-podder, so the KRC replacements went there. Started another 3 pods of Little Caesar romaine in the Park Starts block to transplant next week, and plugged some flower seedlings from the Park Starts block into the flower mini.
The new flowers are (I think) a Zahara Starlight Rose zinnia and 2 Xtreme Utopia mix impatiens:
The "I think" part is due to the fact I planted one vinca in the Park Starts block. They look more alike as seedlings than I remembered.