By jessijordan
HydroGardens
Submitted on Thu, 2009/05/28 - 10:58pm
Last updated on Thu, 2009/05/28 - 11:22pm
I love thyme and can never have to much of it so today I made my own HydroGarden to hold 3 more pods of thyme & will make another one tomorrow perhaps for parsley!
I took a plastic dinner plate and traced a saucer just slightly bigger than the opening of my pot. Then I made 1 circle with my aerogarden pod. Then I traced a quarter to make the holes for the pods.
The pods & top fit perfectly!
Its the perfect addition to my garden!
(1 vote)
Fri, 2009/05/29 - 11:31am
#2
Why spend lots on an AG when you can build one yourself for a fraction of the price...? The world is your oyster with this type of design, just think, lettuce, basil etc etc. No more dirt and bugs eh!
To really compliment this, a little air pump and air stone would get you even better results; stop the water stagnating and oxygenate it. Then... liquid nutrients, watch those plants explode with growth...
Have I convinced ya yet? 
Fri, 2009/05/29 - 11:56am
#3
And spend the money instead on a couple of proper grow lights! What a deal! Safe, organic food for the picking!
Fri, 2009/05/29 - 2:56pm
#4
Judith,
Those are the pots I ordered from Buzzy Seeds. They didnt have any holes in them so I after I got rid of all my plants I found a better use for them dont ya think?! I'm considering using Mighty Putty to plug up the holes I have in a few other pots if I want later on. Right now I have 3 romaine pods, 1 lettuce vivian & 1 bibb pod. I think that sound be enough lettuce for just me.
Yes Peat,
I am convinced that dirt is the devil! LOL! Although I still have my broccoli & arugula microgreens, strawberry, cippolini onion, tomatoes & sweet pepper plants in soil.
I researched the air pumps (for fish tanks) & the smallest one I found are for 10g of water. These pots are waaaay smaller than that. Any other suggestions? Meanwhile I will change the water 2x a week after they sprout.
Fri, 2009/05/29 - 4:50pm
#5
You can buy air line splitters, Jessi. One line in from the pump, N lines out. So like I have one air pump for 2 AG minis.
Fri, 2009/05/29 - 5:35pm
#6
What you need is an air line splitter with adjustable taps, they can regulate the air flow from gentle to the maximum pump output across all manifold outlets.
As gisette said, you can then split off a few pots from each tap.
This is a UK website showing you what I mean and what to look for. The low tech method is to just constrict the air line tubing itself, you can do this with a cable tie or something similar. 
Edit: here is a US website showing you one of these adjusters, a local aquarium or hydroponics shop should be able to help.
Sat, 2009/06/06 - 12:38pm
#7
The thyme I planted in my Hydrogardens has come up sometime this week & I planted a few more herbs the same way. I used the Park seed sponges and am excited to see the results. I havent gotten the pump & splitter yet but its on my to do list
The lettuces in the AG3s are coming along. I used burpee seeds and recycled pod sponges for those.
Sat, 2009/06/06 - 7:32pm
#8
Oh, what kind of Park Seed sponges did you get, Jessi?
Sun, 2009/06/07 - 2:02pm
#10
Jessi,
Looks good! Can't wait to see how your project works out!
Beth
Sun, 2009/06/07 - 2:20pm
#11
Cool, Jessi - those are the same Park Seed sponges I use, and they work great. (The fat ones I tried don't work well.)
Mon, 2009/06/08 - 5:48am
#12
Gisette,
I bought some Park-Starts too on your recommendation but they are still waiting for me at my friend's house in the US.
Mon, 2009/06/08 - 10:52am
#13
Mary - I hope they work well for you!
Mon, 2009/06/08 - 1:53pm
#14
Well I'm on the badwagon too. 
I've received mine, but haven't had the need to use them yet. I'm sure they'll be fine.
Fri, 2009/06/12 - 1:55pm
#15
They seem to be working just fine for me. My French parsley has just sprouted and so far so good. The roots are growing down into the pods with no trouble. I do wish the hole was a little bigger. I like being able to see the seeds like in the AG pods. I place really small seeds like the thyme on just on top of the sponge surfuce and it works fine.
Tue, 2009/06/16 - 9:20pm
#16
Houston! We have bubbles!!! I discovered today that 2 of my 4 AG3s were no longer making bubbles! I would have been highly upset if I did not already know how to make em work anyway.
I bought a 10 gal air pump, 20ft of tubing, 1 - 5 vale part & a pack of splitters which cost a total of $37. The splitters were useless & the 5 valve only have 4 parts that worked so I have to exchange it 2morrow. Other than that I am happy.
Tue, 2009/06/16 - 10:13pm
#17
Great save Jessi!! Way to go!
Tue, 2009/06/16 - 10:42pm
#18
Thanks Jude!
I was so mad that the pumps stopped working & only God knows when. I have only had these since Dec & I figured out that its the part in the bowl itself that is not working. I switched the bowls around to see. The base hums but no bubbles. I guess its really a waste for me to have them plugged in being that I have an alternative grow lamp over 1 of them. I am disappointed in the construction of these things now that I know how simple & inexpensive they are to make with parts from Petland Discount!
Tue, 2009/06/16 - 11:20pm
#19
Did you try AG customer support, Jessi? You ought to get new bases.
Though you'll do fine without them for now.
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 12:30am
#20
I called last week to talk about a failed seed kit I had & they said that they have a limit on the number of replacements they allow & that I reached the limit. They had replaced a base & bowl for me about a month ago but I still have 1 that doesnt work. I figured it just wasnt worth the hassle to try to get them to replace the other. I see very little bubbles on the other 2 & can forsee them failing sometime in the future but at least I can do something so that its not a total & complete waste of my time and $.
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 10:55am
#21
I wish I had an AG3 to pull apart, not knowing how they are built I feel helpless!
Not knowing the construction, I was wondering if the air line has come apart from the pump? The bowl is humming so the pump may be working. How you go about attaching that I don't know.
One more thing with your new air pump you bought, have you got a one-way air valve in the air line? It won't matter if the pump is higher than your growing bases, but it will matter if the pump is lower than the bases - water could be back syphoned into the pump when you turn it off... The valve will stop this happening.
Sorry if you know this Jessi, I wouldn't want your new pump failing.
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 11:15am
#22
Hey Peat, According to the instructions, the pump has to be at least 12" above the tank (aka my pots), so I put it on the 2nd shelf & the bowls are on the 1st shelf 2ft or so apart. I have 1 airline going from the pump into the 5 part valve thingy & 5 lines coming out, going into airstones in the pots.
The AG3 design is fairly simple. The base has a little hole in it with a nozzle coming up that inserts into the bottom of the bowl. The bowl has a tube coming up out of it with an airstone attached & a plastic holder to hold it in place. I will take a pic so u can see.
In other good news, I called AG & told them what I discovered & they decided to send me 3 replacement bases! Yay!
So when those arrive I can just put the 2 extra air pumps I have into 2 other bowls for more grows. So then I will have 5 AG3s & 5 homemade ones! Woo hoo!
Now what small I grow? I'm thinking I could give snow peas another shot!
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 11:27am
#23
Good news with the extra bases, all that extra grow area - nice.
That's fine with the pump, the instructions are spot on; being above your bases the water won't be able to back syphon. You could, if you so desired, place the pump below the water line if you had a one way air valve. The air pumps I used for my AG's were always lower than the water so I had to buy these little valves, it was also a better-safe-than-sorry thing with me. 
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 11:43am
#24
Above the water line seems safer to me. You know gravity & all.
Here are the AG3 pics...
The big hole in the back is where the arm should go but I took it out & am using one of my other grow lights instead. The good thing about that is now I am no longer limited in how high my basil can grow! woo hoo!
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 11:52am
#25
Thanks, that's much clearer on the design.
If it was mine, the whole base would now be in bits... Idea; remove the useless pump and connect your new air line to the existing air line connection inside the base, you could then use the same original AG bowls as they were designed. The new air would bubble up from the existing fitment?
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 1:22pm
#26
Peatie Peat! There is no air coming from the base into the bowl. I switched the bowls with the new base I had gotten a week or so ago so I know for sure its the other bases that arent working properly.
I just planted 8 snow pea pods I created from AG baskets, Park Seed sponges & Oregon Snow Pea seeds, in another one of my homemade hydrogardens! I love snow peas & hope this works! I will be using AG veg nutes
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 1:47pm
#27
Scrap that idea then.
I guess I really need to get one in front of me, but, this will never happen as they don't sell them over here...
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 2:13pm
#28
Its ok Peat. They probably don't sell them there b/c they don't work that well over here! They are the latest addition to the AG family
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 8:13pm
#29
I have some pictures here from when I modified my minis. Not sure how close AG3's are to the same design.
Glad AG support came through with the new bases!
Wed, 2009/06/17 - 10:19pm
#30
so very cool!!!
Still I'm glad I dont have to do it now. I was gonna break out my mighty putty but they saved me the trouble.
I've never seen a pot like that without holes. Where did you find it?