Hi, just curious do any of you own an Aero Garden? If so which one and do you like it? It seems so interesting and such a smart idea for people with little room.

Judy

during the winter im constantly dabbling in hydroponics, using small home made systems. i used to work in a greenhouse once upon a time so i have a bit of experience in that area i find aero garden and similar things a bit gimmicky but for certain if they introduce you to the interesting world of hydroponics and help you eat a bit more fresh food from your small space then im all for saying go for it

one of the first home made units was quite simple that i still use i have a large south facing window that i have a 6 foot long, 3 inch diameter plastic pipe capped at both ends, holds drilled in the top every 2 inches. i plant individual lettuces for each hole. a 5 gallon bucket and aquarium pump delivers the water

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

JOdi...do you have any pictures of your ingenious system? How big does your lettuce get, and what do you do to mineralize/supplement the water?

i dont have a pic sorry i need to get a new camera

i have a few rotating worm bins going and i siphon off the worm castings tea from the bottom (and filter it through pantyhose then a coffee filter so no dirt gets in the system) and add that to the water as nutrients its loose leaf lettuce and gets as big as any bunch at the store so maybe 15-20 leaves? i have to confess i snip an awful lot of the time for baby lettuce greens tho lol

i'll see if i can borrow a camera to take a pic or find something similar on the net .. i know its hard to explain what it exactly looks like but basically its just a plastic tube running along my window sill and the bucket sits off to the side by the electrical plug which i just plug in the pump ..water ... then unplug .. ive thought about putting it on a cheapo timer .. maybe this winter

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

ok it looks like pretty close to these tubes .... just a single one .. attatched to my window sill

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also my holes are closer together , the plants are in small baskets, and the grow medium is coconut husk which i get alot of reuse out of

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Thank you for your reply. We were able to pick up a decent model for $35 so I thought it was for sure worth a try. Thanks again.

Jodi--

Wow, that's such a great concept; I really haven't encountered it before. I live in a highrise apartment with no patio, and we have a huge picture window in our living room, so that would be ideal for me. Now.... to sell Jonathan on the idea; I'm sure he'll think it's a hassle. I'll have to work on him for awhile. ;-p

Sharrhan:


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Just tell him you're doing it and that's final! Lol

tealady thats cool i hope you really get into it gardening on any scale is really rewarding


hehe sharrhan thanks the tubes in the pic are quite large .. mine is just a length of plastic pipe 3's diameter with the holes drilled in the top you could make smaller ones .. hang em from chains from the top of the window sash .. etc mine attatch to the window sill i just put hooks at each end and looped a cord around the pipe to keep it in place , plus its easy to pop off take outside and hosedown if needed it doesnt provide me with ALL my greens for the winter but it helps fill in the budget in 6 ft of space i can get average 25 good full heads of lettuce out of 30 holes ..like i said i snip away at them for baby greens so a half dozen or so never make it to maturity

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/2009 02:31AM by Jgunn.

Jgunn,

Thanks, I am excited about it. It is a good starting place. I am amazed and a little ovewhelmed with all the new things I would like to experiment with as I explore this new lifestyle.