Day 163
UPDATE#27
Grower update
Update #27
Actions taken
HarvestCollected the final produce.
FinishedEnded the gardens.
Final harvest!! These gardens have been ended
GrowLog
SuccessfulMini Munch cucumber and compact peppers in a Farm 24 XL
Grow log by maskedsonnet · Original thread
27 visual updates52 photos147 replies
View recapCrop🌶️Cucumber, pepper
VarietyMini Munch cucumber, Sweet Bonnet, Lemon Spice Jalapeño, Pot-a-peno
MethodAeroGarden Farm 24 XL hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm 24 XL
Plants5
AudienceBeginners
What you can learnUseful mixed-crop case showing that a parthenocarpic mini cucumber can produce repeatedly indoors while sharing a Farm with compact peppers, although vine management becomes demanding.
Actions:10 Harvest8 Pruning6 Equipment4 Nutrients2 Finished1 Training1 Watering
Useful practices
- redirecting and supporting vines
- frequent pruning and cleanup
- staggered harvesting
- regular feeding and reservoir refilling
Problems encountered
- cucumber vine entangling pepper plants
- temporary cucumber wilt or edema
- cold stress
- dead cucumber foliage
- uneven pepper flavour and productivity
*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.
Conversation
S
Lots of cukes, well done!
M
Nice
M
How do you like the Pot-A-Peno's green? I didn't like them green, but ripe they are fruity and delicious.
M
They’re pretty grassy tasting! I didn’t care much for them green, but I mixed these in chopped fine with a bunch of reds to cover up the taste. The red ones are definitely the tastiest.
Day 151
UPDATE#26
Grower update
Update #26
Actions taken
HarvestRemoved several ripe cucumbers.
The last of the jalapenos are coming along really well And the cukes!! Got several ripe ones that I took off, as well as a bunch of babies forming up!!
Conversation
C
Yum!
L
Love your Farm 24 XL posts!
L
maskedsonnet, is that a single Mini Munch cucumber plant in your Farm XL? Did you just let it drape over the top "trellis" when the lights couldn't be raised further?Now that my Mini Munch wants to climb, I'm going to raise the lights to accommodate it. (I may need to relocate or start over with my lemon cuke and/or Green Zebra.) However, I'm not sure how to handle MM.
M
It is a single plant that put out a couple of vines. Once I hit the height-limit of the lights I tried to drape it along the top string to encourage it to go horizontal-ish along it, but that didn't work well, it just ended up draping itself over the string to hang down the other side of it.
Day 141
UPDATE#25
Grower update
Update #25
Actions taken
PruningCut several Pot-a-peno plants back heavily.
FinishedRemoved one Pot-a-peno, Sweet Bonnet, and Lemon Spice jalapeño plants.
Did all sorts of trimming. Cleaned up the cucumber vine a little bit, and cut down all but one pot-a-peno down to stumps. One pot-a-peno was down to almost nothing by the time I trimmed off all the branches that had shed a bunch of leaves, so cut it out. Didn't really like the sweet bonnets, and wasn't super impressed with what the lemon jalapeno was doing so got rid of those. Will start some new peppers when the last plant finishes ripening up the rest of its peppers. Once again, the cucumber vine had too many babies for me to cut it apart, so it has been spared again!!
Conversation
C
Wow! Impressive!
Day 140
UPDATE#24
Grower update
Update #24
Actions taken
HarvestCollected a final harvest including many cucumbers.
The final harvest!! The bottom of that metal colander is cucumbers, there were a bunch ready for me!!
Conversation
M
Wonderful. Question, how hot were your jalapenos? My Pot-A-Penos have been on the milder side for a jalapeno, so far.
C
Looks scrumptious!
M
They’re mild, like I can still feel the spice a bit but not near the level I usually expect from home-grown jalapeños. But they are way better than store-bought, which usually taste like grass with no heat to me!
L
With luck, my cucumber will produce like yours, maskedsonnet.
Day 139
UPDATE#23
Grower update
Update #23
Got lots of harvesting and cleaning up to do here!
Conversation
C
Based on the garden updates I've just seen, might I suggest a salad recipe? It is something I modified from an old BH&G book...Garden Pasta Salad½ cup salami, pepperoni, OR mortadella, cut into small pieces1 medium tomato, peeled & chopped¼ cup chopped cucumber¼ cup chopped green pepper1 slice medium onion, finely chopped1 tablespoon snipped parsleyFresh Herb dressing (recipe follows)8 ounces wide noodles¼ cup crumbled feta cheese (1 ounce)In mixing bowl, combine meat, tomato, cucumber, green pepper, onion and parsley. Toss with Fresh Herb Dressing. Cover & chill thoroughly.Cook pasta (per package instructions), drain & rinse with cold water & drain again. Continue rinsing & draining till pasta is well chilled.Turn cooked pasta into a salad bowl. Spoon meat-dressing mixture atop pasta. Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese. Toss. Makes 2 servings.Fresh Herb Dressing:In a screw-top jar, combine ¼ cup salad oil; 3 tablespoons dry white wine; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 tablespoon sugar; 2 teaspoons fresh snipped basil or ½ teaspoon dried basil, crushed; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon pepper; and several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce. Cover & shake well.
M
Sounds delicious!
Day 118
UPDATE#22
Grower update
Update #22
Actions taken
HarvestPicked cucumbers, jalapeños, and a Sweet Bonnet pepper.
Picked a couple cucumbers and several jalapenos today! And the one sweet bonnet that was ready! The cucumber vine continues to be a super productive eye-sore - I wish it was a little prettier but I certainly can't argue with the results! For the lemon jalapenos, what I took for small, still-growing peppers before went ahead and turned colors! So have lots of tiny, delicious peppers from that, as well as some red peppers from the pot-a-peno plants. The sweet bonnet ended up being a bit of a disappointment, because I misread the description!! Thought it was still going to be spicy, not just sweet. It was still very tasty, just not quite what I was expecting - a barely-there heat, very sweet like a snacking pepper would be. The flavor threw me off so much that I went back to re-read the description and sure enough, not supposed to be hot lol.
Conversation
M
I like the lack of seeds on the last one. Did you remove some before the pic?
M
Nope! It had very few seeds when I cut it the rest of the way open, just a tiny cluster of them at the top, under the stem.
L
The cucumber is amazing! I really want to try a cucumber when my Farm 12 XL is free again. (For now, it is producing eggplants.) What kind of cucumber is it? Those are perfect jalapenos. I love the colorful, cornucopia-like photo.
M
The cucumbers are mini munch from territorial seeds
L
Thanks--I couldn't find it in the thread. I know you told us, because I ordered the seeds already!
Day 111
UPDATE#21
Grower update
Update #21
Actions taken
NutrientsFed all gardens.
WateringRefilled the water reservoirs.
EquipmentCleaned the gardens.
PruningTrimmed garden plants and cut basil and parsley back hard.
HarvestPicked cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes.
The cucumber plant is safe for now - tonight I fed all the gardens, refilled water reservoirs, and did some cleaning and trimming. In the process found more cucumbers!! And the little ones are still getting bigger. Also picked some peppers - the yellow ones are teeny lemon spice jalapenos, the rest of the peppers on the that plant are normal sized and I look forward to seeing them go yellow!! The red ones are pot-a-peno. The tomatoes keep coming in twos and threes that I gleefully gobble up right after picking them! The basil and parsley are also exploding, growing up into the lights, so I trimmed them back pretty hard.
Conversation
M
Just tasted one of the teeny lemon spice jalapeños, and now I REALLY can’t wait for the full-sized version to ripen up!! Very sweet, with a very pleasant kick of heat. I LOVE the sweet/spicy combo, and if the full-sized peppers are the same I’m sure I’ll be growing it over and over!
M
Is that the NuMex Lemon Spiced Jalapeno?
M
It is! I love the colors they’ve bred, I’ve got seeds for the NuMex orange spice and pumpkin spice peppers too. I’ve grown them before, but it was the garden that got destroyed by thrips so I only got a nibble of a sadly deformed and tiny pumpkin spice pepper before having to terminate everything.
M
I want to grow the yellow some time. The Pumpkin was a bust because of my air conditioner. But this time last year I grew the orange spiced pretty successfully.
S
maskedsonnet, your harvests are a joy to behold! Wish I could start some of the lemon spice jalapenos now... And mike, your pumpkin spiced may someday make it to my table. I need more growing space!
S
😍
L
maskedsonnet, the cucumber must have known that its days were numbered! It's really hard to take out any plant that is still producing. Your harvested cucumbers are lovely.
Day 107
UPDATE#20
Grower update
Update #20
After that last little explosion of productivity, the cucumber has slowed down at LOT. There is one almost ready to pick and tons of tinny cucumbers on there, so waiting to see if the babies start getting bigger before I end the project. But I'll admit, as much as I ADORE having cucumbers fresh in the winter, I'm getting a bit antsy to experiment with the summer squash!! Also the vine is becoming a bit of an eye-sore. I'm going to force some time into my schedule on my next days off to trimming and cleaning up all my plants - they're all getting a bit messy, but all the dead leaves on the cucumber are driving me a little nuts!! A close-up of one of the pot-a-peno plants, the peppers are growing well here! And one is starting to turn red for me! Another close-up, with the a happy yellow lemon jalapeno in the background!! And last up, the sweet bonnet has started to put on peppers! This is the one I'm most excited about, since I've never tasted these peppers before. [/url][/div]
Conversation
C
Way cool!
M
Fantastic! Those peppers look longer than the Jalapeno M normally are. I need to go after mine this weekend. They are each tight spheres of dense compact leaves right now. Lots of blooms, though.
S
What beautiful peppers. It makes me happy just to see the pictures. And you get to eat them! I share your anticipation.
S
Great looking peppers. AS for starting new gardens, I get like that too. Always want to keep what I have but land up ending early if there was something else I wanted to try.
Day 101
UPDATE#19
Grower update
Update #19
Actions taken
HarvestCollected cucumbers, tomatoes, and parsley.
Tonight's collected harvest!! Scarfed down the tomatoes right after taking the photo, delicious The cucumbers are ALMOST coming faster than I can eat them - but not quite!! Maybe one of these days I'll share with work, but probably not The parsley I put in a cup of water like flowers, lbecause herbs wilt incredibly fast in my home otherwise and I won't be cooking for another couple days when it's time to meal prep again. Didn't get to work on my gardens on my days off like I usually do, because of a whole lot of things!! Water heater sprung a leak, so had to get someone over to fix it. Went to get new tires put on my car a last week and the tech pulled me over to look at one of them, the tread had sort of... crinkled? It was worn in a super weird way, and he said I had a mechanical problem that I needed to have checked, so went and sat at the dealer for a few hours on Monday. Luckily it was just the alignment way out of wack, not anything more serious (or expensive!). Also had two job interviews on my days off, during which my laptop (because of Windows) failed me for the last time - WinBLOWS has been replaced with Ubuntu as my OS, and I'm already much happier. This is still a great machine, but Windows is a crooked company that has bricked my laptop for the last time. I'm never buying a personal laptop with a Windows OS installed on it again. Took me a while to back everything up, wipe the old OS out/install Linux, and get all my files loaded back on the computer though. All that paired with all the normal cleaning and meal prep and other chores around the house that I do on my days off, the gardens had to wait until after work tonight!
Conversation
S
Lovely harvest! You really did have a run of problems. Ouch at the time, inconvenience and money spent. And I share your opinion of Windows. That's why, as soon as I retired and had no use for a powerful computer, I switched to an Android tablet. It's great for what I do -- and no more Microsoft!
S
You had quite the day(s). I am sorry but glad in the end all is better now.
C
Oh, dear! That's a lot going on! Glad that it is in the rearview mirror now! Job interviews? Your harvest looks wonderful!!
M
Yes! I’ve been trying to move around/move up within my company for the past 5 years - I actually went back and counted 90 jobs I’ve applied for within the company since 2016 and was only given an interview for 3. So the past month or so I’ve been applying for jobs with other companies and so far I’ve already had 2 interviews and 2 offers to interview that came in the middle of vacation that I wasn’t able to do, out of the 10 that I applied for. Much better odds there! Hate to leave after investing 8 years in this place, but I’m hella bored here too! Time for something new
C
Good plan! When we spend so much time doing something, being bored can be very hard...and detrimental too! Wishing you wisdom to make the very best choices!
M
Hi, how pleased are you with your Pot-A-Penos and are you still growing them? You have a wonderful garden here. How tall did the Pot-A-Peno's get?
S
Let me say I wish you luck in your venture of going up in your job or finding a new one.4
M
I am! They're the front two plants on the pepper side of my Farm. They're about 20" tall and covered up in peppers right now! Very pleased with the production and flavor both
Day 94
UPDATE#18
Grower update
Update #18
Actions taken
EquipmentCleaned the gardens after returning home.
PruningTrimmed overgrown garden plants.
HarvestCollected produce from several gardens.
I'm home~!!! Hello again fellow addicts! Got back about 4 hours ago and have been running ever since, it's time for a sit-down and to brag about what I came home to Cucumbers!!! Peppers!! Herbs!! Tomatoes! Had to do quite a bit of trimming and cleaning of the gardens. Here's the final harvest:The cucumber plant before I harvested everything:The Farm when I finally cleaned up all the dropped leaves and blooms - I didn't turn my heater on and it got into the low 60s in my house while I was away, which means I've stressed my peppers out pretty bad :| BUT they've still got lots of small peppers put on!After I've rested my feet a bit I'll be re-filling all the water jugs, feeding all the plants, and firing up my November GAL!!
Conversation
C
Woo hoo! Looks like the makings of some tasty meals there! Yum!
M
One of these days I have to try cukes. I think I started them once, but I know I never harvested any cukes.
S
Congratulations on your bountiful harvests!
M
If you do them, I can't recommend the Mini Munch from Territorial highly enough!! They have done GREAT, and they're parthenocarpic so you don't have to worry about fertilization. The cucumbers they produce are sweet and thin skinned, absolutely delicious!
L
I'll have to get some of those seeds. Your photos are terrific--especially the one with the harvested cukes.
S
Nice harvest you have there. Isn't it great to eat and use what you grow.
Day 76
UPDATE#17
Grower update
Update #17
Actions taken
EquipmentCleaned the garden and deck.
PruningTrimmed the plants and cut dead cucumber leaves.
HarvestHarvested several peppers and two cucumbers.
Had to usual weekend mess waiting for me lolDid some cleaning and trimming, and harvested a few nice big peppers. Also cut out dead leaves on the cucumber plant and found two cucumbers to harvest!
Conversation
C
Nice!
S
Another mouth-watering display! And the cucumbers were a lovely surprise!
M
Those look terrific. How do the jalapenos taste. Normal heat for a jalapeno? I haven't grown this variety before until now.
M
The jalapeños were good! Pretty generic jalapeño flavor, which is always welcome but nothing to get really excited over. Had them with some chicken, the spice is about what I expect from a jalapeño - maybe a little on the ‘less spicy’ end but still a good level for a jalapeñoI was a little concerned that these were going to stay a little on the thin side, but the pods fattened up nicely in the last week or so before I picked them and became a good size for poppers, my favorite thing to do with peppers!
Day 67
UPDATE#16
Grower update
Update #16
Actions taken
HarvestPicked cucumbers from the vine.
Got another cucumber getting close!! And picked one this morning Also, the jalapenos are EXPLODING!! I'm going to have some clean-up to do on my days off. Need to do some trimming. Look at all those blooms!!
Conversation
C
Very nice! Looks like it might be time to make some Cowboy Candy!
L
The jalapeno blooms are amazing!
Day 61
UPDATE#15
Grower update
Update #15
Actions taken
NutrientsFed all plants.
HarvestPicked and ate the first cucumber.
My first cucumber!!!!!!I fed all the plants two days ago, and that seems to have pushed this one over the edge - it was getting pretty close already when I fed.I got SUPER EXCITED and didn't think to snap a photo until after picking, washing, and starting to slice it lol. It's very tasty!! The whole room that the plant is in also smells like cucumbers. The plant is LOADED, and there are several starting to get big. I can't wait to be loaded up with cukes!! They're probably my favorite snacking veggie. When this plant finishes, since it's already a success in my eyes even with just one veg picked and eaten, I'm going to try one of my parthenocarpic squashes. Probably the golden zucchini, since I've never eaten that variety before. I'm so excited to keep experimenting and watching this thing grow!
Conversation
S
What an amazing success! I am seriously impressed!
C
Bravo maskedsonnet! Very impressive! Can't wait to see more pictures and I look forward to the future zuke garden too!
S
That looks delicious. Great job!
L
Zucchini, maskedsonnet? You can grow zucchini? What a great idea!I plan to follow in your footsteps re the cucumbers, when I get the Farm XL free again. 🙂
M
Not sure! I’ve never done any type of squash in an AG, but if you can do cukes I assume you can also do zucchini’s! it’ll be fun to find out, even if it fails
S
There is a mini variety of zucchini caled Astia. I have some seeds, but never planted them because some people had trouble with their setting fruit. If you try it and like it, I will try some of my seeds. But I'll let you be the guinea pig!
C
Those sound very interesting...Renee's Garden has seeds. It sounds like they mature at 6-7 inches long. I wonder what the little "baby" zucchini might be called? Does anyone know? You know, the kind the sell sometimes at the supermarket. Those are so fun! And the pattypan ones too!
S
When I have grown squash in the past, I have just picked them when they were small instead of letting them grow full size. They are so tender and good. I have also grown patty pan just because they were fun and different. But the squash borers have gotten so bad around here that they kill the plants no matter what advice I follow. I used to be able to get one batch of squash before the plant died. Now the plants die before they even start setting fruit. That's why I bought the Astia seeds so I could grow them indoors. But from other people's experience, they produce all male flowers first and by the time the female flowers appear, there are no male flowers left to pollinate them. I did research how to dry the male parts in silica gel and freeze them until the female flowers appeared. But that was more effort than I wanted to mess with.
M
Interesting!! Squash bugs killed my buttercup squashes this year too, when I left for surgery the plants looked a little sad, but I didn’t really examine them - just assumed it was the heat. But when I got home and well enough to take a closer look, MAYBE a week and a half later, the plants were dead and covered in an unholy number of bugs, so gross!!! So looking forward to indoor experiments. Having to deal with gendered flowers does sound like a pain, so I’m hoping the parthenocarpic varieties I bought to play with stay small enough for my machine! Otherwise I may look at rigging up something bigger when I have more time to actually build something.
S
Oh, yuck! The squash bug invasion sounds horrible!I have seen parthenocarpic zucchini seeds for sale. Apparently some of them perform a lot better than others. But I don't have room for those projects indoors.
S
I never heard of a squash bug. We have a ton of Kissing Bugs here. They do not bite but can carry diseases. I actually have the exterminator coming to spray. While I would not bother normally I do not need Piper getting a hold of one or one coming in the house. I have had to catch and release a couple stink bugs, gross bug too!
S
I never heard of kissing bugs, but stink bugs are horrible.
M
I’d never heard about kissing bugs until this year, but I keep seeing warnings about them when I scroll through news headlines. They look distressingly like squash bugs, enough that I’d have to get uncomfortably close to them to tell the difference. Yuck!!
C
I've never heard of the kissing bugs either! Yuck!!! We do have stink bugs. Mikey has learned to grab any invaders with a wet paper towel.
L
All about kissing bugs and Chagas disease:kissingbug.tamu.edu/I'd heard of them, but not about their causing disease. I don't think that I've ever seen one.
C
Well, that certainly rules out a future home in about 1/2 the country, for me! Ugh!
Day 57
UPDATE#14
Grower update
Update #14
Actions taken
EquipmentCleaned the machine and deck.
PruningTrimmed the pepper plants to improve light.
Cleaned up the machine today and found a bigger cucumber!!Also found some jalapenos forming up when I cleaned up the pepper plants and deck! And trimmed the plants again in order to give the Sweet Bonnet some more light. The flowers are FULL of pollen, dropped a LOT of it on the deck anytime I jostled the plants
Conversation
S
Look at those cukes and peppers. Gardens look nice and tidy too!
C
Wow! Very nice...and the blossoms look pretty tasty too.
S
That is so exciting, maskedsonnet. I am impressed with your success!
L
maskedsonnet, your cucumbers and jalapeños are amazing. I love the photos. Looking at everyone's gardens here is a treat--especially when my own gardens are mostly in the "just planted" stage.
Day 55
UPDATE#13
Grower update
Update #13
The leaves still don't look great, but some of the cucumbers are getting bigger. And it's totally loaded up!!The pepper plants are growing nicely, with lots of blooms! I've got a lot of trimming to do on my days off though
Conversation
C
Loaded!? I'll say! Good job!
S
Loaded is right! LOTS of peppers on the way!
S
WOW, they are LOADED! WTG!
Day 46
UPDATE#12
Grower update
Update #12
Actions taken
PruningTrimmed leaves from three jalapeño plants to improve light for the Sweet Bonnet.
Thanks lynnee , I think you're right and it was edema from not getting it the nutrients when I was supposed to, it's already perked up a little bit! Hopefully it'll bounce back.Today I cleaned up the peppers a bit, trimmed leaves off all three jalapeno plants because they're shading my sweet bonnet, and I wasn't up to it by the time I finished everything up yesterday. Actually overdid it a bit yesterday in my enthusiasm to stop sitting around and do something other than aimlessly wandering around the house/back yard because the doctor told me to walk and move around to help with healing. Gotta watch that and not get ahead of myself again! There are even more blooms than I thought on the two front plants!And the sweet bonnet is incredibly healthy looking, it's just short lol
Conversation
S
maskedsonnet, you are definitely back into Farming! Looks beautiful!
S
I second that
Day 46
UPDATE#11
Grower update
Update #11
Cucumbers went a bit limp for some reason? Maybe because I did wait a couple days past when I was supposed to add nutrients, wanted to do it on my day off so I'd also have time to start up my Harvest.The peppers are still growing great though!! They're blooming
Conversation
C
Oh, dear! Fingers crossed!
S
The peppers look great. Hope the cucumbers revive after the feeding.
L
maskedsonnet, The cucumber looks like it has edema (because of the dry leaf edges and the dots of waxy stuff). My banana pepper gets that when the leaves are too thick for ventilation, but it hasn't hurt the production. The pepper plant is helped by pruning, but the affected leaves don't need to come off, except for maybe the worst ones.Here's a link to a good article about edema, its causes, and treatment. Nutrients (too much, too little, or wrong kind) can be a cause.www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/treating-edema-in-plants.htm
S
Lots of flowers on the peppers
S
maskedsonnet, that article was good. Thanks for the link.
Day 39
UPDATE#10
Grower update
Update #10
Home at last - and the cucumber and pepper plants all did great while I was away!
Conversation
C
This is good news....and, since you are home, that's good news too!?
M
It is!! Still pretty sore and can't really bend. And even if I was allowed to lift anything heavy I certainly wouldn't want to!! But glad I got this done and even gladder to be back in my own space to heal the rest of the way!! I'm very grateful to my parents for how much they took care of me and helped me with all this, but the DRAMA that pretty much always surrounds my brother (who still lives with them) is unbearable sometimes!
C
Oh, dear. Well, sounds like you'll heal a bit easier in your own space. Peace and the puppies! Hang in there! You'll be past all of this in no time!!
S
Well, except for the drama, I am glad things worked out so well.
M
Yes, peace and puppies!! They always have a blast with Mom and Dad's dog, but I can always tell when we come home that they're glad to be alone together again. Hermes thinks Aurora's his mommy and takes up all her time, it's so funny watching Prince get jealous over it!
C
Dogs are funny! I think Cadie is still mad at our friends' doggies for leaving after staying with us while the friends vacationed. She loved them...they left her...
L
Glad you're home and feeling better. Your cucumber plant sure looks happy that you're back!
Day 29
UPDATE#9
Grower update
Update #9
So far the cucumber is behaving herself without the additional barrier between garden sides. And she's blooming on the ends of the tiny cucumbers, so some of them at least may go ahead and mature! I'm going to have to order more of those trellis lines though. That'll just be if this is a raging success all the way through the growing/harvesting process, planning to just tie twine between the posts for this round when I need more space for the vine to climb. If I decide I want to do cucumbers again for sure after this I'll order additional trellis material
Conversation
C
How fun & she really is growing!!
S
It looks like she is reaching for the sky!
L
You make me feel better about my pepper garden discovery this a.m. I've been wondering why the two plants weren't forming more blooms, and finally looked inside at the water level. It was way, way down despite showing "Full" on the touchscreen. If I have time today, I'll see whether I can clear the roots out of the float! 🙂Your cucumber progress reports are fascinating. Cucumbers are something else that I need to try. What kind of cucumber is it?What I'd most like to do is grow spinach, but my research indicates it isn't really possible in an Aerogarden.
M
I’ve done that a few times too! Always a sad surprise to find an empty water tank when the sensor shows full
C
You could try Perpetual Spinach (Swiss Chard). Not spinach, really, but you may like it! Sher recommended it to me.
S
lynnee, I have read of people having success growing spinach by pre-sprouting them between 2 wet paper towels in a zip lock bag. Then when the seeds sprout, transfer them to a well soaked sponge. If you really want to grow spinach, it might be worth a try.
L
Yessss! I'll definitely give that a try!
M
Maybe someday I'll give spinach a shot too! It might be something I enjoy if homegrown - there are several veggies that I can't stand bought at a grocery store but looooove to eat homegrown, because the taste is so different. I've never really liked spinach, my parents don't really like it, and none of us have tried growing it. I think it'd be a fun experiment two ways - see if I can make it grow, and if so see if I actually like the flavor!! Maybe a winter project
Day 26
UPDATE#8
Grower update
Update #8
Actions taken
TrainingUnwrapped the cucumber from a pepper and gave it another support to climb.
NutrientsAdded nutrients.
Went to add nutrients and my naughty cucumber had grabbed hold of a pepper plant!!I gently unwrapped the tendril and gave her something else to climb, then added nutrients:
Conversation
C
Glad you caught that!
S
Yes, they are greedy little climbers that will latch onto anything. Glad you caught it in time.
C
Do you think you should put up a barrier between the two sides? Cardboard or something prettier? At least until they find other stuff to latch onto?
M
It probably wouldn’t hurt, just to make sure she doesn’t misbehave like that again. I have some nice cloth that I could hang there, I bet that’d be enough to keep it off the peppers since I’m now providing other things to climb up.
S
I remember when I try to train my tendrils to grow a certain way. They had a mind of their own and said nope I am not listening LOL
Day 24
UPDATE#7
Grower update
Update #7
Actions taken
EquipmentRaised the light after the cucumber reached it.
It already grew into the light and I had to raise it!! Little concerned about the brown-speckled bottom leaf. Looked it over very carefully and didn't see any bugs at least.Also seeing teeny cucumbers on here already?! Should I pinch them off you think? The plant's still pretty small to be fruiting I think, there are a few of them...
Conversation
C
I've grown cucumbers, but only outside and not for a long, long time. To tell you the truth, we didn't pay much attention to them. Just planted them & tired to keep up with harvesting them. They went nuts...along with the zucchini we used to grow. We would give away to neighbors and whatever we couldn't give away around the house, we would take over to the American Legion. So, sorry!!! I'm not much help. My gut says, you are likely right, take them off and let the plant mature. But wait for someone else's input!!!
S
No, campingcorgis, don't pinch off the babies As for cucumber leaves the bottom leaves often look bad. I have not been successful growing cucumbers in an AG but others have. Do a search to see their projects.
Day 22
UPDATE#6
Grower update
Update #6
The cucumber liked the lowered lights!
Conversation
S
It really did!
Day 17
UPDATE#5
Grower update
Update #5
Actions taken
PruningThinned Sweet Bonnet seedlings to one plant.
EquipmentLowered the lights after discovering they were fully raised.
The sweet bonnets were up enough to thin to one plant. Cucumber plant continues to amaze me!! And today they ALL amazed me, because I realized that the lights have been ALL THE WAY UP this whole time!! So I lowered them and hopefully everyone will do even better than they already are!!
Conversation
C
Sometimes, I think maybe I should make a check list!?
M
it might help!!
S
I havr done that so many times LOL
S
It's a good thing that the Farm's lights are bright enough to keep the plants going even when they are too high!
Day 12
UPDATE#4
Grower update
Update #4
Actions taken
NutrientsAdded nutrients to the Farm.
PruningThinned jalapeño pods to one plant each.
Added nutrients today!! The cucumber continues to grow The peppers are doing good too! The jalapenos all got big enough that I thinned them down to one plant. And the sweet bonnet has sprouted!!
Conversation
C
Nice! Amazing how quickly they come to life!
S
I am going to enjoy following your cucumbers!
Day 7
UPDATE#3
Grower update
Update #3
The cucumber is still doing well:And three of the four peppers have sprouted!!
Conversation
C
I think they are trying to make up for the "down" time! Or, fess up! What are you feeding them?
M
Good ol AG nutes!
Day 1
UPDATE#2
Grower update
Update #2
The incredible difference a day makes:
Conversation
C
I'll say! That's great!
S
That grew quite a bit.
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update
Update #1
The cucumber was Ready to LIVE!And had a helmet lol. It's still too early for the peppers.
Conversation
E
That helmet looks like it would easily slide off with a gentle tug!
M
I bet so! I’m gonna try when I get home in the morning, I was in such a hurry to get going to work yesterday that I snapped the pic and ran out without even noticing the helmet until I looked at the photo after things settled at work! And now I’m staring at the wall here wishing they would let me work from home lol
S
That was fast. Yay