VarietyBaby Greens, Arugula, Black Seeded Simpson, Marvel of Four Seasons, Red Sails, Salad Greens
MethodAeroGarden Farm Plus hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm Plus
Plants12
AudienceBeginners
What you can learnStrong first-garden diary for new Farm users, covering assembly, staggered lettuce planting, dome removal, pruning, solution changes, and a forced early shutdown.
Unfortunately I’ve had to end my lettuce grows prematurely. These was the sad scene last night after I chopped off the remaining leaves in the left unit of my Farm Plus.We live in central North Carolina and we’ve elected to evacuate ahead of Florence. We’re moving large valuables (like the Farm!) to the second floor and heading to visit our family in Florida for a few days. Having lived through hurricane Fran’s arrival in 1996, I can safely say I do not want to be around for whatever is going to happen if the current storm track for Florence holds. There’s nothing we can do to stop damage to our home if we stay, so off we go. If I’ve got home a to return to, the Farm Plus will be all set for new plants when my other units arrive in a couple of weeks. New projects forthcoming!
Thanks all!Fun fact: Today while taking down the Farm to move to our second floor I discovered that the Farm remembers the state it was last in after a power outage. You need to set the clock, but all of the current grow information is retained. I wasn’t expecting that. I’ll still have mine plugged into UPS devices for protection, but that’s good to know.
As others have said, I wish you well in the coming storm. I hope you can check in and let us know how you’re doing - I’m sure I speak for us all when I say we’d really like to hear how you and your family are faring. Safe passage, Nick.
You’re all very kind. Thank you.We had a plan to leave early and head south to stay with family in Florida. However, it seems the storm’s path has changed significantly overnight putting the eye over South Carolina instead of North Carolina. That’s enough of a shift that we’ve decided to stay put. It’ll probably still be stormy here, but the rain forecasts in the Raleigh area have shifted significantly and I’m not as worried now. Of course this could all change again tomorrow. Hurricanes are fun.
Looks like it’s going to be a salad night tonight. Day 31 for these plants. Day 21 for these. A friend just happened to send both golden and purple cherry toms over this morning from her garden. It’s shaping up to be a tasty evening.
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Thunderous Applause along with some ooo's and ahhh's!
It’s Day 26 for the lettuce garden in the left unit. We had a big harvest on Sunday night so I’m letting them have a few days off. It’s also day 16 for the lettuce garden in the right unit. Things continue to move along there, though the one Salad Greens pod in the front (bottom of the photo) seems undersized compared to its sibling right next door. Oh well. It looks fine, just small. My son wanted to see the roots of the plants in the left unit so here’s a bonus shot of those.
Day 21
UPDATE#11
Grower update
Update #11
🔧Actions taken
🧺HarvestTook the first small lettuce harvest for a side salad.
It’s Day 21 in the left unit of the Farm Plus and this is where things are. I’ll also note that this is after I took my first small harvest on Day 19 in order to have a little side salad with my dinner.Meanwhile things in the right unit continue to progress a little faster than what I saw in the left unit. All I need now is three more Farms. 🙂
I totally agree. I started with one machine three years ago and now have 10. Oh wait that number is wrong, I have 9. One is now in the trash , anyway ... Right now I have 6 going. I actually have a brand new unopened Harvest in its box sitting under my desk. One in my Garage in its box as well as an Extra I need to change the pump on. But I can only handle these unless I can lift more. I need a whole room for AG'ing. Or a bigger house
Had my first major harvest from lettuce garden in the left unit of the Farm Plus tonight. It was enough for three side salads that fed me and my boys. The boys had a hard time believing that individual lettuces actually had flavors. They're so used to the big packs of greens we get from the grocery store, or bags of single types of lettuce at the farmer's market.I was quite pleased that they noticed a difference without me prompting them.The lettuces in the right unit have continued to grow just as well as the ones in the left. One of my boys helped me with an R&R in the right unit today, so we're only a week or so away from a harvest from that one as well.In the mean time I'm plotting what I'll get into when my new units arrive. Also: Not only did I not get in trouble for my purchases, but I was told to stop apologizing. My wife is so happy that I'm in love with the AeroGardens that she doesn't want me to feel bad about it.
That is wonderful Nick. On all counts, the harvest, boys liking and tasting the difference and most of all your wife not being mad This is one hobby that keeps on going and going and growing!
I echo Shawn. Great experiences and news all around. I’m particularly happy for you that the whole family is enjoying it. My spouse took a little convincing... , lol.
It’s Day 19 for the left unit of the Farm and things have spread out a bit since my last update.The right unit is on Day 9 and the sprouts there are all looking well. At least two of these domes will come off tonight. And today I raised the light on the left unit just slightly to accommodate the ridiculous growth of the Baby Greens. They’ll get pruned tonight at dinner.
It’s Day 16 for the left unit of my Farm and the lettuces seem to be coming right along.I pruned the Baby Greens (again) and the Arugula today. Now they seem to be a bit more on par with their neighbors. It’s Day 8 in the right unit. I’ve got sprouts in every pod there. The domes are already off of the two Baby Greens pods. It looks like the domes for the Arugula, Marvel of 4 Seasons, and Red Sails will come off tonight.
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If there were a prize for a neat pristine garden, you'd get it hands down! So tidy! I think you and Mary should share the prize..both of you have the neatest gardens in the AG-ing world!
I came home to find these three leaves on the back of the Baby Greens in the left unit. I snipped them off, but I’m wondering if you all had any insight into what might be happening with those, or if it’s anything to be concerned about.The rest of the plants look healthy.
Perhaps they're sunburned?When I talked to AG about their opinions about the Farm, she mentioned that the 60 W lights are each so bright that they needed to raise the lights to avoid scorching the lettuce.
Day 14
UPDATE#7
Grower update
Update #7
🔧Actions taken
✂️PruningRemoved large outer Baby Greens leaves.
💧SolutionFully drained and replaced the solution.
🧪NutrientsAdded nutrients after the solution change.
Well it’s been 14 days since I started my lettuce grow in the left unit of the Farm Plus. Here’s where it was this morning. The baby greens are obviously way ahead of everything else, so I decided to prune the larger outside leaves. This was supposed to be a post-pruning photo, but after I took it I realized that I missed the large leaf in the lower right. It was pruned after the photo. And, since it’s day 14, it was time for nutrients. I did a full drain and replace before adding the nutes. The Farm Plus made the drain so easy!I’m hoping to see some pretty rapid growth now that they’ve been fed!
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did that tube come with the Farm? Your gardens are superb!
I have no clue about Farms but other machines can get the white calcium deposits on them that are nearly impossible to remove. I wish you a calcium free deck!
This crew seems to be happy so far.......and now the right unit has been planted with the rest of the seed kit.It's day 11 (though these pictures are from yesterday) and most of the domes are off on the lettuces in the left unit. Still no sign of a sprout from the Black Seeded Simpson. Hoping to see some activity in the right unit by the end of the day tomorrow.And because I can't resist, here's a view of the fully planted Farm.
Got home from my trip a bit earlier today. My kids ushered me right in to check on my plants. I *almost* felt guilty about that. Almost.Today is Day 9 of my Salad Bar seed kit grow. The first of my two Arugula plants is clearly off and running and the Baby Greens are unstoppable. Looks like I'll need to remove five of the domes tonight after the lights go off. The Black Seeded Simpson still hasn't sprouted. That's the only one so far.
Nick, I think it is adorable that your kids brought you in to see the plants. They are excited for them as you are. May I ask how old they are? PS, plants look good!
I’ve got two 11 year-old boys. (Not twins. But that’s another story for another post.)Also: My travel took me to Denver. Hadn’t been there in a couple of years. I noticed a LOT of hydroponic supply stores between the airport and downtown. I realize that lettuce growing isn’t what’s driving those businesses but if I had more time I’d have been so tempted to go shopping. It’s a good thing I don’t live in Denver.
My kind wife sent me this photo to keep me updated on today's progress. Unfortunately I immediately spotted the browning around the edges of the highest leaves here. Anyone have any thoughts? Is it anything I should worry about?
Well I'm 5 days in and the Baby Greens & one of the Arugula pods are the first to have their domes removed. Unfortunately I had to go out of town on business so I'll miss a full 3 days of growth. Can't wait to get home and see what's happened while I was gone!
The arrival of those little sprouts are definitely happy moments. Despite the shortcoming of the app, I’m happy the rest of the Farm set up nicely and worked out well for you. And great idea staggering the lettuce gardens! Ideal really.
It's pretty exciting setting up a new AG! If I were "Kate of the Unlimited Budget", I'd get a Farm unit. I'm far too penny pinching, I think. I'd berate myself too much, LOL!
I hear you. I definitely did some hemming and hawing on whether I wanted to go in on Farm units. I thought about it long enough before I pulled the trigger that I'm not second guessing myself. That probably won't happen until I'm buying the third or fourth one.
I am so happy you have all the wonderful units to grow what you love to eat. Nice photos too. I have pretty much given up on using the WiFi that supposedly came with the Harvest unit. I only have room for one so I can watch it carefully. Talking with customer service about this issue was not productive at all.Best of growing to you!
Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update
Update #1
🔧Actions taken
🔧EquipmentAssembled the Farm Plus and tested its lights and pumps.
🌱PlantingPlanted half of the Great Greens kit in the left bowl.
Well it finally happened! My Farm Plus arrived from Missouri today. I know it arrived from Missouri because I've done a shameful amount of tracking since it shipped.Here's the very large box that the Farm Plus was in. Only one of several packages I received today, but the only one I really cared about.Everything was packed well. Assembly instructions were clear.I had it assembled in no time at all. Actually, that's not true. The total time was far longer than it should have been while I stopped to play IT support to my son for a while. The actual time spent assembling it was pretty short though. Once everything was assembled and connected I got it plugged in to check lights and pumps. Everything worked.Time to grow some greens! This is half of the "Great Greens" kit from AeroGarden. I intend to start growing in the left bowl today, wait two weeks and then plant the other half of the kit in the right. Hopefully this will allow me to keep a solid rotation of greens available.With everything planted, it was time to get the domes on and the lights lowered.So I guess that means I'm officially up and running. I'm pleased so far. We'll see what sprouts and if there are enough greens to keep up with the demand from my household. I suspect my plan to add additional units will happen faster than I had planned if this goes well.My only complaint so far: The AeroGarden app. First it had trouble connecting with my existing AeroGarden.com account so I had to register for a new one. That wasn't such a big deal. After I got everything set up I discovered that the function to raise or lower the lights won't work from the app on my phone. It complains about the Farm Plus and my phone not being on the same network. They are. That's not a big deal to me since I don't really see the need to be able to change the height of the lights from my phone, but it does seem like that functionality is broken which isn't a good look for their app.Overall I'm pleased with my purchase and very excited to see what grows in the next few weeks. Of course I'll keep you all updated.
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What a GREAT unboxing post! May you have MANY grande harvests!
I hear a lot about the App. Some of our members have great luck with it while others not so much. I am near all my units and check them daily so for me Wi-Fi is not needed.