Tag: Gardening

April: It’s Go Time In The Garden
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

April: It’s Go Time In The Garden

Sarah

It’s almost time for the posts on Facebook about how “I wanted a garden, but I missed the time to plant”. And it is only the first week of April.

In growing zones 7 to 8, we won’t cross the last frost date till in April (for us it is April 15th). We have so much time left, if you use it wisely. You cannot sit around, but if you quickly put in a couple of days of hard work,

But more so, planting a garden isn’t a one time thing – you can plant all season long, over and over. Or…you buy starts and pop them in the ground when it is time. If you missed planting tomatoes? There is no shame in buying up a number of starts (and honestly, if you want to grow 20 different types, but only one plant each? Just buy them. It is cheaper than buying seeds).

For example, in our grow zone you shouldn’t be putting out tomatoes and pepper plants until Mother’s Day at earliest – and that is many weeks away. The baby starts are just showing up at stores/nurseries.

Look, I should not be left unattended at the feed store, when a new rack of starts is wheeled out.

Pot them up into gallon pots, in 6 weeks they will be huge plants (they must be kept warm of course, in a greenhouse for now).

1 day old in their new containers, in the sun. In 6 weeks time they will be at least 2 ft high and staked up.

It is time to put out lettuce starts and to sow bush green peas. They enjoy the cooler temperatures and can take a chill at night. I typically use our raised beds for the first crops, then go to the in ground as we reach April 15th. Raised beds get warmer earlier overall.

 

Baby starts now, but soon they will be huge.

For the other starts I pick up – cauliflower, broccoli, kale, cabbage and such, I split them up and pot into 4″ pots to mature more. These I keep outside in our potting area. They are hardened off already, and I want the soil to be warmer before they go into the ground. And here’s a tip: I buy these as starts rather than seeds in spring. Why? To get an early crop of cauliflower and broccoli, you must beat the late spring heat surges. Or they can bolt to seed. I save the starting from seed for the mid summer starts, for fall crops. When there is more time. For kale though, I grow it for the chickens, so I just buy a few dozen plants, to get a jump start on growing, then have plants from seeds coming in behind them.

So don’t stress. The days are far longer, the daytime is warmer, and it’s time to get working. For us, we will cross 13 hours of daylight soon, far removed from the dark days of December when we had 8.5 hours of daylight. (March 31st at our house we will have 14 hours and 46 minutes of light.)

Garden Tasks For April:

  • Walk your beds/garden and look for dead plants or damaged ones to pull out or fix.
  • Check fencing and fix as needed
  • Plant onion bare root sets if you have purchased them soon.
  • Plant rhubarb roots and bare root asparagus and strawberries as soon as possible.
  • Start potatoes. They can go in now.
  • Weed beds.
  • Lay down more wood chips in pathways, if you do this.
  • Clean out birdhouses, bird baths and bird feeders. Scrub them good.
  • Feed existing fruit trees, blueberries and berry canes if you haven’t yet.
  • Turn compost piles. Or start one!
  • If you have small starts, pot them up as needed to the next size.
  • Start putting starts for lettuce, kale, bok choy, and so on in the ground.
  • Clean up raspberry canes, cutting dead ones out

Seeds To Plant:

To see more on when to seed, and transplant, see here.

Below are seeds you can start in April and or are ready to transplant. The dates are not set in stone, it is a guide of what week may be most preferable to get them started. If you have a cold/wet spring, waiting a week or two more before seeding is smart.

Needless to say, the start of April is go time. And if you miss out and start seeding later? It’s OK for many crops. And for temperamental ones that bolt in heat you always can grow those as a fall crop, where they often fare better than in spring, if you miss the window, or late winter is too warm/cold.

What we are doing is using the last frost date as our guide, and backing up to figure out when to seed, be it inside, outdoors direct, or when to transplant your seedling you started inside.

So for Zone 8b, if the last frost date is April 15th, the dates going back:

  • 1 week: April 8th
  • 2 weeks: April 1st

Seed Chart

Beans

  • Bush: 52-59 days, seed direct after last frost, start inside 2 weeks before last frost. Plant every 2 weeks in ground for continuous crops.
  • Pole: 63-69 days, seed direct after last frost, start inside 2 weeks before last frost.

Beets

  • 48-60 days, seed direct from March and on, every 2 weeks for continuous crops.

Cabbage

  • 80 to 150 days, start in greenhouse 6 weeks before last frost, transplant 3 weeks before last frost date.

Cauliflower

  • 75-85 days. Start in greenhouse 6-8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost.

Carrots

  • 65-70 days, seed direct in ground, starting a few weeks before last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks for continuous crops.

Celery

  • 120 days, start in greenhouse 8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost.

Corn

  • Sweet Corn: 65-85 days, seed direct after last frost date.
  • Popcorn: Same as above.

Cucumbers

  • Pickling: 50-60 days, seed direct after last frost.
  • Eating: 50-70 days, seed direct after last frost.

Greens

  • Bok Choy: 44 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
  • Kale: 50-70 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
  • Spinach: 44 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost. (If too hot, grow for fall)
  • Swiss Chard: 55 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
  • Swiss Chard and Kale can be reseeded, directly, or in greenhouse, through the growing season.

Herbs

  • Start in greenhouse, transplant or set outside after last frost.

Kohlrabi

  • 60 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Direct seed after last frost.

Lettuce

  • Romaine: 60-80 days, start in greenhouse 4 to 6 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks of seeding.
  • Other leaf lettuce: 30-45 days, start in greenhouse 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks of seeding.

Onions

  • Eating: 110 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Transplant after last frost. (We grow Walla Walla). If starting this late, I would suggest buying onion starts instead of seeds.
  • Bunching: 75 days, start in greenhouse before last frost. Transplant after last frost. Seed every 2 weeks for continuous crops. Bunching onions are green onions, and grow quickly so can be started from seed even in spring.

Parsnips

  • 130 days, seed direct when seeding carrots.

Peas

  • Dwarf: Seed directly before last frost. Direct seed after last frost for continuous crop till heat hits.
  • Bush: 55-70 days, seed directly before last frost.
  • Pole: 65-70 days, seed directly before last frost.

Peppers

  • Hot: 70 days, Start in greenhouse before last frost. Transplant after. This late in the season you may want to consider using starts you buy, however seeds will grow quickly this time of year and often catch up.
  • Sweet: 75 days, same as above.
  • Ancho: 80 days, same as above.

Pumpkin

  • Jack Be Little: 95 days, start seeds 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Direct seed after last frost.
  • Regular Pumpkins: 90-120 days, start 2 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost. Direct seed after last frost.

Radishes

  • 24-30 days, seed direct after last frost.

Rhubarb

  • Start 8 to 12 weeks before last frost, in greenhouse. Transplant after last frost. Let establish before you harvest plants. A full year is the best.

Squash

  • Summer Squash: 40-70 days, seed direct after last frost. If starting in greenhouse, 2 weeks before last frost.
  • Butternut: 95 days, start in greenhouse 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost date.
  • Winter Squash: 105-110 days, start in greenhouse 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost date.

Strawberry

  • Alpine: Alpine plants produce ever bearing, for a fall crop from first year plants, start seeds in greenhouse before last frost. Slow germination is normal. Once last frost is passed, transplant to gallon pots, set outside to finish growing.

Tomatoes

  • Dwarf: 60 days, start in greenhouse before last frost, or for bigger plants, up to 8 weeks. Transplant in first week of May. Seeds will grow quickly though in this time, so you can still plant in early April and they will catch up.
  • Shorter Season: 48-68 days, same as above.
  • Heirloom: 60-80 days, same as above.

Watermelon

  • 80+ days, seed direct after last frost.

~Sarah

March Garden Tasks, Planning and Seed Planting
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

March Garden Tasks, Planning and Seed Planting

Sarah

Let’s not dwell on it being half-way through March before I posted about growing in March this year. I was busy. And I didn’t have internet much in South America, nor the time to write. But now you have me home, ready to get to work and writing about it!

As typical in Grow Zone 8b (which is our zone overall for Whidbey Island, Wa), March came in cold and dreary, with a side smattering of snow, hail, sleet and wind. But then you hit mid March and you can see the changes coming. You can smell and hear spring coming! I have heard the first Robins singing, and the leaves on some plants are just starting to open. I am waiting to see when the fruit trees will show life (flowering that is).

While there is still a chance of freezing at night till for the next month (till mid April), it occurs now only on clear nights but rarely is a deep freeze. Think more a light frost. Still, you must take care to not plant too early.

For rain can still leave the ground soggy for the next month. This will rot seeds.

But also, the biggest issue is the ground won’t start actually warming up until it’s in the high 40’s at night.

As you can see, that won’t be for awhile.

It isn’t that you cannot grow things, just be choosy. Stick to only cold weather crops. Bush green peas, lettuces, spinach and bok choy for example. Greens are your friend, as are things like radishes. It lets you grow food and feel like something is happening, while you wait for the longer days and warmer nights.

Speaking of daylight, we are closing in on 12 hours of light. That means a lot. From Spring to the Summer Solstice we will jump to 16 hours of light. This is why the greens will grow, even when it is still chilly at night. It will become normal to have warm afternoons this month as well.

If you have a place to seed inside (a greenhouse, a sunny area inside, etc) use it to start seeds so you have plants to set out in the ground, in the coming weeks. It will give you a jump start for growing, and give you potentially an extra crops worth.

Garden Tasks:

  • Prune rose bushes.
  • Get bare root plants in the ground, such as fruit trees, nut trees, blueberries, berry canes and roses.
  • Plant flower bulbs.
  • Plant onion sets that are bulbs.
  • Weed beds.
  • Shape rows if you grow this way.
  • Clean out birdhouses, bird baths and bird feeders. Scrub them good.
  • Feed existing fruit trees, blueberries and berry canes.
  • Turn compost piles. Or start one!
  • If getting chicks, this is the season. They will be inside for 5 to 8 weeks time, so that gives you time to get coops and runs ready.

Seeds To Plant:

To see more on when to seed, and transplant, see here.

Below are seeds you can start in March and or are ready to transplant, which are either colder-weather crops, or need a longer start time. The dates are not set in stone, it is a guide of what week may be most preferable to get them started. With a cold/wet spring, waiting a week or two more before seeding is smart.

Needless to say, the start of March is a good time to have seeds on hand, potting soil and small pots – and a sunny window, greenhouse or grow light system on hand. And if you start them later? It’s OK for many crops. And for temperamental ones like broccoli, you always can grow those as a fall crop, where they often fare better than in spring, if you miss the window, or late winter is too warm/cold.

What we are doing is using the last frost date as our guide, and backing up to figure out when to seed, be it inside, outdoors direct, or when to transplant your seedling you started inside.

So for Zone 8b, if the last frost date is April 15th, the dates going back:

  • 3 weeks: March 25th
  • 4 weeks: March 18th
  • 5 weeks: March 11th
  • 6 weeks: March 4th
  • 7 weeks: February 25th

Seed Chart

Artichokes

  • Start inside first week of March on.

Beets

  • 48-60 days, seed direct from March and on, every 2 weeks for continuous crops.

Broccoli

  • 70 days, start in greenhouse 6-8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost.

Cabbage

  • 80 to 150 days, start in greenhouse 6 weeks before last frost, transplant 3 weeks before last frost date.

Cauliflower

  • 75-85 days. Start in greenhouse 6-8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost.

Carrots

  • 65-70 days, seed direct in ground, starting a few weeks before last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks for continuous crops.

Celery

  • 120 days, start in greenhouse 8 weeks before last frost and on. Transplant after last frost.

Eggplant

  • Start indoors first week of March and on.

Greens

  • Bok Choy: 44 days, start in greenhouse 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Kale: 50-70 days, start in greenhouse 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Spinach: 44 days, start in greenhouse 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Swiss Chard: 55 days, start in greenhouse 4 weeks before last frost.
  • Swiss Chard and Kale can be reseeded, directly, or in greenhouse, through the growing season.

Herbs

  • Start in greenhouse in March, transplant or set outside after last frost.

Kohlrabi

  • 60 days, start in greenhouse 4 weeks before last frost.

Lettuce

  • Romaine: 60-80 days, start in greenhouse 4 to 6 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks of seeding.
  • Other leaf lettuce: 30-45 days, start in greenhouse 2 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost. Repeat every 2 weeks of seeding.

Onions

  • Eating: 110 days, start in greenhouse 8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost. (We grow Walla Walla)
  • Bunching: 75 days, start in greenhouse 4-8 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost. Seed every 2 weeks for continuous crops.

Peas

  • Dwarf: Seed directly 4 to 6 weeks before last frost.
  • Bush: 55-70 days, seed directly 4 to 6 weeks before last frost.
  • Pole: 65-70 days, seed directly 4 to 6 weeks before last frost.

Peppers

  • Hot: 70 days, Start in greenhouse 8 to 12 weeks before last frost. Transplant after
  • Sweet: 75 days, same as above.
  • Ancho: 80 days, same as above.

Potatoes

  • Start planting on 3rd week of March. Start prep of seed potatoes a week before.

Pumpkin

  • Jack Be Little: 95 days, start seeds 2 to 6 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost.
  • Regular Pumpkins: 90-120 days, start 2 to 6 weeks before last frost. Transplant after last frost.

Rhubarb

  • Start 8 to 12 weeks before last frost, in greenhouse. Transplant after last frost. Let establish before you harvest plants. A full year is the best.

Spinach

  • Start direct seeding start of second week of March and on.

Squash

  • Summer Squash: 40-70 days, seed direct after last frost. If starting in greenhouse, 2 to 6 weeks before last frost.
  • Butternut: 95 days, start in greenhouse 2 to 6 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost date.
  • Winter Squash: 105-110 days, start in greenhouse 2 to 6 weeks before last frost, transplant after last frost date.

Strawberry

  • Alpine: Alpine plants produce ever bearing, for a fall crop from first year plants, start seeds in greenhouse 8-12 weeks before last frost. Slow germination is normal, up to 14 weeks time. Once last frost is passed, transplant to gallon pots, set outside to finish growing.

Tomatoes

  • Dwarf: 60 days, start in greenhouse 4 weeks before last frost, or for bigger plants, up to 8 weeks. Transplant in first week of May (if warm enough, last year it was mid-June!).
  • Shorter Season: 48-68 days, same as above.
  • Heirloom: 60-80 days, same as above.

Turnips

  • Direct seed March 15th and on.

See here for more about growing on Whidbey Island, Wa.

~Sarah

February In The Garden
Gardening · Homesteading

February In The Garden

Sarah

I had an attitude issue in February. I just could not get going mentally. It was dark in general. I tried to go outside and get work done but just felt defeated.

So I went on vacation for a couple of weeks, and came home this last week, inspired and ready to go. So that was good for me.

Still, I did get work done in February, because I knew time was ticking.

One, I got seeds organized. I realized if I did just that, and that alone, my work would be so much easier. These were beans we grew last summer.

When you see the leaves just starting to unfurl. There is a promise there.

The over wintered lettuce isn’t big, but was alive after multiple snowfalls and chills. The bed it is in is wrapped in plastic to keep it warmer.

White Sage in the greenhouse, where it has over wintered.

The egg production slowly returned after the long winter of little.

Getting ready to make seed cups.

Filling up the greenhouse is the desire.

And a lot more to fill.

Working on seeding potatoes.

A new brand I am trying out.

I’ve grown seed potatoes before (Clancy grows well), so hoping these will do well.

I saw this new tray, and had to try it out. It is silicone on the bottom. Burpee Superseed Tray.

Using it for potatoes.

Random alpine strawberry starts, where I have no idea what variety they are.

They will show what they are in the coming months, as they put their first berries on.

These are 2nd year alpine strawberry plants. They will grow quickly in the coming months and produce in late spring.

Working on covering the potting shed to keep birds out this year. I decided I would finish it in March, in case of any more snow (which did happen!).

As I started the annual weeding of beds I cam across a LOT of garlic I had missed last summer (tops broke, etc). I dug it up, separated it and potted it up. (I got it into the ground when I got back from vacation, into new beds).

Mid-way thru the month I found this year’s garlic crop coming up in the new rows we created last year.

I didn’t spend a lot of time this short month, but I did get a lot of ground work done at least.

~Sarah

Eating Local Matters
Bioengineered Foods · Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Eating Local Matters

Sarah

Sometimes I need a trip to clear my mind. And maybe going on the largest carbon footprint trip of my life really opened my eyes. I traveled somewhere between 18,000 and 19,000 miles by plane and ship to reach the Antarctica Peninsula the past 2 weeks. It was a glorious trip, a life bucket trip. And I enjoyed my time there. Until I started thinking halfway through. About the actual cost of my coming there – of anyone coming there.

I preach a lot about “eating local” and supporting local growers producers (because you will eat in season, eat fresher and keep your local people in business instead of supporting Big Ag) but even I don’t always follow my advice/nagging. Because it isn’t easy to provide/find everything you want (note I said want, not need……). Those Cheetos are not needed. Even when 2 boys look at me with sad eyes at the store. And it’s easy to give in to them.

But I will admit this: I had become burnt out in preaching it. It just didn’t seem to hit home with those I write or talk to in the past year.

I was VERY disappointed before the trip. I didn’t want to work on our farm/homestead. I had held a seed swap in the weeks before I left. I was bitter, even salty over it. The year before, in 2022, the turnout had been huge. This year, same crowd, and almost no one showed up. That hurt deeply. I had more people driving by, who saw the signs, who popped in as random strangers. I run a seed swap that is more a seed giveaway. I WANT people to grow food. I felt it like a slap. To my soul. Who I thought was my people, they didn’t care anymore.

But how I felt? That with the pandemic run out mostly, people are back to their “normal”. They don’t see any reason to grow food anymore. It’s too much work, takes up their time, is messy. And they feel secure in that food is at the stores again (it isn’t, but it isn’t as obvious). They have sucked up to the rampant inflation and just buy what they want again.

It left me not excited about the coming spring. I just wanted to sit inside, in the dark. Where the days slip by.

I went on vacation. On the most over-the-top vacation I have ever gone on. I parked myself on a ship that was only a couple months old, where it was touted as a luxury expedition to Antarctica, where you were pampered. Being South America is still in summer, it did improve my mood to see the sun once again.

Oh you were pampered. That wasn’t a lie. I’ve been on multiple adventure cruises (where the numbers are low, and it’s about the outdoors) and this one was a 5 star hotel floating, where before they were more utilitarian ships. And for those first days, I relaxed in bougie-ville and enjoyed it.

Did I want a frappe made for me 18 hours a day? Well, there it was. Also, be sure to eat donuts, croissants, and gourmet muffins too!

But then I wrecked it for myself. So easily.

For I had brought along with me Peter Zeihan’s latest book “The End Of The World Is Just The Beginning: Mapping The Collapse Of Globalization“. Peter is a Geopolitical Analyst, and to say I am a fangirl is putting it lightly. And as the days stretched on, I read further. And further. And I was reminded about what really matters. And I learned a far deeper history lesson than I had expected.

As I sat trapped on a floating luxe hotel, at the end of the world. And reading further, having far too many deep talks with Kirk. He was listening to it on an audiobook. as the icebergs floated by we talked about the coming food insecurity and so much more.

Maybe bring a romance novel next time? Probably. I was told nastily by a nosy shipmate, upon seeing the title of the book, that “Why would you read such a depressing book!” She glowered at me and then went back to playing cards with her group of friends she had come with.

But then something else happened.

And yes, it relates to food. While the food was delicious and varied, it was nearly all European. Which made sense as the boat was built in Portugal and based out of there.

So much bread. And pastries. All French influenced. Don’t get me wrong, it was very good. But the flour’s foot print was massive. 

Everything was from there it seemed, outside of the imported-in Japanese Waygu burgers you could order whenever, it seemed.

Like this….love the flag font? It’s only a what….6,000 mile haul for this to show up. Between it and the lone bottle of Tabasco sauce offered, it was the only North American options I noted.

Near the end of the trip, the cruise director and the hotel director had a casual talk you could attend.

A question was posed about where did the food come from. It was answered that….most of it was literally shipped across the ocean to Ushaia, Argentina from Portugal. Only the fresh produce was acquired locally due to rules. And the small amount of Argentina beef served. A distance of over 7,000 miles one way, so you could eat fresh baked bread daily.

Gah.

Total buzzkill.

I felt like an awful person at that moment. It was bad enough I had traveled that far, but to know the food I was gorging on mindlessly had come yet another 7,000 miles away?

But then, it was also a jarring feeling that outside of the produce and a bit of beef, the local countries of Argentina and Chile were barely being used, yet they grow amazing food. They have wine production, but the “premium” wine offered came from the United States – stuff I can buy at the local Safeway if I wanted to 7 days a week. Some of it was actually Washington State wines!

It’s easy to not notice where your food comes from. We are a world dependent on globalization. At the grocery store I can pull my head out and actually read – I know who owns what company and such after all. But it was easy to pretend all that food/drinks was magically “locally sourced” while on the ship.

I lost my appetite to be honest after that talk and it dimmed the last day on the ship. As we flew home, on 3 long flights, I thought so much about it all. I came home, caught up on sleep.

And then walked outside, to my land. To my homestead. And had never been so happy to be home. Feeling ready to go.

And realizing how important it all is.

I tried to eat eggs on the ship. They were flavorless. And being a Euro-centric menu, there was no salsa and 1 lonely bottle of Tabasco sauce offered. I gave up eating eggs, because they just had little flavor. They were just sad Big Ag eggs.

As I made breakfast on Friday morning, not functioning well from jet lag, I cracked eggs from our hens. The yolks were firm, and they were so yellow. I could smell them cooking and it had me hungry. I opened up a jar of salsa I canned last summer, and spooned some on.

And I thought to myself, as my mouth was so happy, that this is why eating local matters.

The taste. The smell. The knowing my hard labor mattered. I had a piece of bread I had frozen after baking weeks ago, with strawberry jam I made with our honey, that I canned.

The work IS worth it. For I knew where my food had come from. Who had touched it. Who had preserved it.

Yesterday I worked hard outside in the cold. Work hard enough and you start stripping down. I heard a bird song and realized I had just heard the first Robin calling out for the year. I planted pea starts I had left in the greenhouse before the trips, the garlic I had missed last summer during harvest, and saw shooting up randomly in beds I need to start planting – it’s in a new home now. I weeded beds. Got soil ready for upcoming planting. Visited the chickens and cleaned.

I came inside, and felt it. I had done something that mattered. I was providing for my family. I was in tune with nature once again. And I found my way back to having desire again to do this work.

And knowing that even if others don’t care, I do. And that is all that matters.

Eating local matters. For our health, for the world, for food security. For watching the massive global carbon foot print we can cause. Will it actually help if only a few of us opt out? No, it won’t globally. But it will when the day comes that those ships don’t show up, or the planes don’t touch down. For we need to eat locally for so many reasons. To eat more mindfully, to eat in season. To be connected to the Earth. To be less reliant on other countries.

As Spring arrives embrace the returning sun. Plant your seeds. Weed your beds. Add compost. Watch as the first leaves unfurl in the coming weeks, and the blossoms happen on the fruit trees.

I don’t regret my trip, for it showed me something I needed to see. It doesn’t matter what others do – it’s what I do. I feel alive again!

~Sarah

3 Weeks Of The AeroGarden Farm 24XL
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

3 Weeks Of The AeroGarden Farm 24XL

Sarah

As I enter the 4th week of our first run of our AeroGarden Farm 24XL it’s interesting watch how fast the plants do grow. Especially if you don’t mess up and cannot figure out why the lights didn’t turn on. I am all for being transparent that sometimes I am clueless.

After we got the machine built, I was very excited. I put in the pods and charted on paper what I was growing. Set up the Wi-Fi, and turned on the machine, full of water and plant food. Day 2 was done, and I posted about the setup.

And by day 3 was asking myself “Why are the lights not coming on?” The water is circulated two times a day. But no lights came on.

I wandered over and started checking everything. The computer system seemed to be working just fine.

And then I realized why.

The cords to the lights were only half pushed in.

As soon as I clicked them in huh…the lights came on blinding bright.

I sure felt pretty stupid at that moment. I looked at everything tech first, not the simplest solution. Kirk gave me some good ribbings over that one….

On January 16th I realized I had another issue:

Mr. Fluff Butt was spending far too much time being interested in the grow tanks, which are just above the ground. The little plastic domes, that sit over the seeds at the start? He would not stop grabbing them. He of course thought it was hilarious to run around the house with them in his mouth.

A few pieces of cheap off brand plastic wrap solved that easily. All it needed was a visual of “hey, you can’t get it easily” and he moved on. Kind of similar to the baby gate on the stairs….

On January 23rd the plants were starting to only sprout, but they were putting on second and third leaves. Overall most eventually germinated, though we had I think 3 of the greens/herbs that didn’t. At 21 days in, you can contact the company about it. Since I messed up the lights I had to go to Day 24. It’s Day 25, so I will contact them tomorrow about it for replacements. But not a big issue, really. Nearly all did germinate and grow as advertised.

February 1st. I was very interested in this run how the tomatoes would do. Unlike the greens, I have noticed the tomatoes grow slower on the outside spots.

February 3rd. In just 2 days time the plants jumped quickly. It’s freaky how they are doing squat and tiny, then suddenly it’s like they doubled over the day.

Even now, I can look over to the unit, by my work desk and the greens are almost ready to harvest for a first salad.

(Photo taken this morning)

The tomatoes soon I will pull up and pot into soil to grow for the greenhouse. If anything, this machine makes starting tomato seeds a snap. I can walk away and let it do the work. However, it is very noticeable that the farthest out plant is the smallest. It is a Yellow Canary Tomato, and it’s siblings are quite bigger. The next row in is bigger, but the row closest to the middle is 3X the size of the outlying Pluto Plant. Hah.

Accessories:

I picked up a Grow Anything Seed Pot Kit (50) on a good price to have on hand, it’s even less by a dollar now. I would prefer to grow my own seeds, especially for tomatoes, that I will plant outside eventually. Amazon is far cheaper for it than on AeroGarden’s website and it’s shipped Prime.

The Power Outage!

Friday night we had a wind storm, and it was going good. We didn’t lose power. But then yesterday morning a tree fell on the power line, just down the street from our place, and took out our power for most of the day. I was nervous, wondering what would happen when we got power back.

No issues at all. Once power was restored I went to the screen on the unit and it asked me had there been a power outage, or was I trying to shut the machine down. I clicked on outage, it had me reset the current time, and off we went. All settings are saved in the computer.

The Roundup:

Yes, it has a slight learning curve. Especially if it is the operator doing the hindering.

But once you figure it out, it’s easy to keep going.

I highly suggest getting a small watering can with a long thin spout for easy fill ups of water (I picked up 3 of these small ones at a Walmart a year or two ago, they are like 2 quart size? In the seasonal garden department). The computer will let you know when it is getting low on water and when to add more plant food. As the plants really grow, you will go through water faster. The spout goes into the water area very easily, and no messes that way.

It’s been fun growing this way, and a great way for the kids to watch it work. It’s going to be a long time till I earn back the money in salads, but again, it lets us grow when outside it is too dark and cold. I feel connected using it.

~Sarah