Sat, 11/01/2008 - 16:16
Hi! Welcome to Aerogarden Mastery, a site for growlogs, Aerogardens, hydroponics, and beyond, in the realm of indoor and tech-assisted gardening. (Legal crops only. 
)
If you'd like, take a moment to introduce yourself here. Or, you're welcome to wade right in. Conversations go in the forums. Add a child page to the grow logs (see nav bar on top) to show off your projects. Or blog about what you're up to.
Welcome in!
Wed, 11/12/2008 - 13:03
#2
And a warm welcome from me angie. 
Wed, 11/12/2008 - 14:58
#3
Yay! Welcome angie to the most dynamic Aerogarden site there is. We have the world's Aerogarden expert, the hardest working admin and one dumb member willing to try most anything just to see what happens so you don't have to suffer the consequences. Please jump in and tell us about yourself.
Wed, 11/12/2008 - 16:42
#4
We are few yet, as BB pointed out. But - we only launched the site yesterday. 
Thu, 11/13/2008 - 19:49
#5
Welcome, Samantha!
If you're still having trouble logging in and haven't received an email from me - please try to contact me from another email address?
Fri, 11/14/2008 - 11:15
#6
Welcome samantha.
It's good to have another member, looks like people are finding us now.
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 12:40
#7
Welcome, lorraine! What are you growing now in your AG's? Mine are growing lettuces (2), coleus&snapdragons, and mini red peppers.
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 13:02
#8
Hi Gisette, Peat et al,
My current favorite garden on my desk is growing a dark purple/blue lobelia in the front and a tiny heirloom marigold in the back. (Don't tell the boss - I think I waste some time just gazing appreciatively at it.) I also have tomatoes and green beans, and at my sweetie's house, chili peppers. He's good at harvesting and eating them, but doesn't remember to pollinate them. I just discovered, though, that being on top of the dryer, everytime a load of drying is going around, they get a perfect jiggling! This time around they are LOADED with blossoms, but no peppers yet.
I'll post a pics when the rest of the marigold buds open and when we have peppers (if Tito doesn't eat them all first)..
Lorraine
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 17:02
#9
Welcome lorraine,
That's so funny, a self pollinating AeroGarden, excellent! I shall have to move mine across to my washing machine and run a few spin cycles.
Well, I currently have only two AG's. One is growing cherry tomatoes, I'm onto week 23 now, and the other is a pure experiment with growing a cucumber. It's a little slow in germinating at the moment, I fear the seed is a dud, but, not to worry - I have another packet of seeds on the way.
The AG's I currently have are a little modified, they were standard Classics but the pumps have been removed and I'm now using air stones in their place. The results, combined with the liquid nutrients we all use are pretty impressive.
I'll look forward to your pictures, do you have any on your tomatoes? This is my first AG tomato grow and it would be good to swap notes.
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 15:42
#10
OOH, another tomato and pepper grower. Welcome lorraine! Like Peat, I'd like to know what kinds you're growing. I have some unidentified full size indeterminate (I think) tomatoes growing in a Deluxe and some unidentified peppers growing in another. I've done everything to kill the tomatoes but they still survive. The flowers sound great too, we may try some to brighten up the winter when the herb garden gives up.
Mon, 11/24/2008 - 15:57
#11
I had to look up lobelia - heh. They're pretty! I'm so glad to have another flower grower on! Yes, it's not so practical, but I love my ornamental mini - that's what I bought it for!
Cool, on the green beans! Is there a trick to growing those? I tried some in my mini with my own seeds, but they all turned to a gelatinous goo. Disheartening. 
My daughter is a big fan of hand-picked green beans, though, and I kind of failed her in my outdoor gardening attempts this year on the bean front. 
Oh hey - in the latest Aerogarden catalog (lots of cool stuff!) they specifically mentioned growing English cucumbers in the... Aerogarden 6 Elite Plus (if I got the name right...) Is that true? Have you actually seen this?
Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:40
#12
Hello! Just got an Aerogarden Classic for Christmas. Pretty sure I am going to love it! Having a great time paging through the forum, especially Peat's GH nutrient info--- As soon as I got everything together in my new aerogarden I thought to myself...bet I could replace those nutrient tablets with GH. Thanks for doing all of the dirty work Peat, your directions are excellent!
Sat, 12/27/2008 - 20:54
#13
Welcome to the addiction club, Jewleeia! What are you growing first?
Yeah, Peat's a treasure. Be sure to look through the Grow Logs, too, sometime! That's where we keep our nefarious experiments garden pictures.
Sun, 12/28/2008 - 00:18
#14
I am growing the Italian Herb kit first but I switched the Italian Parsley out with Purple Basil from the Gourmet Herb kit because I am really looking forward to lots of fresh basil. I planted on the 23rd and all ready everything except for the mint has sprouted.
Sun, 12/28/2008 - 11:41
#15
Yay, already an experimenter. Yeah, I was surprised how much I enjoyed having the fresh basil around, and ended up growing pots of it outside come growing season!
You know if the mint doesn't come up in the time printed on the label, you can ask Aerogrow for a replacement pod, right? Though it's probably too soon for concern yet.
Sun, 12/28/2008 - 16:51
#16
Hello jewleeia and welcome. 
Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad this has helped you. Replacing those tablets with the GH nutes will get you great results, I find it much more satisfying mixing, measuring and adjusting rather than just popping a couple of tablets in every two weeks. The AG is a marvelous piece of equipment, for anyone wanting to move into 'true' hydroponics it's a perfect starting point as well.
I/we look forward to your posts, I've not grown the Italian herb kit so I would be interested in your experience with it.
Any help we can give, just ask.
Mon, 12/29/2008 - 00:57
#17
Hello Peat! Thank-you for the welcome!
Did you notice any difference in regards to taste or texture when you started using the liquid nutes? Just curious! I am planning to use the tablets with my first round simply for the sake of using them up and making sure my other environmental factors are all in line. I'm a bit worried about the placement of my Aerogarden. My home is quite small, the most accessible and aesthetic placement was near my woodstove. I put a thermometer next to the garden. It held a steady 82F today, but it has been quite cold outside so the woodstove has been going full-bore, which is not the norm. I'll see how it goes for a few days. I'll start a glog once I have some greens to show off...shouldn't be long before they poke their heads over the covers.
Gisette- Thanks for the info about returning items. Aerogarden sure seems to have an above average customer service dep't. I'm not worried about the mint yet, but good to know Aerogarden backs their products. While viewing the online catalogue I was surprise to see how many different sizes and versions of gardens the company has put out.
I'll be stopping in often...Many of the posts are very comprehensive and I have some catching up to do!
p.s. is there a trick to the spell check? The button does not even highlight when I run my mouse over it
Mon, 12/29/2008 - 01:15
#18
Um... 
I've never used the spellcheck. I thought Peat or Bruce asked about it once and I fixed it, but... it doesn't seem to do anything. Do either of you guys use it?
Aerogrow customer service is splendid, for sure! Cliff Olsen, the manager, once told us that his goal is "to delight the customer", and I think his team delivers. Despite my by now rather high expectations of them, I've still been delighted each time I've called. (My one email exchange didn't go so well... For some reason they got their email a week late that time.) Lorraine here is a member of Aerogrow customer service, but we welcome her as a fellow gardener - off duty - when she's here. (She might not be entirely off duty, but she's not on call as company spokesgoat either, kinda thing.)
82°F should be OK for herbs, shouldn't it? My herbs outside enjoy those temperatures. Too high for lettuce, alas.
Mon, 12/29/2008 - 13:35
#19
Hi jewleeia, the GH liquid nutes won't effect the taste/texture, in fact I would say they will improve it. They have been developed over many years and are used extensively in the hydroponics world - even NASA uses them for it's space missions. If it good enough for them, it's good enough for me.
I think your wise to start using the AG nutrient tablets first, get a handle on how the whole thing works. Once you have expended all the tablets, you can then think about liquids, it's more involved but the results are better.
The spell check should highlight when you move your mouse cursor over it. It works fine but can sometimes throw up a strange word, which, if you don't notice, will put something crazy into your sentence - that's my excuse. 
As regards your AG placement, mine sits quite close to my gas cooker, it's worked OK for me so far.
Edit - when I first used the spell checker, it directed me to another website where I had to download some plugin to make it work?
Mon, 12/29/2008 - 13:42
#20
Hello and welcome sallya817, I'm sorry, a little bit behind in welcoming you.
I notice you have an AeroGarden 6 Elite, you are the first person here with one of these. I would be interested in how you are getting along with this new model, have you had it long and what are you growing.
Mon, 12/29/2008 - 15:39
#21
Welcome to both of you! Glad to have another experimenter on board. too. It's amazing what can be done with AeroGardens and they get pushed to the limit and sometimes beyond here.
Mon, 12/29/2008 - 16:49
#22
I think I'm going to let lurkers lurk in peace.
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 14:30
#23
Hi Everybody!
I come to join the Aerogarden experimenters here! We may have met previously on a forum-that-shall-not-be-named ;) I'm the proud owner of three Aerogardens... a classic, a deluxe, and recently an elite-6+. Right now I'm growing lettuce & arugula in the classic, the mega-cherry tomato kit in the elite-6+ and I'm following in Gisette's footsteps and growing Kibits tomatoes & mini yellow peppers in my deluxe. The lettuce is a couple months old and my tomatoes are all just past the 3-week mark, so I'll set up a couple of grow logs for them!
I look forward to communing with fellow addicts! :D
Mon, 01/12/2009 - 16:29
#24
Yay, welcome, PolarVrtx! Great to see you again!
How are you finding the elite-6+ compared to the Deluxe? I had a horrible time deciding which to get, and ended up with the Deluxe. Pretty much because of the accessories included for the price at the time. Wish I could have waited for the Christmas deals...
I'm really looking forward to seeing how your mini yellow peppers turn out! And your kibits tomato! Our kibits seeds coulda come from the same fruit.
Tue, 01/13/2009 - 11:37
#25
A familiar name. 
Welcome over here PolarVrtx, I'm glad you found us. It will be good to have someone with your growing experience over here - looking forward to your grow logs.
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 20:23
#26
Welcome to another familiar name, glad to have you and your knowledge here.
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 20:42
#27
Hey, welcome back, BB! Hope all's well?
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 21:09
#28
Hey, welcome back, BB! Hope all's well?
You missed me, I'm touched. Sorry to be a little lax getting on. I have other projects working and some have really consumed my time, plus being a little under the weather. I keep my daily photo logs on Picasa (Thank you very much!) BB's Picasa mess and intend to organize it Any Time Now. 
Dunno how I ever had time for a real job.
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 21:24
#29
Of course I missed you. Hope you're feeling better!
YAY you used Picasa! I've been working on a gizmo to make it easier to make lightboxes. Picasa only so far... But I was the only one using Picasa. But if people like it (or at any rate, it's better than what we've got so far...) Peat and Polar's online albums (photobucket and webshots) have api's it could also use. Your nmred.com... not.
Know what you mean re having a full-time job... Really cuts into one's hobby time.
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 23:01
#30
Thanks! Yeah, I'm nmred.com, nmgeocaching.com, over-the-hill.com and a few others and nope, no api but it's a lot easier with picasa anyway. I'm flexible, go for it.
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 02:28
#31
Hello PolarVrtx! I am planning to grow lettuce in my classic next. I'm wondering about how much and how fast it grows. I know...kinda hard to quantify eh? Can we speak in terms of salad bags at the grocery store? Would you say the classic dishes out a bag a week-- way more-- way less? I'm hoping I can quit buying those tastless bags in the winter and grow enough to feed my family of 3 solely from the aerogarden, but we eat small salads about 5 times a week. I also noticed on the other site that you have a seed starting tray for the classic! I'll bug you for advice on how well that works later. Thanks and Welcome!!
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 08:34
#32
Hi Jewleeia! I guess it is pretty hard to quantify... there are only two of us and we've probably only been having one small salad a week each and misc leaves for other meals (on sandwiches, etc). There is tons more lettuce, though. I'm really not even scratching the surface. Maybe someone else who's actually picked it more would be able to comment on how quickly it grows back, because I'd say there's about two bags worth growing at any one time... you just couldn't actually pick it all at once. But, if you're only using enough for three small salads every day, you may be able to keep it going! I also have three pods of Arugula, of which I only pick a couple of leaves for two salads. My mother fed two people salads about 5 times a week out of her 3-podder. Her lettuce was pretty much done after 3 months.
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 11:48
#33
Yeah, hard to say. I usually just graze directly on the greens, not serving them as salad. If I plan on company, I'll stop picking for 3-5 days first, then pick a bunch. I'm always surprised how much this yields - like a mixing bowl full from 3-4 pods, generous salad for 3. It doesn't seem like so much when I'm eating directly off the plants.
To maximize salad yields, I'd stay away from the brassicas and go with looseleaf lettuces (like the AG salad greens kit) and romaines. Preferably not in the same pod - the romaines do better if they don't share a pod with a looseleaf.
You can add a little capacity to a classic via the outrider technique if you start the pods in the AG. (Mine's a pro100, but it has the same lights.)
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 14:21
#34
Thanks to both of you. Sounds like our family will be able to almost quit buying lettuce for a bit...that's is what I was hoping to hear! Cripes I've all ready got plans for my next 3 garden cycles...Salad, Eggplant/Peppers, Tomatoes...I need another aerogarden or it will be a year before I get through just those!
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 16:40
#35
Yes, this is how the addiction hobby progresses.
Have you ever checked out Elle's gardens? (aka llamalass) A truly accomplished addict indoor gardener, with many rigs of her own devising. I'm not sure how long she's been at it and come so far - maybe first talked to her in October? I thought she was still new and unsure at it then, but maybe she'd been at it a while... Ann's been at it longer, and the progression spirit moved her to get 7 Aerogardens before spreading into her own inventions. 
And everybody here of course...
It's hard to stop without enough AG's for salad with all the trimmings.
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 17:06
#36
Wow, Aaerogardens out of tupperwares and her lettuce looks awesome! Thankfully I am way limited by space, this REALLY could get outta control! If it were solely up to me I would trade the space our TV takes up for 2 more aerogardens
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 17:15
#37
My roomie (teenager) tries to curb my enthusiasm. She'd definitely draw the line at moving the TV. Unless it moved to her room. She's also put her foot down on pink petunias. Last year's pink petunias really did get out of hand. Aggressive little plants...
Sun, 01/18/2009 - 19:58
#38
Oh yeah, an AG is a lettuce growing machine. I was honored to get a special seed mix from gisette and was amazed. There's only two of us and after a month it supplies more than we need. We've had beef salad, chicken salad, plain salad and tonight we're having shrimp salad. It's unbelievable and combined with our herb garden a wonderful thing to behold. We're about to eat so am going to make this quick - see my lettuce de Gisette thread that's a little out of date and here's a quick and dirty link to my picasa lettuce album
We're going to change the mix a little but plan to have a lettuce AG going constantly.
Thu, 01/22/2009 - 09:11
#39
Hi Beth and welcome, glad you came across to join us.
If you need any help with using the GH nutes then just ask, I have produced a guide that will help (Peat's Guide). If you want to grow your cukes then I would recommend you use liquids, I'm unsure whether the AG tablets are up to the job - aka your potassium deficiency...
As you can see, it is possible and the results are good.
Sun, 02/08/2009 - 23:59
#40
Hey, welcome, Wildchild! Whatcha growing?
Mon, 02/09/2009 - 04:17
#41
Hi wildchild75 and welcome.
I see you have the Master Gardener kit, what have you been growing with this?
Mon, 03/02/2009 - 13:56
#42
Welcome to the addiction club, Orlando Jude! I envy your AG collection!
Mon, 03/02/2009 - 16:02
#43
And welcome Stonecold! Another AG3 owner! (I've got two - mini's actually, the AG3 predecessor.)
If I miss saying welcome to anybody, it's just because I'm respecting the lurker right to lurk.
Wed, 03/11/2009 - 00:11
#44
me! I'm here now! But you know this 
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 18:40
#45
Considering I posted on the other forums already, I guess it would be good manner to say hi officially to everyone...
Peat, your guide to hydroponics is excellent. I plan to try some of the tips a bit later..
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 18:46
#46
Officially hi and welcome, MaryH.
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 18:56
#47
Officially hi and welcome, MaryH
Ditto!
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 18:59
#48
Thanks :D
Mon, 03/23/2009 - 11:22
#49
A welcome from me as well MaryH.
Appreciate the compliment, thanks.
Wed, 04/01/2009 - 04:50
#50
Hello ponies999 and welcome.
I noticed your post in another forum (liquid nutrients and the things that go with them...) and thought I would help you out here, I hope you don't mind.
There is some good information here for you, I'm not sure if you have seen this?
Anyhow, as you don't want to buy both EC and pH meters, I would buy the EC meter and use a cheap liquid and chart product to measure your pH. The EC meter will be invaluable when you plan to go over to liquid nutrients. You may also want to consider the General Hydroponics brand of nutrients. I have a little guide that could be of help if you use the GH nutes.
Whichever forum you frequent - good luck with the venture into liquids. 
Hey, hey! Welcome, angie!