Garden #3 is up and running! This one will be devoted to herbs, since the jalapenos are now hogging all the light from gardens #1 & 2.

I sprouted 2 dill and 2 cilantro. There are more seeds sprouting on the counter in case these don't take.

I also moved Jackie Jalapeno's pot in front of the third garden, since there's currently more light there. I think Jamie Jalapeno is doing fine behind the other two gardens.

#AeroGarden #Gardening #Hydroponics

I read that Jalapeno plants don't like to have their roots wet. And yet the jalapenos in my #Hydroponics seem much happier than in pots.

Jerry was planted in the #AeroGarden on July 13. I wasn't sure he'd sprout so I started two more pepper plants, which sprouted a week later.

Photo 1: July 29. Julie and Jamie are in pots with two leaves each. Jerry already has four leaves.

Photo 2: August 14. Two weeks later and Jerry has blossomed into a full-fledged plant. Julie & Jamie are still effectively sprouts.

Photo 3: September 26. Jerry is producing fruit, Julie and Jamie are past the sprout stage but haven't even caught up to where Jerry was six weeks earlier.

I moved Julie to a second hydro-system on October 2. At the time, she and Jamie were still nearly identical.

Photo 4: Today. About a month after Julie was moved to the hydro-system, she's much bigger than Jamie and already producing flowers.

Wet roots don't seem to be as much of a problem as the internet indicates. 😂

#IndoorGardening #Gardening

It appears that @Lironah was correct: Julie the Jalapeno's discolored leaves were due to nutrient deficiency. She's thriving since I added fertilizer. I'll probably have to start raising the light soon. And the lettuce sprouts are all doing fine; the fertilizer didn't hurt them at all. I think they benefited too. I even harvested one leaf from each of 2 plants yesterday, since they're starting to crowd. Which was expected, since I planted so many. I plan to harvest frequently to keep them from getting too crowded.

Also expected: Jamie Jalapeno is stretching for the light and taller than Julie, but Julie is much more full and has already branched twice from having access to so much water & light. Just like Jerry!

In other exciting news, Jerry's peppers are starting to turn red! Squee! I've never had fully ripe jalapenos, and am looking forward to it. They're pretty small, bite-sized even. But I hope they're tasty!

#AeroGarden #IndoorGardening #Garden #Gardening #Jalapenos

I debated getting another #hydroponics system for a while, but can't justify $400 for another #AeroGarden Bounty Elite. So I got a similarly-sized knockoff brand for $70. The AeroGarden has features that make it superior for sure, but I hope the HDROOR unit is "good enough."

I also bought new shelves for the two gardens and our microwave. We wanted to put the microwave at the top, but the cord isn't long enough. Oh well, I'm still happy with how everything sorted out. I even got 2 little fans for air movement so I don't have to take up the kitchen counter with the big oscillating fan anymore.

I moved Julie the Jalapeno from her pot to the second garden unit. Julie and Jamie were sprouted just 1 week after Jerry, but the difference in growth is bananas. I'm curious to see how Julie takes to her new home, and still have Jamie as a control.

I also sprouted some lettuce and spinach to hopefully grow in the jalapenos' shadows, and am taking another stab at growing cilantro.

#Gardening #IndoorGardening

#AeroGarden update!

Tom Tomato has several flower clusters & 2 new clusters on the bottom front & back. 2 flowers are fruiting. I pollinated by hand w/q-tip & by vibrating the plant.

Dave Dill is my biggest success so far. I harvested branches several times. My only worry is Jerry is invading Dave's space.

Jerry's huge! I was gonna top him to promote branching for higher production, but didn't need to. He branched on his own & both branches split again. He's already getting little flower buds!

It's hard to believe Julie & Jamie were planted a mere 1 week after Jerry. It's a testament to the AeroGarden that Jerry is so much further along.

I'm combating mold in Jerry and Dave's pods & on Jerry's roots. I put hydrogen peroxide in the water, which helped w/the fully submerged roots. I scrape the top of the pods w/a peroxide-soaked q-tip regularly, & add a few drops of peroxide to the pod. There is still mold on Jerry's roots above the water line.

Cilantro has mostly been a bust so far.

#gardening