Sapphire

The indoor #garden is going well! I just spent 2 hours (oof!) cleaning them out and adding new, fresh water. It usually takes about half that, but there were special circumstances today:

- Both Jerry and Julie were determined to fall over and I had to redo their support cables.
- A foot came off the pump in the second garden so I had to fiddle around to reattach it.
- I also rigged a couple unfolded paperclips to hold a sponge onto the new pump in the second garden, since it doesn't fit in the built-in housing.
- I figured out that the reservoir DOES come off the base of the second garden; you just have to remove a screw. I don't remember that being in the instructions. (I promptly lost the screw. Sigh.)

I've been getting a good amount of peppers from the jalapeno plants. Ripe peppers are so good, still definitely worth the effort.

I'm also pleased with my cilantro harvest! Finally, success with cilantro! It only took several attempts! 😂

#AeroGarden #Hydroponics

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Dec 28 at 6:52pmWeb
Show threadSapphireDec 28

I've made several upgrades to both gardens:

- I bought a new pump for the second garden that moves more gallons per minute. The default pump wasn't moving the water enough, so it was getting slimy. The new pump works great!
- I got air stones for both gardens. Now there's plenty of oxygen in the water in both tanks.
- I got automatic timers for the new water pump and the air pump, so they're each on for 20 minutes and off for 20, alternating with each other. This is to reduce the load on the power strip that everything's plugged into. Mainly because the two garden plugs get warm during the day. (I don't have enough outlets to plug them directly into the wall.)
- And of course the two small fans that I've had since I got the shelving unit, to keep air flowing and reduce mold growth, and promote stronger stems. Not sure it's helping with the latter, but it is with the former.

I've honestly spent more on this setup than most people would find reasonable, but I'm happy with this little hobby.

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