My 2nd AeroGarden Grow

Here goes my 2nd try at an AeroGarden grow... My 1st attempt ended after the 1st week into flowering, that's when the BALLS showed up (CLICK HERE TO SEE WITH YOUR OWN 2 EYES!).


I am doing the same exact setup. I'm going to continue to use the stock AG nutes through vegging. I'll switch to Happy Bloom for Flowering.. Only change is that I'm adding Mylar to the walls of my closet.

The Following Guide was copied from AeroGarden Guide/FAQ v2.0
Go There For All Your AG Questions (Lurk & SICC we'll be there for all your questions lol) If you have any questions about my AG Grow Feel Free To Ask...


Guide
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version 2.0 by lurkmaster
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Required Materials
24 Hour Light Timer - Digital or non, doesn't matter you just need to be able to fully control your lighting cycles for 12/12.

Figure 8 Power Cord - Radioshack sells them, you need the NON-polarized version. (see useful info for picture). You will be plugging this cord directly into your AG light hood, and you can run this light on your external timer, instead of the AG timer.

Nutrients - The stock ag nutrients are perfectly fine to use, but I would recommend something like the foxfarm trio, you will want to use the foxfarm feeding schedule. (See useful info section)


Suggested Supplemental Materials
Air pump/tubing - Any aquarium air pump will do. Any kind of tubing that fits your pump and airstone is fine.

Airstone - I would go for the longest airstone you think you can fit in your res, I have fit a 10" airstone in my Pro 200. (see useful info section)

Thermometer - Walmart has a digital thermostat + humidity monitor for around $8.

pH Test kit - Something that goes below 6.0, ideally 4.5-7.5 is the range you will be checking.

pH Adjustment kit - pH up/down from petco, walmart or anything of the sort is fine.

Additional Lighting - I would recommend CFL bulbs because they are inexpensive, can be bought at almost any store, and its easy to find mounting options.

For Veg: 6500K (color temp) Daylight bulbs
For Flowering: 2700K (color temp) Soft white bulbs

23-26W bulbs are 1700 lumens
42W bulbs are 2700 lumens

The more lumens you have the better.

If you can find y-socket adapters those will work nicely with 2x26W bulbs to keep your overall wattage under 60 for the fixture, and spread it out some.

You should aim for 5000+ lumens of additional CFL lighting.


Lighting Cycles
Seedlings (week 0-2) - 20 hours on / 4 off

Veg Period (week 2-5) - 18 hours on / 6 off

Flowering Period (week 5-12) - 12 hours on / 12 off

Note: Do not strictly go by this guide, as your plant may grow at a slower or faster rate, these are just generalized numbers, only YOU will know when your plant is ready!


Feeding/Nutrient Schedule
If you are using AG nute tabs, it is a good idea to let your nutes dissolve in a cup of water before you add them to your res.

If you are using foxfarm or some other kind of nutrients, follow their schedule.

pH Level - You want your water's pH around 5.6-5.8, anything from 5.4-6.0 is acceptable, but the closer to 5.7 the better.

Seedlings (week 0-2) - NO NUTE TABS!!

Veg Period (week 2-5)- One small tab per week.

Flowering Period (week 5-12) - One large tab per week.

If you don't have the master gardener kit, and there is only one tab size, use one tab per week in veg, and use 1.5 tabs per week in flowering, the tabs break in half easily, you can cut them with a kitchen knife.

Water level
You should fill your AG reservoir a little bit past the fill to here marker whenever you initially fill it up. Its a good idea to periodically check your water level and top it off with pH'd water or premixed nutrient/water solution at the same PPM as the initial batch.

Change your reservoir water
It is good practice to change your res water out on a weekly basis, which is usually done with nutrient additions/changes.


Preparation and planting your seeds
Decide how many plants you want to grow in your AG - Keep in mind you have a limited amount of root space in the res, 2-3 plants is a reasonable number in a regular/pro model.

Cover up ANY holes you are not going to be using - Plunk some golf balls over those holes, or stick opaque cups, maybe even coffee mugs over them, do whatever you need to do to keep light from getting inside the res.

Light + heat = bacteria = root rot.

Glue your plant labels onto the plastic rim of your grow nets - If you don't put your plant labels down you might end up with a problem like this. (photo courtesy of drdankyphd) If you already have a plant growing without the label, you are going to have to cut it the label to get it around the stem. (see useful info for a plant label diagram)

Cut holes in your sponges for roots - Cut a small hole in the bottom of your grow sponge for the taproot to grow down into.

If you do not have a master gardener kit, you will have to take the seeds out of the sponge and make a perforated plant label out of cardboard or something

Plant your seeds with the taproot facing DOWN - If you germinate your seeds in a paper towel, make sure you have the taproot facing downward towards the hole you just cut.

If you germinate your seeds in the AG, just make sure the taproot part of the seed pod is facing down.

Other Useful Info and Pictures
Foxfarm hydro nutrient feeding schedule

Seedbank Reviews

Uncle Ben's Topping Technique to get 2 or 4 MAIN colas

Want bag appeal? Curing matters............

Harvest time....... a tutorial.

AG Pump cycles for ALL MODELS

RIU General Growing FAQ

Figure 8 power cord looks like this

How I have my 10" airstone in my res -The suction cups are angled a little bit with the curvature of the res. As long as the airstone stays clipped into the suction cups thats fine, you want to put the airstone behind the 'fill to here' marker but in front of the pump. You will have to put the pump into the AG at an angle with the airstone where it is. Here is an actual photo of it


How to properly glue down plant label onto grow nets


FAQ
How much will I yeild per plant in my AG? There are too many variables to calculate this. Some people are yielding over an ounce per plant. It depends on the strain, nutrients, your lighting and grow room setup. Without any additional lighting don't expect more than a few grams (dried).

Why do my plants look like X? Check your pH, temperature and nutrient levels, those are usually the easiest problems to fix. If your grow space is 85 degrees and you have a bunch of lights surrounding your plant and its droopy, the temperature is probably the problem. If the temp/pH/PPM all check out fine, check the sick plant forum. There is a sticky with pictures that explain what certain problems look like. If you can't figure it out from those pictures, someone here will probably be glad to diagnose it for you.

What is the easiest way to change my res water? Unplug your airstone hose, and take your entire res out of your grow space, and carefully take it somewhere by a sink with a counter top. Carefully take your pump/lid out of the AG with the grow pods in it and set it down somewhere safe where the roots aren't constricted. I will say it again, be EXTREMELY careful when taking the pump off with your plants in the top piece, you do NOT want to break your roots. I angle the base of my pump on the corner of the counter and let my roots dangle in the air. Then just dump your res out (there shouldn't be anything in it but water/nutes).

How far away should I keep my lights?
If you are using CFL bulbs and the AG hood 3-4" from the plant tips is what you should aim for. You want to prevent stretching if possible.

I have blinking lights/my plant is not in germination/mature growth on my AG what do I do?
Don't worry, those lights don't mean anything, those are nothing more than a fancy timer.

Happy Growing
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special thanks to "SICC" for guide base.


I'll Post My 1st Update This Weekend... I just planted the seedlings 2 days ago and it should be worth it by then...

Ok, well the areo garden and all of the mods costs ? A hydro costs ?