Aerogarden IKEA Cabinet Diesel-Ryder Grow
- Thread starter MadKitty
- Start date
Mad Kitty: Two questions, please. One, what are you doing for ventilation? I realize we have to be stealthy but they need an air exchange. Question two, is the inside of the cabinet finished? I tried growing in a confined space and I had a real problem with mold. I don't think we appreciate how much humidity is generated by an Aerogarden. Also you might want to try planting your seeds in the Aerogarden, as you won't have to move them later. I realize I'm a shaky old man now but I wasn't a few years ago and I had one break when I tried to transplant it into the growing medium. If you plant them directly into the pods you don't have to risk that.
MadKitty
Member
Hi HSA, thanks for the questions.
At the moment there is no ventilation as I live in a cold climate and the cabinet is in an attic space - keeping the plants warm enough has been my problem so far!
The door is slightly ajar and I am hoping that the heat generated from the AG will try to escape and draw cool air in its place. Spring is starting to make its presence felt so over the next couple of weeks I plan to cut a hole in the top of the cabinet
and attach a fan and carbon scrubber - I will also put a static vent on the front door to allow air to come in.
The inside of the cabinet is lined with insulating foil. I hear you on the mould but I'm hoping the fan will sort that out once I install it.
I totally agree with you about planting directly in the aerogarden. I had a "moment" with one of the seedlings when I thought I had badly damaged the tap root, but it looks like I'll got away with it this time. Next time it's directly in the AG as you suggest!
Mr.Natural
Active Member
I'd top them now, then flip to 12/12, if you plan to flower in that cab. They get tall quick. Good luck
MadKitty
Member
Thanks for the comments Mr. Natural. I was thinking of topping one of them - aparently you are not supposed to top autoflowering strains, but I have seen one or two people do it here and it worked out OK. I was going to keep them on 20/4 - as the seed packet suggests, throughout the whole grow, as they are an autoflowering ruderalis strain - have you tried 12/12 with a lowryder strain?
frogvsmonkey
Active Member
yea dont top an auto that kinda dumb, lst instead, tie that bitch down, and most ppl use a 20/4 light s with auto looks good so far, just say i'd get some cheap pcs fans and a AC/DC coverenter, maybe cost u around like 20 bucks and less worrys about mold, smell, in betters your plant
MadKitty
Member
Hi frog, Yep I am definitely going to get a couple of PC fans like you said! Thanks.
I have seen a couple of people on RIU who have succesfully topped an auto, so I am thinking of trying it on one plant as an experiment, but I hear what you are saying - normally it is a dumb idea
At the moment I can afford to lose one of these plants so it might be worth the risk?
Mr.Natural
Active Member
Looks good MadKitty. Dont top her just bend her over. I put adhesive backed stick on hooks on the sides. They worked fine to tie on to.You need to get some real nutes before they start flowering. Some 2 part stuff works well. lots to choose from. Your local hydro shop can help you. I use House and Garden. Very clean, very easy. A little bit goes a long long way.
MadKitty
Member
Thanks for that Mr. Natural. I'm going to try and get some decent nutes - I'll use up the aerogarden ones for vegging and switch to something better for flowering. Going to check out the local Hydro store today to see what they have.
frogvsmonkey
Active Member
use canna or general hydro spec the new org line there both kickass! and they have new nutes from general that self ph's how cool?!
MadKitty
Member
use canna or general hydro spec the new org line there both kickass! and they have new nutes from general that self ph's how cool?!
They had Canna Fydro Flores so I picked up some of that today. I'll keep on using the aerogarden nutes for vegging as they seem ok so far.
Wow - the self Ph sounds great - I'll have to check that out for next time!
Mr.Natural
Active Member
Alright good choice MK you'll be glad you did. Save the AG nutes for tomatoes. Switch when you do a res flush. You should do that soon if you haven't already. Did the Canna come with a good feeding chart?
MadKitty
Member
Still growing fast. I am amazed every day when I do my check how much they have grown! 
I haven't changed the resevoir since the start and at the moment I am reluctant to do so as the Ph is staying nice and stable at 6.0 since I adjusted it during the the first week.
I have to say I am impressed with the Aerogarden so far - I grew in soil a few years back and it was a pain in the ass in terms of trying not to overwater etc.
Here are some pics from today (day 23)
I haven't changed the resevoir since the start and at the moment I am reluctant to do so as the Ph is staying nice and stable at 6.0 since I adjusted it during the the first week.
I have to say I am impressed with the Aerogarden so far - I grew in soil a few years back and it was a pain in the ass in terms of trying not to overwater etc.
Here are some pics from today (day 23)
