First Grow Ever- Aerogarden Veggie Pro (help and advice Appreciated)

Things i Have: Recipe for Success Nutrient Pack
Ph up and Down with indicator
Things Im getting: Just purchased the Aerogarden from amazon should be here on wednesday,
4 Additional Cfls (not sure what type yet)
Timer
Figure 8 Cord
Air pump
air stone
If any one can suggest things i missed or might need please let me know.
Pumped to start growing !!!!!!!!!!

As far as seed germination, have you heard of SOMA's style?
What kind of seeds are you using?
How many are you planning on growing at once?
How long do you plan to veg?
If you use reg seeds are you going to just put one in each pod and flower from start to weed out the males?

i was goin to use paper towel method but what is somas style??
the seeds are bubba kush and im goin to be growing two plants
i plan on vegging for about 3-4 weeks
and the seeds were given to me by a friend and told were 99.8 % guaranteed female( reliable source )

paulking24 said:

Things i Have: Recipe for Success Nutrient Pack
Ph up and Down with indicator
Things Im getting: Just purchased the Aerogarden from amazon should be here on wednesday,
4 Additional Cfls (not sure what type yet)
Timer
Figure 8 Cord
Air pump
air stone
If any one can suggest things i missed or might need please let me know.
Pumped to start growing !!!!!!!!!!

Click to expand...

The only thing I can think of that you might be missing is patience. You are remarkably organized. I didn't have all that stuff for weeks. I compliment you. You've obviously done your homework. If you bought the seven holes A/G with the two round CFL's you'll likely need side lighting when your plants get bigger. I don't usually like side lighting because it becomes a wireman's nightmare that ends up looking like a snake pit. If you get to liking your A/G, and I'm sure you will, you'll want the 24 inch arm/light stand and the hood with three high intensity flat CFL's. They come in the upgrade kit and they don't usually require any side lighting. Although you may want to investigate putting some inexpensive mirrors around it from Home Depot. Put them at a slight angle reflecting the light back up and it does double duty. You'll have buds all the way down to the planting deck.That's what I like about A/G's; they're compact, complete, user friendly, economical to operate and stealthy, especially if you're an apartment dweller.

good luck!!!! i have this setup looking to get some auto tho

Thanks guys ive been preparing for this for a while lol so ive been reading all the aerogarden journals here...and i have to tall model that comes with the 24" arm already and i was thinking mylar for reflective surfaces but i like the mirror idea probably alot cheaper.

Good luck to you Junkiepr if your posting a journal ill keep an eye on so maybe we can get feed back from each other.

so i finally got my aerogaratden: i plugged it in started it up put in ph controlled water and one of the starter nutes from AG in the base. guna germinate my seeds for a day or two then ill post some pics

Edit: Here is the first pic

Isn't there an urban myth about mirrors not reflecting the proper light needed and that the order of good surfaces is mylar > flat white surface > foil? I don't know, but i do know there has been controversy over mirrors in the past. I have bought emergency safety blankets made from mylar for 4bucks. I use spray adhesive to bind the mylar to a poster board for a makeshift mirror. I lay it carefully and use a ruler to flatten out imperfections and wrinkles. I've had a lot of success making makeshift mirrors out foil spray adhered to cardboard as well. It's like tinting a car window. But some targets and walmarts have mylar blankets in their sporting goods departments. I think I've bought coleman brand mylar blankets from target.

Space Blankets
Coleman Emergency Blanket

because i give terrible information i must direct you to someone else:https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/340428-aluminum-foil.html

hey man appreciate the input ill go over all my options and possible combinations and ill definitely be posting my final choices on here.
i just hope i do a good job so my journal can help others on there way to aerogarden growing

I realized I didn't answer on how soma germinates his seeds. He thinks there are microscopic roots on the taproot when a seed pops, and they snap off of paper towels. So he takes a glass of warm water and simply drops seeds into it. Turns out bad ones float and good ones sink. Most actually pop over night this way. From experience, I've gotten better results from changing the water in the glass each day. I think he waits for the tap root to get like a cm or so, but i usually do it when i see the white tap root emerge. As always planted tap root down.

I used the paper towel method for two days and today my seeds popped. here they are cant wait till they become little bushes

I planted them in the pods as well today.

ok so heres a little update after a few days in the garden one of my seedlings has sprouted nicely and the other is still slowly but surely growing. here are a few pics one is of some slight root growth and the other two are the tops of each pod

Yo, for Vegging I used 4 x 100w Equiv Day Light CFLs + the AG Hood.
I actually started with only 2 of the CFLs, then added the 3rd and then the 4th as they were needed.

For flowering I am using 4 x 100w Equiv Soft White CFL's + the AG hood.
I MAY add another 1 or 2 of these Soft Whites into the mix...however, prolly 75w Equiv....dunno if I need so many 100's...I'm not at that point yet....

Hey, earlier in your thread you mentioned that you already got nutes in your water?
Anyone can correct me if I'm wrong but I think you should hold off on the nutes until the roots hit the water or maybe week 2 or something. I gotta go back and check my journal on here....but I started with NO nutes and only pH balanced water.

GL man!

hey thanks for the info. about the lighting ill that into consideration when i go to purchase my additional cfls. and about the nutes i just put in one of the two starter nutes from AG just to give the plants a little food for the first week, but thank you i do appreciate the advice.

Np, Subscribed

so just wanted to post this little bit of info. ive been watching my plant quite diligently and last night i had taken some pics and when i woke up this morning i had taken some more pics. check out the difference in height of my seedling in one night. (does this mean i should put a light closer to reduce stretching or is this ok for the first couple days to have such long quick growth)? i also took a pic of the other little one still struggling to pop out of its little hole.

so heres some more pics of the little ones. this might be getting redundant/annoying but im trying to show daily progress of plants in the AG.

How important is it to cut the sponge before putting the seed in? I forgot to cut it and I put the seed in (taproot facing down) but it seems to be taking way too long to start growing. I dont think the root is having an easy time making its way down, does that sound about right?
advice appreciated! thanks

i only cut my sponges down in half from top to bottom. i didnt cut the bottom off so id just give it some time and see what happens and if its still struggling i would cut the bottom off close to were the bottom of your root is....i hope that helps but i did very little mods to anything so far and all is seeming to work out pretty well.
thanks for checkin out my journal

Yo I cut the little nub off the bottom of my little moss thing...
ACtually.......I cut it off one and not off the other. The one that I cut, the roots went right down into the water. The one that I didn't cut, the roots got caught in the moss and started getting smashed, not finding the water. Could have just been my bad luck, but that's what happened. I had to cut the nub off the second one and I sorta took the roots and pointed them down toward the water. That fixed it.

Now, my little clones...one of them just started growing all kinds of roots out of the SIDES of the moss....so.....that makes me think....wtf do I know LOL