Used Aerogarden 3 - Does this look right to you?

Hi, finally getting around to playing with my $6 Aerogarden 3. I cleaned it up and plugged it in and saw almost no bubbles. So I put in a new stone, not much better.

I only really want this for cloning and to grow some kitchen herbs, so I'd like to keep the original design set up, if possible, but I think that may not be very productive in the long run. Is this really how much air is supposed to be going through this thing or is my pump shot?

Here are a couple of pictures:

In the absence of better advice, I decided to try cloning three plants in this thing. Here's the problem: I'm in Canada, and there are no retailers that carry Aerogarden stuff anymore. None. Zip. Zilch. And mine didn't come with any of those tiny net pots So, what to do? Well, i took a trip to the hardware store and came home with 3' of that black foam insulation for 3/4" pipes. As luck would have it, they hold on to the stems of the cuttings just perfectly, if you cut off a circle of the foam about 1" in length. I just wrapped it around the stem, shoved it into the opening (go ahead, make your jokes) and viola! Like a glove!



I'll report back if this $6 rig actually works. If not, I can always grab a little aquarium pump and run an air hose though, one way or another.

I'm running straight water in the reservoir for now, although I may add a few drops of Grotek's Kickstart 5-8-5. If this works, I see no reason that i can't make a new platform with 5 or 6 holes in it and have a great, super cheap cloninator!

Holy crap! This might actually work!

By last night, the cuttings were looking a bit droopy. This morning I had a look, the leaves are still kind of droopy, but the stems are standing up a bit straighter than last night. The are all bending inward, toward the light.

Well...this little experiment seems to be going well. The cuttings are still a little droopy but doing quite well, better than my previous method of shoving them in a rapid rooter and putting them under a humidity dome. Here's a pic that I snapped moments ago; about 40 hours after taking the cuttings:

Well, it's been four days and the cuttings are looking good, very good actually. I checked the bottom of the cuttings and don't see any root shoots starting. Then again, all three of the cuttings are doing well.

Well, Day 5...the cuttings still look well, but I don't see anything interesting as far as roots go.

That water looks pretty stagnant. It'll matter once they grow roots. Until then it's probably fine. I would grab a good air pump/stone and you'll be good to go


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damnsmoker said:

Hi, finally getting around to playing with my $6 Aerogarden 3. I cleaned it up and plugged it in and saw almost no bubbles. So I put in a new stone, not much better.

I only really want this for cloning and to grow some kitchen herbs, so I'd like to keep the original design set up, if possible, but I think that may not be very productive in the long run. Is this really how much air is supposed to be going through this thing or is my pump shot?

Here are a couple of pictures:

Click to expand...

Hey bro, hope you see this. how did it go? I just decided to do the same thing and it's actually my first grow. I'm having the same early success as you. Here are mine after two days from sprouting from seed. I was wondering if you had any tips?

DC8494 said:

Hey bro, hope you see this. how did it go? I just decided to do the same thing and it's actually my first grow. I'm having the same early success as you. Here are mine after two days from sprouting from seed. I was wondering if you had any tips?

Click to expand...

just so you know, this thread is 4 yrs old. doubt he/she is still around.

rkymtnman said:

just so you know, this thread is 4 yrs old. doubt he/she is still around.

Click to expand...

Yeah i saw, thanks. I made a post about it and have got some feedback but not someone who has done it. Figured might as well ask anyways

DC8494 said:

Yeah i saw, thanks. I made a post about it and have got some feedback but not someone who has done it. Figured might as well ask anyways

Click to expand...

i start my seeds in a similar unit. but i transplant them for the rest of the grow.

rkymtnman said:

i start my seeds in a similar unit. but i transplant them for the rest of the grow.

Click to expand...

Okay cool. I'm going to try all the way through with it. I've added a second pump, and I'm going to add a little hydroton to give them a stronger base and cover the opening with foil to block any light. I'll add a fan when it's a established a bit. Any suggestions? The thing only holds 5.5 cups of water so I fear I'll run into trouble lol

DC8494 said:

The thing only holds 5.5 cups of water so I fear I'll run into trouble

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yep. trouble.
i think you know the obvious advice would be to transplant them into bigger containers. but if you just want to get some practice with dwc, go for it.

rkymtnman said:

yep. trouble.
i think you know the obvious advice would be to transplant them into bigger containers. but if you just want to get some practice with dwc, go for it.

Click to expand...

Yeah the only thing I'm wondering is if it might be okay because my lights are cheap CFLs and I need to keep it pretty small, so i may switch it to 12/12 after 3-4 weeks

DC8494 said:

Yeah the only thing I'm wondering is if it might be okay because my lights are cheap CFLs and I need to keep it pretty small, so i may switch it to 12/12 after 3-4 weeks

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Not sure if you've seen this but this should give you a good handle on your AG.