One of the best aspects of indoor hydroponic units is how very 'plug and play' they can be. Even people with a notoriously 'brown thumb' can have a lovely garden with very little effort. While you can get very precise and exacting, tweaking things to truly maximize longevity and harvest, it's really not necessary to get plenty of satisfaction and taste.
However, there are a few commonly grown seeds that benefit – if not outright require – a little special attention to get them growing.
Most of us who grow herbs in our hydroponics eventually reach a point that we face the same question: What do I do with all these herbs? I tend to pick what to cook based on what herbs I have to hand, but even still, eventually I can't keep up with how much are growing.
For very short term storage, you can treat them just like cut flowers; place them in a cup or vase with water on the counter, or even in the fridge for slightly longer periods. But that still isn't a long term solution.
So, what to do with all the extra?
For those who have been around indoor hydroponics groups for any amount of time, it's common knowledge that spinach just doesn't do well. Either it is extremely difficult to germinate, or if you get it to germinate, it bolts almost immediately, before you can even really harvest any leaves.
Thus, finding a decent substitute for spinach - in salads or cooked - is a common pastime.
As such, I set out to test two of the more commonly-touted substitutes, tatsoi and komatsuna, as well as a third, a relatively new hybrid heirloom of the two, chijimisai.
This is a very basic checklist of hints and tips geared specifically for people starting up an AeroGarden for the first time. Many of the same things apply to all hydroponic units, of course, only a few are AG-specific. And of course, even those of us who are more experienced can benefit from a reminder of the basics!
This will not, for the time being, be as picture-heavy as I would prefer; like an idiot, I didn't take good pictures of my plants last round, so I won't be able to include good pictures of the full cycle until my next set of sprouts mature sufficiently. However, I've had enough requests for assistance with pepper pruning, that it's worthwhile going ahead and writing the post even with insufficient pictures.
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| Confetti Bell Pepper in AGFarm24XL, loaded with peppers! |
So, on to the pruning! As with all pruning, it is best done with a sharp set of shears or scissors, that has been sterilized, such as with rubbing alcohol. My personal preference is a pair of embroidery scissors; they are very sharp, and come to a very fine point, enabling you to get in very tight spaces easily. I use them only for pruning, so they don't get dulled or nicked from other uses. I'd be lying, though, if I said I didn't just as often use my fingernails - but sterilization is still important!
This is just a consolidated list of the various extras, accessories, and replacements I personally use with my different gardens. There are many options for most of these items; these I have personally used successfully. Most of the links (particularly to Amazon) are associate links, which help keep me gardening and able to create new content, as I am disabled with no regular income.
Another extremely common question when it comes to small in-home hydroponic gardening, is "Can I use organic fertilizers?"
Unfortunately, the answer, while not an outright no, is a very stringent 'it's not a good idea'. This tends to upset people if you leave it at that. But just because organic fertilizers aren't a good idea, doesn't mean your plants will be any less nutritious and healthy for you!
The problem here, and the apparent contradiction, is that "organic" has specific meanings in specific applications. It has unfortunately, however, become a 'buzz word' used by people to just generally mean 'natural' as opposed to covered in synthetic chemicals, like pesticides. In this situation, though, "organic" is really no more nutritious, and is not a particularly safer, better, or more sustainable system.
