Ever since watching the "Grow How " episodes I have wanted to try out an AeroGarden style setup,...

[G+_Donald Burr]

Ever since watching the "Grow How" episodes I have wanted to try out an AeroGarden style setup, but the high price tag has always put me off. However, the other day I happened to be browsing around in our local thrift store while killing time in between appointments, and lo and behold, look what I found: a (near as I can tell) almost brand new AeroGarden... for only $20!! No idea if the thing works or not, but I figured for $20 I'd take a gamble. And it paid off -- the thing seems to work perfectly. And OK, hot pink isn't exactly my color, but for $20 I'll put up with it ;-)

 

now, onto my questions... I'd like to try and go the DIY route as much as possible, so instead of buying the Aerogarden pods (which are, after all, rather pricy) I'd like to make my own pods. Easy enough, I have a 3D printer and there are tons of Aerogarden pod models on Thingiverse. But now I would need a growth medium to fill the pods with. I'm guessing that plain old garden soil won't work? And what about food? Would standard off the shelf plant food (like Miracle-Gro, etc.) work? And if so, what is the right dosage? (like Padre said, you don't want to over-feed your plants...) And lastly, I need to find seeds to grow. Any suggestions as to what I can grow? iirc herbs work reasonably well, but what about other vegetables? lettuce? Tomatoes? Peppers? some ideas of specific types/varieties of seeds to look for, that would grow reasonably well in this setup.

 

TIA for any help/advice.

[G+_Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ]

Rockwool cubes. Inexpensive, neutral medium that's very easy to work with.

 

Cut them to fit the existing pods.

 

Just make sure to cover the base of the pod to keep them in the dark or you'll get an algae problem.

 

Been using them for years. :)

[G+_J. Peter Haliburton]

I got the algae problem in my 9 pod unit, so that is currently shut down. I did have some success last year experimenting with cleaned and drilled out k-cups with rockwool medium sitting in a bowl to get some plants started before outside garden planting. I'm trying different seeds in the AeroGarden, and everything seems to start, but there have been some duds.

[G+_J. Peter Haliburton]