Start Germinating the Seed
by Ismael
I wish to germinate the seed and don't know if I should start in Aeroponics Cloner and then to Aeroponics System #1, or start in Aeroponics System #1 only? I want to grow herbs like basil, oregano, etc. Thanks, Ismael Medina
Answer: Ismael- in my opinion, aeroponic systems are not really the best solution for germinating seeds, although they ARE the best solution for rooting clones! Until the seeds sprout and grow roots, there is really no reason to turn the aeroponic system on. In order to sprout a seed properly, the surface of the seed needs to be in contact with moisture. This means you will need to place the seed into a rubber dirt plug or pre-soaked (pH adjusted) rockwool cube or a small amount of soilless mix.
There should be enough moisture in the rubber dirt plug (or rockwool, or soilless mixture) to sprout the seed without having to add any additional water. Simply place the seeds into the pre-moistened medium you choose, make sure the temperature is warm enough for good seed germination, and perhaps cover it with a plastic cup to keep in the humidity and prevent the media from drying out before the seed has a chance to sprout.
I suppose you could place the grow media containing the seeds into your aeroponic system and simply leave it turned off until the seeds have sprouted. Otherwise, sprout them and then transplant them into the aeroponic system once they are an inch or two tall and have some roots. For other herbs (herbs that have the potential to get several feet tall) you may want to wait until the seedlings are at least 4 inches tall before you transplant them into the aeroponic system.
However you decide to approach this part of the process, keep in mind: seeds do not sprout well in clay pellets alone (especially smaller, finer seeds like basil seed or oregano seed). You should certainly sprout the seeds in some other media, but placing them in an aeroponic system for this step is not necessary.
I hope that answers your question....Happy Growing!
AffordableGarden Design&Setup
Hi everyone, Jason from Jason's Indoor Guide here. When I got started with hydroponic gardening more than 24 years ago, my first garden used rockwool cubes and B.C. Nutrients....and I remember thinking to myself yeah, sure, there may be a lot of advantages to gardening with hydroponics, for example there are very few pest problems, therefore very little pest control, no weeding, no plowing or tilling the soil, no soil testing or having to add things into the garden soil, no watering the garden....but for someone who just wants to grow their own vegetables and have more control over their food supply and the quality of the food that they eat, the cost of constantly having to buy grow media and hydroponic nutrients makes this an expensive hobby for most people...
Epic Nutrient Change
I suppose when you take into consideration how much money you save NOT
having to buy food at the grocery store, it is surely cheaper to grow
your own food hydroponically even with the cost of high quality
nutrients. Nevertheless, I didn't have a whole lot of money to work with
and I needed to make my efforts as affordable and effective as
possible....and in the last 24 years I HAVE learned a thing or two!
As you browse through Jason's Indoor Guide, you will notice all of the
systems that I use personally are homemade systems. As I got 3 or 4
years of experience under my belt, I quickly adopted a preference to
standing water systems and systems that use expanded clay pellets or
lava rock, because the media is re-usable and it eliminates a huge
operating expense. So once a hydroponic system is built, garden
maintenance is minimal- check and adjust the nutrient solution daily,
and to change it completely every 2 weeks....and the biggest operating
cost is the hydroponic nutrients. (and the electric bill, lol)...
Homemade Cloner
And, regarding the cost of the nutrients....I experimented for about 3 years with making different compost teas and nutrient teas, but there is still a lot of expense $$$ associated with making high quality nutrient teas....like kelp meal, liquid seaweed, rock dust, bat guano, un-Sulfured molasses, worm castings. You can eliminate a lot of this expense by becoming an expert at making high-quality colloidal humus compost, and use your properly made compost as the basis of your hydroponic nutrient solution.
Unfortunately, I have been gardening for over 24 years and I have only
just recently mastered this difficult skill....and even then, only
because I happened to find a very easy to follow, high quality technique
and decided to follow the instructions to the letter. I produced more
high quality compost in just one week than I was able to use in a whole
year! If you can master the technique, I highly recommend it. It is one of the top 3 things you can do to
increase the productivity of your food production efforts, while at the
same time decreasing the amount of effort required to grow all of your
own food, and decreasing the total cost of operating your food
production system.
And when I say decrease operating costs, I mean decrease them to almost
ZERO, especially if you are producing your own nutrients...
High Efficiency
Hydroponics
The ultimate solution to eliminate the cost of your hydroponic nutrients: Imagine a hydroponic system that does not require you to buy any nutrients, does not require you to make your own compost, and does not require you to brew your own nutrient tea. Seriously! No cost and no effort as far as providing nutrients to your plants! Plus, at the end of the gardening cycle you harvest all of your garden vegetables, PLUS YOU HARVEST FISH from the system--->
Aquaponics
This solution is aquaponics. If you are serious about producing all of your own food and being self-sufficient, this is the ultimate solution for reducing expenses (as much as possible), reducing the total amount of work required, and maximizing the productivity of your gardening efforts. I have been gardening for over 24 years, and it is the perfect food production solution in my opinion.
Besides mastering how to make high quality compost, learning aquaponics is one of the top 3 things you can do to increase your garden productivity, reduce your total costs, and reduce your total work. The product that I learned from is called Aquaponics4you. With all of my hydroponic gardening experience, the first time I came across the Aquaponics4you product I knew immediately that it was something very special! Place an aquaponics system outdoors and use the sun instead of grow lights, and you have reduced every garden expense to nearly ZERO!
The Same System/ 10 Weeks Later!
