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Hydroponics Tuesday
It's been another week, and everything is doing well. I spent some time this week potting and repotting some of the plants. I know that I'll be starting the aeroponic TurboGarden up again sooner or later, so I thought I'd migrate things into the aero (net) pots wherever possible. I managed to get most of the plants moved, but I was limited by space. As I mentioned last week, some of the strawberries were starting to get algae growing on the surface of their rockwool cubes. Although I don't think it's a problem, I don't care for it. I only want planned vegetation in my garden. I used replanting as an opportunity. Now the rockwool cubes are fully covered in hydroton; so the algae won't get any sunlight. I'll check it in a few days, but I hope the hydroton inhibits further growth. The lettuces are getting large. I accidentally broke some leaves during their transplantation. They're tasty. I offer two pictures this week. The first is the #8 strawberry, in it's hydroton-filled aeroponic pot. 
This week's second picture is a close-up shot of #'s 15 and 16, both of which are lettuce. They're all over the place. I've hung their leaves off the side of the tray to make space. The tray is packed tight (since everything expanded when it got it's own pot).
Keeping with my promise of solid record keeping, here's this week's chart:
| Plant | Type | Status |
| #01 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.0" tall. Rockwool cube has been placed into a hydroton (small grain) filled aeroponic pot. |
| #02 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.0" tall. Rockwool cube has been placed into a hydroton (small grain) filled aeroponic pot. | | #03 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.0" tall. Rockwool cube has been placed into a hydroton (small grain) filled aeroponic pot. |
| #04 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.0" tall. I ran out of space, so this one is still just rockwool.
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| #05 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3.0" tall. The largest of the strawberries. Rockwool cube has been placed into a hydroton (small grain) filled aeroponic pot. |
| #06 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.0" tall. I ran out of space, so this one is still just rockwool. |
| #07 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.0" tall. I ran out of space, so this one is still just rockwool. |
| #08 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3.0" tall. The second-largest of the strawberries. Rockwool cube has
been placed into a hydroton (small grain) filled aeroponic pot. |
| #09 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.0" tall. Rockwool cube has been placed into a hydroton (small grain) filled aeroponic pot. |
| #10 | Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 14" tall. I've recently tied it to the lightstand for support.
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| #11 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Previously killed through personal stupidity. |
| #12 | Bambino Baby Eggplant | It's about 6" tall, and it looking quite healthy. Recently placed into aeroponic pot. |
| #13 | Monet's Garden Lettuce
| Approximately 13" tall (if it stood). Replanted into a standard 5" pot (I needed the aero pots free). |
| #14 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 12" tall (if it stood). Replanted into a standard 5" pot (I needed the aero pots free). |
| #15 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 13" tall (if it stood). Replanted into a standard 5" pot (I needed the aero pots free). I broke a leaf during transplant. Tasty. |
| #16 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 11" tall (if it stood). Replanted into a standard 5" pot (I needed the aero pots free). |
| #17 | Lime Basil
| Looks healthy. About 5.0" tall. I wanted to give it a dedicated pot, but ran out of room. Since it's still fairly small, I'm hoping to move it later. |
| #18 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 11" tall. Replanted into a standard 5" pot. Almost large enough to support from the lightstand. |
We have a new "guest" in the garden this week. I don't know the back story, but here's the tale as I understand it: Jessawick walks over to me, holding a green leafy chunk of plantlife. I don't know what it is, but the rest of it is growing in a planter near her desk. Regardless... She's holding a chunk of plant matter. She asks if she can put it into the MegaGarden, in the hopes that it might sprout some roots and survive. Mmmmm. Foreign plant matter. Hopefully, it won't hurt things too much. Freeloading plant matter aside, here's this week's update: Everything is doing pretty well. I've still avoided starting up the aeroponic unit (I'm stalling because a 400W HPS bulb is expensive to run). Algae has started to grow on the rockwool cubes of the strawberries. It makes sense, as they are very slow growing. They haven't yet formed a canopy, so algae growth is natural, I suppose. Thus far, I've just scraped it off (with a paper towel). It's not out-of-hand; and it's also the only algae in the entire system. It doesn't seem to be a threat, the strawberries are still quite well. Everybody else is growing as expected. The lettuce(s) are larger, the tomato plants are larger, everybody seems happy. I'm still keeping with the slightly higher than usual pH... It's been about 6.8 (tap pH in my area) since the beginning. I'm taking the lazy and stable route, with good success. I'm probably going to move some of the other plants into the aero-style net pots shortly. Here's an overview of the plants at the moment. Notice the large green freeloader in the foreground. 
Keeping with my promise of solid record keeping, here's this week's chart:
| Plant | Type | Status |
| #01 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #02 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. | | #03 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #04 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #05 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. It looks like two seeds have been growing, rather than just one. |
| #06 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #07 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #08 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as
strawberries tend to grow. It looks like two seeds have been growing,
rather than just one. |
| #09 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.5" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as
strawberries tend to grow. |
| #10 | Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 12" tall. Lots of secondary leaves. |
| #11 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Previously killed through personal stupidity. |
| #12 | Bambino Baby Eggplant | It's about 4" tall, and it looking quite healthy. Soon to get an aero-pot.
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| #13 | Monet's Garden Lettuce
| Approximately 11" tall (if it stood). We've got roots roaming the bottom of the tray.
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| #14 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 10" tall (if it stood). We've got roots roaming the bottom of the tray. |
| #15 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 11" tall (if it stood). We've got roots roaming the bottom of the tray. |
| #16 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 9" tall (if it stood). We've got roots roaming the bottom of the tray. |
| #17 | Lime Basil
| Looks healthy. About 3.5" tall. It's getting more leaves. Looks tasty.
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| #18 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 9" tall. Looks quite good healthy. It's younger than the other tomato, so the smaller size makes sense. It needs transplanting to an aero-style pot.
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It's been another week, and things have continued to grow. As this week's title suggests; there's nothing groundbreaking to report. Everybody is healthy, and progress is being made. Some of the larger plants are already transitioned into their aero-style pots; waiting for the day that the TurboGarden is fired up once more. Wow. I should mention again, for anybody who tries it... Growing strawberries from seed takes forever. #8 is the biggest of my strawberries, at around 2" tall. Our first picture is of #12, a baby eggplant (on the left) and #17, lime basil (on the right). I'm almost ready to put them into the aero-style net pots, but it just hasn't been necessary yet. 
Our second picture is a wider shot. You can see the tomato plants in the front, the lettuce all over the place, and the herd of strawberry plants on the right. 
Keeping with my promise of solid record keeping, here's this week's chart:
| Plant | Type | Status |
| #01 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #02 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. | | #03 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #04 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #05 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. It looks like two seeds have been growing, rather than just one. |
| #06 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #07 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #08 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 2" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as
strawberries tend to grow. It looks like two seeds have been growing,
rather than just one. |
| #09 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 1.25" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as
strawberries tend to grow. |
| #10 | Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 10" tall. Lots of secondary leaves. |
| #11 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Previously killed through personal stupidity. |
| #12 | Bambino Baby Eggplant | It's about 3" tall, and it looking quite healthy. Soon to get an aero-pot.
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| #13 | Monet's Garden Lettuce
| Approximately 9" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Leaves are getting fuller. |
| #14 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 8" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Leaves are getting fuller. |
| #15 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 9" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Leaves are getting fuller. |
| #16 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 8" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Leaves are getting fuller. |
| #17 | Lime Basil
| Looks healthy. About 2.5" tall. |
| #18 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 7" tall. Looks quite good healthy. It's younger than the other tomato, so the smaller size makes sense.
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As you may remember, last week I was thinking about starting up the aeroponic TurboGarden... However, after much thought, I've decided to keep everything in the ebb-and-flow for a bit longer. Here's the situation at the moment: I've replanted the four lettuces (letti?) and the two tomato plants. They're now living in the net pots (for the aero), and are surrounded with small-bead hydroton. I'm planning on moving them into the aero at some point, but for the time-being; they should be happy. Hopefully, this transplant will make them easier to move when the time comes. The plants seem pretty happy. I've been letting the pH run a bit higher than in previous growing sessions; it's about 6.8. The lettuces are looking healthy. The tomato plants are growing quickly. Damn, strawberries grow slowly. Here's a picture of the plants at the moment: 
Keeping with my promise of solid record keeping, here's this week's chart:
| Plant | Type | Status |
| #01 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #02 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. | | #03 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #04 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #05 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. It looks like two seeds have been growing, rather than just one. |
| #06 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #07 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as strawberries tend to grow. |
| #08 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as
strawberries tend to grow. It looks like two seeds have been growing,
rather than just one. |
| #09 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 3/4" tall. Looks very healthy. Growing slowly, as
strawberries tend to grow. |
| #10 | Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 8.5" tall. Secondary leaves are strong. It's getting larger by the day. Excellent health. |
| #11 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Previously killed through personal stupidity. |
| #12 | Bambino Baby Eggplant | It's about 2" tall, and it looking quite healthy. It's a slow starter, but appears to be doing well. |
| #13 | Monet's Garden Lettuce
| Approximately 7" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Transplanted into a hydroton filled pot.
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| #14 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 6.5" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Transplanted into a hydroton filled pot. |
| #15 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 8" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Transplanted into a hydroton filled pot. |
| #16 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Approximately 7" tall (if it stood). Looks very healthy. Transplanted into a hydroton filled pot. |
| #17 | Lime Basil
| Still quite small, but looks healthy. About 1.5" tall. |
| #18 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 6.5" tall. Looks quite good healthy. It's younger than the other tomato, so the smaller size makes sense.
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