This week's report really isn't as dramatic as some previous reports. Things are growing at a good pace, but the situation is fairly stable.
However, I would like to mention something, in case you haven't heard it before... An aeroponic system (like my TurboGarden) helps plants grow very quickly. Since so many changes are taking place under an aeroponic setting, you have to be very mindful of the condition of your reservoir. Normally, the water chemistry is fairly stable... However, in an aeroponic system, like the TurboGarden, this really isn't the case. Admittedly, the TurboGarden has a fairly large reservoir tank (about 25 gallons when full). However, there's so much growth activity going on, that the chemistry changes rapidly. The TurboGarden consumes a lot more nutrients than my other system, and the pH changes much more dramatically.
This may sound strange to someone new to aeroponics, but I add almost 1 pint of pH increaser to my TurboGarden each week. That's a lot of pH increaser. Although I don't understand all the plant biology involved, I can tell you from experience that the plants just suck the pH right out of the water. I check the pH every morning, and most of the time I find it around 6.0. I realize that 6.0 is still in a good range for the plants; but I also know that it will continue to drop unless I supplement it.
I really need to buy more twine. I need to tie some of the plants, like the eggplant. It's not being a good neighbor at the moment. Additionally, the eggplant is flowering. We have several flowers, but no baby fruits yet.
I'm not quite sure what's going on with our younger tomato plant. It doesn't look as good as I would expect. The chemistry is good. I'm suspecting a heat issue (as it's tall, and closer to the light source). As an experiment, I've laid it down, in the strawberries.
Here's this week's photo:
| Plant | Type | Status |
|---|
| #01 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 10" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #02 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 10" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #03 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 11" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #04 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 9" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #05 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 10" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #06 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 10" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #07 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 7" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #08 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 11" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #09 | Alexandria Alpine Strawberries | Roughly 11" long (longest leaf). No burning. Looking good. |
| #10 | Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Heirloom Tomato | Approximately 33" long (it's not standing straight anymore, as it's tied to the lightstand). Has some old burning visible, but appears quite strong. I'm starting to become concerned that it's grown tall enough to be too close to the light again. If I see more burning appear, I may relocate. |
| #11 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Previously killed through personal stupidity. |
| #12 | Bambino Baby Eggplant | This fellow is really dominating the TurboGarden. It's big and wide. I need to add twine to stabilize. Flowers are visible, and I'd expect baby fruits soon.
|
| #13 | Monet's Garden Lettuce
| Amazingly, still alive. We ate almost all the leaves, but somehow, it's living and sprouting new ones. |
| #14 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Amazingly, still alive. We ate almost all the leaves, but somehow, it's living and sprouting new ones. |
| #15 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Amazingly, still alive. We ate almost all the leaves, but somehow, it's living and sprouting new ones. |
| #16 | Monet's Garden Lettuce | Tasty. Eaten on 09/29/2007. |
| #17 | Lime Basil
| Roughly 19" tall. No burning visible anymore. Very healthy. Very tasty. |
| #18 | Delicious Heirloom Tomato | Oddly, not as strong as it's older brother. It doesn't have as many branches or leaves, and it appears to be having trouble with the heat from the lighting system. I've laid it down horizontally in the strawberries to test my theory. |