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  • Writer's picturegarysjordan
    • Oct 1, 2022
    • 5 min read

An October Farm Report

Updated: Oct 14, 2022

2022-10-01

As of this date, I have SIX Smart Garden-3s, FOUR AeroGarden Harvests with Aerovoir reservoirs, TWO iDOO 12-pod gardens, ONE iDOO bucket, TWELVE Amber 32-ounce Mason Jars with Kratky adapters, and TWELVE clear 16-ounce Mason Jars with Kratky adapters covered with Neoprene Sleeves. The Mason Jars are served by some combination of separate grow lights, including two types of bars and two types of halos. Over half my equipment came directly from Click & Grow or AeroGarden or from Etsy. Some even came from Walmart.


Names

All my hydroponic equipment is named. I will admit that some names are just convenience. It is far easier to refer to Sheba the She-bucket than to the "iDOO 2-in-1 Hydroponics & Soil Growing System, 6 Pods Hydro Indoor Herb Garden Up to 13.8", Plants Germination Kit with LED Grow Lights, Automatic Timer for Kitchen, Countertop, Home." That is just too weird, and way too long.

The Click & Grow Smart Garden-3 units, I already collectively named, “the Smart Garden 3 x 6 Ranch, Bar 0” A.K.A. “the Ranch.” The individual units are not so much named as labeled, Ranch One through Ranch Five and Ranchero Cero (Ranch Zero in Spanish.)

The AeroGarden Harvests are named Harvey (short for Harvest), Harvey Too (a play on Harvey the second and Harvey also), Seble ("Seble (female Eastern African, Amharic) Means 'harvest' in Amharic."), and Teresa (from numerous languages, also means Harvest). Each Harvest is served by a reservoir. They are named for water deities (female). respective to the Harvest they feed, they are named Shirley (short for Chalchiuhtlicue (from chālchihuitl "jade" and cuēitl "skirt") (also spelled Chalciuhtlicue, Chalchiuhcueye, or Chalcihuitlicue) ("She of the Jade Skirt") is an Aztec deity of water, rivers, seas, streams, storms, and baptism), Nancy (for Naiad. In Greek mythology, the naiads are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.), Lassy (for Thalassa, primeval spirit of the sea, consort of Pontus), and Anny (for Anuket, the ancient Egyptian goddess of the cataracts of the Nile and Lower Nubia in general, worshipped especially at Elephantine near the First Cataract).

The two iDOO 12-pod units are Phredd and Ethyl after the Mertzes from I Love Lucy. They were obviously a married couple - it said iDOO all over them!

Sheba the she-bucket has been covered. Her name was ludicrous. (Maybe I should have named her "LU," instead.)

That takes us to the Amber Mason Jars. All twelve are named for towns or cities in Texas. Three are in commission, Eight are named for unincorporated townships in Mason County. (They're Mason Jars, after all.) They are Art, Fredonia, Grit, Hilda, Katemcy, Pontotoc, Hedwigs Hill, and Loyal Valley. The other four are Mason (the County seat), Brady (the next town up US-87), Dallas, and Fort Worth.

Finally, there are twelve clear 16-oz. wide mouth Mason Jars wearing neoprene covers to keep the UV rays from feeding algae. Seven of the jars are named for the seven members of the Stone family (Stone-Mason jars!) from Robert A Heinlein's The Rolling Stones, about a lunar family that goes on a vacation to Mars, then the asteroid belt. They are Hazel (grandmother and matriarch), Roger and his wife, Dr. Edith Stone, Maude (eldest child), precocious twins Castor and Pollux, and Lowell (AKA Buster, the youngest.) One jar is named for Jennifer Crusie, a favorite author, at the suggestion of eldest grandson, because she lives in New Jarsey.. The remaining four are un-named. Three jars have individual lighting systems, halo lights.


Inventory

Inventory falls into broad categories - what seed pods are planted where and what seed pods are available to plant. A third category might be what seed pods are on order, and a fourth might be what hardware is there. I'll start with what's planted and where, using the same list as above.


The Click & Grow Smart Garden-3 Template



Ranchero Cero: [Freshly cleaned]

  1. Click & Grow Red Sweet Pepper plants, not in blossom yet.

  2. Empty. Covered

  3. Click & Grow Red Sweet Pepper plants, not in blossom yet.

Ranch One:

  1. Some kinda plant in blossom, no fruit.

  2. Empty. Covered

  3. Empty. Covered

Ranch Two:

  1. Jalapeno plant in fruit, several ripe peppers harvested

  2. Empty. Covered

  3. Mini Tomato plant in fruit, two of ten ripening to red.

Ranch Three:

  1. Basil Plant, freshly planted, not germinated under the dome yet.

  2. Empty. Covered

  3. Basil Plant under dome, not germinated yet

Ranch Four:

  1. A tomato plant, no blossoms.

  2. Empty. Covered

  3. Basil Plant under dome, not germinated yet

Ranch Five:

  1. One Yellow Sweet Pepper plant bearing fruit. Ripe ones have been harvested.

  2. Empty. Covered

  3. Empty. Covered


The AeroGarden Harvest Template

Harvey:


  1. A prolific Red Fire Pepper plants bearing many peppers in various stages of ripening. Many have been harvested already.

  2. Empty. Covered

  3. Empty. Covered

  4. Empty. Covered

  5. Empty. Covered

  6. A prolific Red Fire Pepper plants bearing many peppers in various stages of ripening. Many have been harvested already.

Harvey Too:


  1. Romaine Lettuce

  2. Romaine Lettuce

  3. Marvel of the 4 Seasons Lettuce

  4. Marvel of the 4 Seasons Lettuce

  5. Thyme

  6. Romaine Lettuce

Seble:


  1. Empty. Covered

  2. One Mini-Jalapeño four inches tall.

  3. Empty. Covered

  4. Empty. Covered

  5. Empty. Covered

  6. Jalapeño looking dead and beyond the three-week point.

Teresa:

  1. Baby Greens

  2. Arugula

  3. Romaine Lettuce

  4. Salad Greens

  5. Swiss Chard

  6. Salad Greens


The iDOO 12-pod Template

Ethyl:


  1. Empty. Covered

  2. Romaine Lettuce 2 inches tall

  3. Empty. Covered

  4. Romaine Lettuce 2 inches tall

  5. Romaine Lettuce 2 inches tall

  6. Empty. Covered

  7. Romaine Lettuce 2 inches tall

  8. Empty. Covered

  9. Empty. Covered

  10. Romaine Lettuce 2 inches tall

  11. Romaine Lettuce under dome 2022-10-01

  12. Empty. Covered

Phredd:


  1. Salad Greens, not germinated, under dome.

  2. Salad Greens, not germinated, under dome.

  3. Empty. Covered

  4. Empty. Covered

  5. Salad Greens, germinated

  6. Salad Greens, germinated

  7. Empty. Covered

  8. Heirloom Cherry Tomato Plant

  9. Salad Greens, germinated

  10. Salad Greens, germinated

  11. Salad Greens, germinated

  12. Empty. Covered

Sheba: (No template) One Heirloom Cherry Tomato Plant, under three inches. Sheba was emptied, washed with bleach, and recommissioned with distilled water and 3 mL of nutrients.


The Wide-Mouth Mason Jar Kratky Template

Grit: AeroGarden Marvel of the 4 Seasons domed, lit by halo. Not germinated yet.

Katemcy: Click & Grow Wild Strawberry not germinated yet. lit by light bar

Pontotoc.: Click & Grow Wild Strawberry not germinated yet. lit by light bar.

Castor AeroGarden Romaine Lettuce 4" tall. Lit by halo.

Jenny of New Jarsey: AeroGarden Genovese Basil, germinated. Lit by halo.


An important note: The Kratky method is NOT recommended for tomato plants except as a starter.


The next category is what's available to plant:

  • Click & Grow Romaine Lettuce, 1 seed pod

  • Click & Grow Red Romaine Lettuce, 3 seed pods

  • Click & Grow Red Sweet Pepper, 4 seed pods

  • Click & Grow Yellow Sweet Pepper, 3 seed pods

  • Click & Grow Chili Pepper, 2 seed pods

  • Click & Grow Yellow Tomato, 2 seed pod

  • Click & Grow Chives, 3 seed pods

  • Click & Grow Basil, 15 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Romaine Lettuce, 26 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Salad Greens, 18 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Marvel of the 4 Seasons, 9 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, 10 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Golden Harvest Tomatoes, 4 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Pablano Pepper, 1 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Bell Pepper, 1 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Mega Cherry Tomato, 1 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Italian Parsley, 1 seed pods

  • AeroGarden Gourmet Herb Pouch, 2 pouches of 6 seed pods each

  • loose seeds, 4 packets of various tomato seeds

Hardware:

  • Spare Sponges suitable for Click & Grow, bring your own seeds, 2 each

  • Spare Sponges suitable for AeroGarden AND/OR iDOO, bring your own seeds, 120 each

  • Spare Seed baskets suitable for Click & Grow, 13 each

  • Spare Seed baskets suitable for AeroGarden only, bring your own sponge/seeds, 13 each

  • Spare Seed baskets suitable for AeroGarden AND/OR iDOO, bring your own sponge/seeds, 13 each

  • Spare Click & Grow Hothouse domes, 16 each

  • Spare iDOO Hothouse domes, 15 each

  • Spare AeroGarden Hothouse Domes (fits iDOO, too), 200 each (every seed pod kit comes with 1 per seed pod, plus a bottle of nutrients)

  • iDOO cactus pod covers, 20 each

  • iDOO regular pod covers, 15 each

  • AeroGarden pod covers, 50 each

  • Green Onion Seed Baskets, 12 each

  • Scallion Seed Baskets, 3 each

  • Flexible Pod Covers, 40 each, for surrounding plants to keep light off the sponge.

  • 10 16-oz clear Mason Jars with neoprene covers

  • 9 32-oz amber Mason Jars

  • Other stuff, lots and lots. (Thermometers, pH meters, conductivity meters, remote temperature detectors, fast-reading meat thermometers... stuff.)

  • 10 Etsy Kratky Wide Mouth Mason Jar AeroGarden Adapter as shown in the template

  • 4 Etsy Kratky Wide Mouth Mason Jar 2" Basket Adapter

  • 3 Etsy 2" Basket Adapters for Smart Garden-3s

  • NEW 3 Etsy Kratky Wide Mouth Mason Jar AeroGarden Adapter with air bubbler.


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