Expanding the Farm

2022-09-06

Going back to my post of August 21, I have technically already expanded the gardens. I used an empty five-ounce potato sticks can with a Ziploc bag for a liner to hold a Click & Grow pod with a yellow sweet pepper plant. I have several empty potato sticks cans, and a box of lunch bags - I could do this again and again... except it looked so tacky.

The method used is called the Kratky Method. So I bought a light, some wide-mouth mason jars, and some AeroGarden Lasercut Kratky Lid Inserts for Wide-Mouth Mason Jars from an Etsy dealer (Urban Hydroculture) on Amazon.

I have a few interim photos. Why only interim? The light isn't here yet. The mason jars I have are clear - amber jars are on order. The amber jars are bigger (quarts vs pints). I have other options on order as well. That said, behold:

Covering the jar in shiny tape is still tacky. I can do better. I will do better!

I have an earworm - I can't seem to stop singing, "Domo Arigato Mr. Tomato"

2022-09-07

The amber jars arrived - six of them - and I already transferred the AeroGarden Heirloom Cherry Tomato plant to the first, started another in the second, and used an iDOO pod and dome and sponge to start a Black Cherry Tomato plant in a third. The grow light arrived as well.

Showing two of three Kratky Amber Mason Jars and light.

It should go without saying that if an AeroGarden seed pod wits in the adapter, an iDOO pod will fit just as well, and it does. The third jar joined the first two under their light. Perhaps a future picture will show them all together.

Having seen and used the grow light, and having three unused jars (plus a dozen clear jars), I ordered a second light, and I'm waiting for a different type of adapter, one that might accommodate a Smart Garden pod. It has a two-inch aperture, so we'll see.

2022-09-09

Another dozen adapters arrived today, so I have all the spares I think I'll ever need. The other adapters, the ones that might fit a Click & Grow seed pod, are on the way.

My salad order arrived from AeroGarden. One mini-greens seed pod, one arugula seed pod, another Marvel of the 4 Seasons seed pod, and nine Romaine Lettuce seed pods. None of those went to the Kratky jars.

Seble still has only two seed pods - mini-Jalapeno, both. Neither has sprouted yet. A bunch of Red Fire peppers in Harvey are ripe again.