My Tower Garden after only 3 weeks!

I had previously posted about my decision to use the Tower Garden instead of a traditional soil garden. I did it for a variety of reasons, one of them being that I wanted to try something different (you know me)! I have been taking notes and want to keep you posted on how this differs from a conventional garden and what I like/ dislike along the way!

I started everything from seed mid April and planted them in the Tower the night before we left for vacation, May 9th. Here is what it looked like when I put my plants in (week one).

Night one :)

It was easy enough. I just took my rock wool (which is organic volcanic ash) that I received with my Tower Garden Kit and pulled each plant apart from one another and popped it in to each opening. Added water and the nutrients (which I also received with my kit) and plugged it in. Here is what I planted:

• Cilantro
• Basil
• Oregano
• Butter Crunch Lettuce
• Parsley
• Spinach
• Rocky top lettuce
• Kale
• Cabbage
• Red Bell Pepper (2)
• Orange Bell Pepper
• Purple Bell Pepper
• Tomato (3)
• Summer Squash
• Cucumber
• Zuchinni
• Pickling Cucumber

I planted these just a few days before Mother’s Day which I thought was a safe time. Unfortunately, while I was soakin’ up the rays in Florida, I caught word that it had froze one night. Half of my plants took a hit before my neighbor could cover them :( I ended up going to Marvins Gardens to replace what had died. Yes, you can have soil starts in an aeroponic system. You just have to rinse off the soil and then cut your rock wool in half, put in your start and place a rubberband around the base. Voila!

When I got back from my vacation, I checked my water and PH which was good and pulled out my dead plants (week two). A week later,  I replaced my dead plants :(, added a little water and checked my PH (also came with my kit) which was good. A good rule of thumb in the Tower Garden is if your leaves are turning yellow, your PH is out of whack.  I did this on May 29th so essentially I had to do almost  nothing for 21 days… not too bad! Here is what it looked like when I replaced my plants (week 3).

Week Three

Just a few day later, on June 1st, I added water and my nutrient solution and checked my PH a few days later. I was able to harvest my FIRST plant on this day as well. Look at this beautiful cabbage!

As you can see I could not resist and took a bit out of one of the leaves :)

I took this picture yesterday (5 days later). My cabbage plant is growing back rapidly and my Kale is ready to be picked :) I am almost at a month so I have been really happy with the way my plants have been growing in the matter of a month!

My cabbage is on top and look at my summer squash plant! WOW!

This type of Kale is a great starter Kale if you aren’t use to the flavor of the stronger Kale plants. Great to add to smoothies or salad!

My Notes

• You don’t want to add chlorinated water or hard water. Set out a 5 gallon bucket with water and after two days in the sun it will be ready to add to your tower! One great thing about the Tower Garden is that you use only 10% the amount of water you would in a traditional garden and you don’t have to water your plants every day.
• You should check Ph 2x a week in the Tower, although I have only checked it once a week.
• A full water reservoir should last about 2-3 weeks. You want to check the water once a week on cooler months and 2x a week when it is hotter. You want to add nutrients every time you fill the water when it is cooler out and you should add the nutrients every other time you add water when it is hotter out.
• My Kale, Summer Squash, Cabbage, tomatoes and basil have grown pretty quickly. My spinach and peppers have grown really slow. I would probably do pepper plants and spinach from starts next time. I think if you want your crop to start producing a little sooner, you could splurge on starts vs. starting from seed.
• One thing I don’t like about it is the plug. It has to be plugged in and I don’t like having to look at the cord! There are a lot of eco-conscious peeps out there who have added a solar panel to run their towers. If I decide to get a second one next Spring I would probably try to do this, but not sure that it is worth it for just one. It only costs an extra $7 a year to run your Tower, but I just don’t like the cord! It is my own issue :)

I am loving how EASY this is. No weed pulling, not watering really and no dirt… I am a princess at heart :) Now after almost a month, I have to say that I am really happy with my decision so far. I haven’t had to do very much with it and it still seems like more than I want to do! I think I just want a garden in my yard and walk out and pick the fresh produce off without all the work lol! We are a super busy family so between all the activities we are into in Cincy and our travels to Cumberland on the weekends, I think the soil garden I was originally going to go with would have probably been too much work and time for me at this stage in my life. I would love to have another baby and the Tower Garden is totally something I could maintain being preggers and with a newborn so I think for now this is my limit. The only thing I want to see if how my vine plants work with this system. Tower Garden has an amazing forum and tips and tricks so I will be doing my research and keep you posted on how those types of plants do in this.

I would love to hear your experience with alternatives gardening systems. Kim’s moms is using a tower as well that uses compost and I am fascinated with all these options and ways to have a farm in your backyard. Land space does NOT have to limit you to what you grow. With these other options, you have no excuses to have fresh produce at your fingertips!