AeroGarden Tips for Beginners Walkthrough

I promised an AeroGarden update and here it is! Follow along with me on an AeroGarden walkthrough complete with AeroGarden tips for beginners along the way.

Quick Links to AeroGarden Tips

• How to Transplant a Seedling to a New AeroGarden Pod
• Thinning AeroGarden Seedlings
• Indeterminate vs Determinate Tomatoes
• When to Raise AeroGarden Lights
• Pollinating Indoor Tomatoes
• How Do I Get My Tomatoes to Set Fruit?
• Pruning AeroGarden Tomatoes
• Pruning AeroGarden Basil
• Best Nutrients/Fertilizers for Hydroponics

AeroGarden Walkthrough

Day 16- Thinning Seedlings

All of my seeds from my AeroGarden pods have come up, sort of.  I did have one AeroGarden tomato pod that did not have any seeds sprout.  AeroGarden does warranty their pods but I have a seedling hack to try first.  

Some of my seed pods sprouted more than one seedling.  Multiple seeds are put in one AeroGarden pod on purpose to help guarantee that at least on seed comes up.  I always plant three seeds when starting seeds for my outdoor garden so it makes sense that AeroGarden would do this too.

AeroGarden Seedling Hack

Because I have extra tomato seedlings, that is before I trim them, I plan to re-home one of the extra seedlings into the pod that did not sprout. I am literally going to pull a seedling out and put in in another pod.  

How to Transplant a Seedling to a New AeroGarden Pod

1. Very carefully wiggle the sprout back and forth pulling up at the same time.  Some roots may get torn but it should be ok tomatoes are not super sensitive and should recover just fine.  
2. Take that sprout with its tiny root and place inside the well of the pod with the seed that didn’t sprout.  
3. Make sure that the root is entirely in the water or touching the wet sponge of the pod.
4. Wait to see if it survives.  

Thinning AeroGarden Seedlings

At this point in time the tomato and basil pods only need to have one seedling in them.  Pick the healthiest looking one to keep and carefully snip, with clean scissors, the other seedlings, until only one remain.

I am not trimming my lettuce as I plan to harvest it while it grows.  I also have decided not to trim my basil because basil doesn’t take up a lot of space.  It will probably be healthier alone but I am going to try it this way as an experiment.

AeroGarden Tips for Beginners Walkthrough

Day 26- First Lettuce Harvest

All the plants are doing great and look healthy.  I have harvested some of the baby lettuce leaves for sandwiches.  The AeroGarden screen turns red when it is time to fertilize so I don’t forget!

Day 33- Filling the AeroGarden Water Tank Often

I am starting to fill the tank more often.  My AeroGarden instructions have recommended to keep the water level full and not to wait for an alert.  Plants still look great and the lettuce is tasty.

Day 62- AeroGarden Mistakes

AeroGarden Tips for Beginner Walkthrough

Dog Pruning AeroGarden

My indoor garden has grown a lot in the last month, however it really isn’t doing that well.  To me the plants look sickly and one of my dogs so kindly decided to prune them for me.  I looked into where I may have gone wrong, besides allowing my dog to trim the tomatoes.  I discovered that I did not increase the amount of fertilizer as the directions on the bottle indicated for the age of my garden.  Oops! Hopefully it will come back with the proper amount of fertilizer.  

AeroGarden Tomato Height

Another thing to note here is that the tomatoes are growing faster than the basil so the basil is getting leggy reaching for the light.  In the past when I grew basil with my tomatoes the tomato variety was shorter and worked better with the basil.  Something to note if you plan to grow basil or other plants with tomatoes is to pick a short or dwarf determinate variety. I think despite the height on the basil, it will taste fine either way.

Indeterminate vs Determinate Tomatoes

• Determinate tomatoes will stop growing at a genetically set height. This is the best variety for AeroGarden.
• Indeterminate tomatoes are grow as vines and can get very large if not maintained. They grow at a determinate height.

When to Raise AeroGarden Lights

At some point, the plants will begin to grow into the lights of the AeroGarden. According to AeroGarden instructions the light should be raised to around four inches above the plants. I think that the plants do better with only two inches but be sure not to let them touch the lights. Even with the new LED lights, if the plants are too close, they could singe the leaves and light is blocked from getting to all the branches.

Pollinating Indoor Tomatoes

Flowers have been appearing in my garden for a while now but they are not setting tomatoes.  I have been diligently pollinating by gently shaking the plant and also using a soft paintbrush.  I keep our house cold (around 68 degrees F). The temperature at which tomatoes set fruit ranges from 60-85 degrees F. This variety however may like it warmer.

AeroGarden Tips for Beginners Walkthrough

How Do I Get My Tomatoes to Set Fruit?

• Gently shake tomato plant to simulate wind pollination
• Use a soft clean paintbrush to move pollen around as a bee would
• Make sure temperatures are between 60 and 85 degrees F.
• Assure the plant is getting enough fertilizer

AeroGarden Tips for Beginners Walkthrough

Day 93- Pruning AeroGarden Garden

My dog ate all of my lettuce! The garden has been relocated and is now out of reach of thieving animals.  I hope that she enjoyed her salad!  Because the light is now at the top or highest setting, I will not replant the lettuce.  It will not get enough light. 

Pruning AeroGarden Tomatoes

The tomatoes have turned into a jungle and are trying their best to block all the light to the other plants.  In fact you can’t even see the basil plants, but they are there. I have regularly been trimming the tomatoes away from the lettuce and basil.  It is now also time to trim them away from the lights.  I have let them grow into the lights on purpose to show the trimming.    

The garden tips on my AeroGarden instructions panel told me to trim 4-6 inches away from the light and not to worry about the tomato flowers.  I am trimming right at the natural branch of the tomatoes.  It doesn’t really matter where the plant is trimmed but make sure to use clean scissors so that you don’t cause any disease to the plant. 

Pruning AeroGarden Basil

My basil is starting to form flowers at the end of all the stems. The leaves at the end of the stem begin to grow closer together right before it blooms. In order to keep the basil growing and promote branching, the flower must be removed.  This can be done by pinching off the very uppermost leaves. I am going to go a step further and trim the basil further down so that it will have more space to branch out. 

Day 107- Green Tomatoes

At this point I have a lovely lush tomato garden with several green cherry tomatoes. The basil is still growing but it is hard to keep these wild tomatoes out of it.

I am not much of a rule follower when it comes to plants. I have stopped fertilizing on a schedule. When the plants look like they need nutrients (sad looking, new growth is pale green instead of dark) then I add the fertilizer solution.

Best Nutrients/Fertilizers for Hydroponics

I ran out of fertilizer from the kit and have switched to my own hydroponic fertilizer. NSR Greenleaves Bloom Juice is my favorite liquid fertilizer but sadly the hydroponics store told me that it is no longer being made. According to my gardening store EarthJuice and Jungle Juice are also great products. Outside Pursuits has a nice list of the top 6 best hydroponic fertilizers for 2021, at Best Hydroponic Nutrients. I love that the AeroGarden solution is one of them!

Check Back for AeroGarden Tips for Beginners Walkthrough Part 3- Transplanting!

I hope you have enjoyed my AeroGarden Tips for Beginners Walkthrough. Check back later for a post about transplanting my AeroGarden tomato plant into soil and to find out if my tomatoes ever turned red!

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