Farm XL Questions

[longdkkstyle]

Good Morning,

I have a few questions, i wanted to know if you guys/gals could answer them for me.

I just ordered 2 Farm XLs i wanted to do peppers and things of that nature and someone on reddit told me not grow more than 3 per side.

i planned on growing bell peppers, jalapenos, serrano, thai peppers, green beans and cumbers, but one of each plant on each side does that sound good.

Also whats the difference between the Farm XL And the Farm 24XL just a new name?

[Shawn]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I do not own a Farm (yet at least LOL).  But from what I see on the forum, three pepper plants on one side should be good.  In the Member gardens, Mike is trying four pepper plants on one side.  You can take a look at his garden.  I think he mentioned that it MIGHT be too many but does not know yet.

As for Cucumber and green beans.  They might be able to be grown together on the other side.  I know the cukes are a vining plant so you may need something to support them as a trellis in back.  Again you can look thru the gardens to see who grew what and what they used.

Other should chime in with their views as they see the thread.

The Farm XL is the "Classic" version.  The Farm XL 24 has a few new features.  


Looking forward to seeing what you grow and their progress.

[Jay]

I love my Farm XL!

I have had 4 cherry tomatoes in one side since December 26, 2019. They are still going strong.

I originally planted 9 lettuce plants in the other side, it was far too crowded and I lost a lot of plants to mold. The second time I did 6 plants and it was much better. I think I will drop to 4 plants in the next planting though.

I have yet to use the full height of my Farm XL but after 10 months of growing my AG cherry tomatoes have grown beyond the height of a Farm Plus.

I bought a Farm Plus two months ago with the idea of putting it on top of the Farm XL and growing micro greens. Waiting on outside gardening to slow down so I can get back to that.

I would also recommend getting an aerovior or two. I didn't and I was always coming down to refill the Farm (it's in my basement workshop). With the Farm full of plants it is annoying to refill them normally. Get the new aerovior, much easier to work with as it doesn't leak when you are trying to put it in.

[hakaku]

Welcome to the forum!

I've done quite a bit of experimentation with a variety of plants and I have to say that I agree with what the other person told you. 1-3 pepper plants per basket in a farm unit is what you should be striving for. The reasons for this are:

• Size: Pepper plants don't just grow vertically, they will also grow horizontally to spread their branches and leaves. Any more than 3 and it would get quite busy. The consequence of this is that your plants would compete for light and the leaves might cause an excess of humidity build-up, which brings other issues. (You can mitigate this second issue by placing a fan on them.)
  
• Nutrients: Pepper plants require a lot of nutrients. If you filled up every pod, you might experience issues with nutrient imbalance or with one or two plants absorbing most of the nutrients to outcompete the others.
  
• Roots: Peppers will grow a lot of roots and more than 3 might actually become problematic in the sense that you'll have more roots than available water and nutrients. Root-bound plants will suffer and it'll be noticeable in the growth of the plant, its production and in leaf discoloration.
  

The most I've done was 4 pepper plants on the same side along with a couple flowers. Once the peppers were established, I transplanted the flowers elsewhere since they weren't able to compete for nutrients or light. As for the peppers, they did okay at the beginning, but then they started suffering from nutrient issues. Eventually I had to terminate 1 pepper plant since it couldn't compete and was no longer growing. A 2nd one eventually succumbed to the same fate.

I found 2 or 3 depending on the pepper variety to be the sweet spot for best results and maximum yield. If 3, then spacing two in each corner at the back and one in the middle at the front is my preference.

With all that said, I know how exciting it is to have a new farm. So honestly, just try and have fun with it. If it pans out, great for you If it doesn't, at least you'll know and you can readjust for the next batch! Also note that peppers take a long time to grow, so you could certainly plant them with other things at the beginning (e.g. lettuce or beans) and terminate those once the peppers get too big.

[joes]

Growing lettuce, I fill every pod in half a farm and I haven't had any mold. I end them after about 50 days. I have completed two rotations and have a third and fourth going now. My latest rotations are in another hydroponics system, not the AG farm, but system uses the same size pods and they are about the same distances apart. Even though the plants grow into each other they seem quite healthy.

Tomatoes, I started with six, I pulled one out to grow elsewhere. I still have five in my farm on day 114 and the second group of tomatoes is ripening. I do a lot of trimming. I have been very happy with the number of tomatoes. I am not sure, but it might have been better to go down to four.

[mike]

I would say 3 is the most pepper plants I will grow per side. For taller pepper plants, only 2. I am currently testing out 4 plants on two gardens. It's already tight on the jalapeno plants. I should see my first peppers, soon. The other garden is yellow Jamaican Mushroom peppers. That is also an 18" plant. In the future, it will only be three.