Aerogarden Kratky Seed Starter

[Sher]

All my machines are in use, so I couldn't use my seed starter in them.

So I decided to put the seed starter insert for the Harvest 360 in a bowl and germinate the seeds without the pump -- Kratky style.

[Shawn]

Smart idea using the seed starter in a pot/bowl.

[fldave]

Sher01, are you mainly going to use Kratky hydroponic planters in your new grow tent?  I thought about using plastic Folgers coffee cans with airstones and AeroVoirs for my over abundance of tomato plants but I currently have only one almost empty 2Lbs coffee can and I can’t drink 8 Lbs of coffee in the next week or two. I would also have had to acquire an appropriate standalone grow light so instead I just bought more Bountys.  The beauty of the Kratky approach (which I had never heard of before reading some of your historic posts thank you) is that there are no spacing constraints so one can grow plants that are too large for the tabletop AeroGardens and spread the planters apart, limited only by grow light coverage.  Standalone grow lights are much less expensive per square foot of area than full-up AeroGardens.   I do intend to make my first Kratky planter as soon as I get an empty coffee can and Initially nestle it into a spot between the adjacent corners of four Bountys for light.  This could be the start of something big ...

What grow light have you chosen for your tent?

[Sher]

fldave , yes, mainly I will be doing Kratky, although I plan to take my first stab at aeroponics in the tent also.

I will be using two very affordable Mars Hydro 600 lights.

I actually have had more success with Kratky than with deep water culture. But I change out my Kratky nutrients in larger containers every two weeks to keep them from becoming unbalanced. The exception is lettuce, which does fine without changes. I will be growing three lettuce plants per Folger's coffee can. If you are growing larger lettuce, one per Folger's can is ideal.

I LOVE my Aerogardens with their built in light supply no matter where you put them. But I also love the freedom to grow plants without the inherent crowding of Aerogardens.

A $100 grow tent with $150 lights is a bargain for several multi sized plants.

If you do Kratky, remember to leave air space for the air roots. You will drown your plants if you refill to the original level. Dr. Kratky uses a float valve to keep the water at the proper level. An AeroVoir would probably be perfect, too.

I just eyeball and refill.

BTW, I am a Florida native exiled to north Georgia.