Strawberry and Pineberry attempt with Farm 24plus

[agfarm]

Hi All,

I recently purchased a Farm 24 Plus for the purpose of growing strawberries. I came across pineberries and really would like to try that too.

I purchased "White Carolina" pineberries off Amazon (Hirt's Gardens) and Seascape strawberries off Amazon as well (can't recall the nursery).

The pineberries arrived first, which I planted on 1/19/2022. The Seascape crowns arrived on 1/21/2022, which I also immediately planted. I did my best to clean the roots, although I mistakenly did not clean the crowns (due to reading something off the internet...which is never wrong).

At this point the pineberry plants were looking great (brightening up and stems turning red). 

I added tap water to start, along with 15 mL Aerogarden liquid plant food to each pod after planting. The bottle recommends 16 mL for first two feedings (12 pods).


About a week later, I noticed one of my pineberry plants was really stunted. Upon observing the roots, it looked like there was root rot. I ended up trimming away the rot, which left me with basically no root (my mistake). I then placed the remaining crown in a fresh grow sponge and hoped for the best. I also drained all the water for the pineberry and washed the tray with dish soap. There was a decent amount of residue at the bottom of the tray.

A couple days later, the water for the pineberry seemed a little cloudy. At that point I suspected either some disease due to the fact that the blue painter's tape doesn't really block light. So, I 3d printed caps for the un-used holes and also for all the pods to reduce light going into the tank.

Due to picture attachment limit. I will follow up with a post for status after 2 weeks (today). 

[agfarm]

After observing cloudy water in the pineberry farm (left). I decided to drain the water for both tanks, wash again with soap and use distilled water from the grocery store. 

Again, I used ~15 mL of aerogarden liquid plant food, where 16 mL is recommended for the first two feedings on a 12 pod system.

After about 2 weeks in:

The Seascape plants seem to be doing very well. I suspect they do good in this aeroponic system. Only one pineberry plant looks good. Based off reading other's posts on this site for strawberries, I should be seeing flowers in the next week. I have noticed "buds" on several Seascape and two pineberry plants. 





Regarding my pineberry plants, several of them do not look "right". The leaves look deformed/mutated. One even started growing a runner, which I just trimmed. They seem to be developing in a weird rushed manner. I will post an image in my next post. 

[lynnee]

agfarm , your strawberries look good in your photo! You seem to be following the growing instructions from the AG blog:

1) Rinse off all the dirt from the strawberry roots with room temperature
water.
2) If the roots are small, use scissors to cut a wet grow sponge down half of
its length (more if the roots are long) and gently insert the roots into the
grow sponge. If the root mass is too big to insert into the grow sponge,
then just insert the roots directly into the plastic grow basket.
3) The "crown of the plant" - the growing tip - should be above the top of the grow sponge.

4) Insert the grow sponge through the grow basket label, if you are using
one, and then insert the grow basket into the grow deck of the
Aerogarden.
5) After you have planted all of your strawberry crowns, add the liquid plant food into the AeroGarden bowl and reset the nutrient timer. You should see new growth on your strawberry plants in 7-10 days!
6) When your nutrient timer comes on in two weeks, add nutrients as
instructed and reset the timer.

The root rot issue is worrisome. The only solution that I know of is to do frequent rinse & refills. Usually I do this every 2 weeks (for all my AGs after the first month). Since you've already spotted some root rot, you might want to do an R&R in 1 week.

Others here will probably have some suggestions.  Looking forward to your updates!
 

[Shawn]

What are pineberries?

[lynnee]

agfarm, looking at your second post, I'd still say that your pineberry plants look salvageable. It's good that you didn't mix the two types of strawberries, because you may simply have gotten a bad batch of pineberry crowns.

Aerogarden says NOT to use distilled water or well water in the AGs. What kind of water do you use regularly?

[agfarm]

I am a little concerned about the "genetic quality" of my pineberry plants. I do not have a background in biology, so pardon my use of that phrase.

My concerns are:

Some pineberry plants have leaves which are oddly shaped (deformed). See image below. 

Red color tip on leaves, otherwise green. Very few have this tiny red tip and the whole leaf stays green. I assume this is just due to the strain and not a nutrient issue?





The pineberry plant in the image also was the one that had a runner (I trimmed it off). You can see the weird leaf shape on the bottom right. What are possible causes for this? Anything I should be concerned about? Several of my pineberry plants look like this. Only two look "normal".

In comparison, the Seascape plants all seem to be growing in the same manner, one main trio of leaves, then 2nd trio set, then a third and a bud in the middle. 

Here are my AG farm settings:

• Pump: 2 min on, 58 min off - found that recommendation off someone's youtube video. I don't know what's the point, the water port seems to be blocked by the basket, so water just pours off the side.
• Light: 100% intensity, 18 hours on, 6 hours off. - is that too much/too long?
• Nutrients: 15 mL per tank every 2 weeks. I saw others had issues when moving up to 24mL at 3rd feeding. Not sure what to do here.

Thank you in advance for feedback and help. 

[Shawn]

I think these are a mystery to all of us.  I always start low and slow with nutes.  While AG recommends up to a certain amount for certain units, read your plants too.  Sometimes, like in the case of my herbs, they like less nutes then the recommended amount.  They become unhappy if too much. 

We will all learn these together.. or at least I will learn with you.

[agfarm]

Feb 3, 2022 14:14:28 GMT -5 lynnee said:

agfarm , your strawberries look good in your photo! You seem to be following the growing instructions from the AG blog:

1) Rinse off all the dirt from the strawberry roots with room temperature
water.
2) If the roots are small, use scissors to cut a wet grow sponge down half of
its length (more if the roots are long) and gently insert the roots into the
grow sponge. If the root mass is too big to insert into the grow sponge,
then just insert the roots directly into the plastic grow basket.
3) The "crown of the plant" - the growing tip - should be above the top of the grow sponge.

4) Insert the grow sponge through the grow basket label, if you are using
one, and then insert the grow basket into the grow deck of the
Aerogarden.
5) After you have planted all of your strawberry crowns, add the liquid plant food into the AeroGarden bowl and reset the nutrient timer. You should see new growth on your strawberry plants in 7-10 days!
6) When your nutrient timer comes on in two weeks, add nutrients as
instructed and reset the timer.

The root rot issue is worrisome. The only solution that I know of is to do frequent rinse & refills. Usually I do this every 2 weeks (for all my AGs after the first month). Since you've already spotted some root rot, you might want to do an R&R in 1 week.

Others here will probably have some suggestions.  Looking forward to your updates!
 

Thank you for your reply. I did R&R immediately after finding the root rot. Along with thorough cleaning (with soap) of the tank base. After the water became cloudy, I did another R&R on the pineberries. This is when I replaced the water with distilled. 

Also, I forgot to mention: I have been using H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) (5mL) every few days for the pineberries. The water has remained clear and all are showing new root growth. 

I will do another R&R around week 2 from last rinse. 

[agfarm]

Feb 3, 2022 14:20:31 GMT -5 Shawn said:

What are pineberries?

Apparently some hybrid strawberry that gives a slight taste of pineapple. 

[agfarm]

Feb 3, 2022 14:23:53 GMT -5 lynnee said:

agfarm , looking at your second post, I'd still say that your pineberry plants look salvageable. It's good that you didn't mix the two types of strawberries, because you may simply have gotten a bad batch of pineberry crowns.

Aerogarden says NOT to use distilled water or well water in the AGs. What kind of water do you use regularly?

www.aerogarden.com/blog/ask-aerogarden-watering-your-plants/ 

I decided to use distilled water. Per the link above, I thought this was recommended? I plan to return to using tap water once I have a successful grow. 

[lynnee]

agfarm , because your Seascapes are growing so beautifully, you know you have AG settings that are good for strawberries. Others here may have suggestions for optimal strawberry settings, but I would keep the ones you're using now unless someone else chimes in.

I would discard the one very stunted pineberry plant. Misshapen and/or discolored leaves is usually a nutrients problem. I would increase the AG nutes to the recommended amount (total 24 ml every 2 weeks) on the pineberries side.

You might also consider adding a little CalMag if the AG nutes aren't enough. I'm new to using a calcium/magnesium supplement myself, and haven't grown strawberries recently, but my AG veggies have all benefited from CalMag.

I don't understand what you mean about water pouring off the side. The Farms aerate the water and keep the sponges wet with water that circulates through the deck and trickles into the baskets at each pod location. If a sponge isn't getting water, the plant will do poorly or die.

[Shawn]

Feb 3, 2022 14:51:25 GMT -5 lynnee said:

I don't understand what you mean about water pouring off the side. The Farms aerate the water and keep the sponges wet with water that circulates through the deck and trickles into the baskets at each pod location. If a sponge isn't getting water, the plant will do poorly or die.

If I am thinking it is what I think it is, you may be adding too much water to the basins.  AG states if you add too much you can get that algae and/or calcium buildup around the edges where you have that tiny space.

[lynnee]

Feb 3, 2022 14:34:16 GMT -5 agfarm said:

Feb 3, 2022 14:23:53 GMT -5 lynnee said:

agfarm , looking at your second post, I'd still say that your pineberry plants look salvageable. It's good that you didn't mix the two types of strawberries, because you may simply have gotten a bad batch of pineberry crowns.

Aerogarden says NOT to use distilled water or well water in the AGs. What kind of water do you use regularly?

www.aerogarden.com/blog/ask-aerogarden-watering-your-plants/ 

I decided to use distilled water. Per the link above, I thought this was recommended? I plan to return to using tap water once I have a successful grow. 

I stand corrected! Your link didn't work for me, but I found this official AG comment posted 7/28/21:

If your seeds germinated but plant growth is stalled or the plants look unhealthy, it's not because they are "defective;" either they are not getting something they need, or they are getting something they don't need. Here's what to check:

WATER: The problem could be that the source water you are using is "hard" or has a high mineral content. Plants grown in the AeroGarden do not like well water, spring water, softened water or very hard water. A water problem usually shows up right away as stunted growth or browning/yellowing leaves. It may actually prevent germination entirely. If you are using any of the water types previously mentioned (hard water is especially prevalent in FL, AZ, TX), we recommend using bottle distilled water for best results. Also, keep water level at or near the fill line at all times for best growth. 

[Sher]

I am very interested in following your progress, agfarm.

And I also use hydrogen peroxide to help prevent/control root rot.

From reading others' post for a while, it seens that Seacrest is one of the varieties of strawberries that do especially well in Aerogardens.

Best wishes for the pineberries!

[agfarm]

Feb 3, 2022 14:56:41 GMT -5 Shawn said:

Feb 3, 2022 14:51:25 GMT -5 lynnee said:

I don't understand what you mean about water pouring off the side. The Farms aerate the water and keep the sponges wet with water that circulates through the deck and trickles into the baskets at each pod location. If a sponge isn't getting water, the plant will do poorly or die.

If I am thinking it is what I think it is, you may be adding too much water to the basins.  AG states if you add too much you can get that algae and/or calcium buildup around the edges where you have that tiny space.

Sorry, let me clarify. The spouts where water comes out (12 total, one per pod) when the pump is active. When I install a genuine AG basket, the spout seems to be blocked. As a result, water trickles down the side of the basket. This might be by design. Nothing has dried out. Only the small stunted plant uses a grow sponge which remains moist. All others are directly seated in their baskets.

I am filling the water to the fill line. And now, both plants seem to be consuming water. I'd estimate 1/2 cup or more a day. 

[agfarm]

Feb 3, 2022 14:51:25 GMT -5 lynnee said:

agfarm , because your Seascapes are growing so beautifully, you know you have AG settings that are good for strawberries. Others here may have suggestions for optimal strawberry settings, but I would keep the ones you're using now unless someone else chimes in.

I would discard the one very stunted pineberry plant. Misshapen and/or discolored leaves is usually a nutrients problem. I would increase the AG nutes to the recommended amount (total 24 ml every 2 weeks) on the pineberries side.

You might also consider adding a little CalMag if the AG nutes aren't enough. I'm new to using a calcium/magnesium supplement myself, and haven't grown strawberries recently, but my AG veggies have all benefited from CalMag.

I don't understand what you mean about water pouring off the side. The Farms aerate the water and keep the sponges wet with water that circulates through the deck and trickles into the baskets at each pod location. If a sponge isn't getting water, the plant will do poorly or die.

Regarding the settings, sounds good! Thank you.

Your point about nutrients makes sense. Even though the plants are similar to strawberries, maybe it has more demanding needs. I was waiting for yellowing leaves to suggest nutrient issues. That also explains why the pineberries are growing slowly when compared to the seascapes.

The farm is due to add nutrients in 8 days. Should I just add ~8 mL now, and when it comes time to add the full ~24 mL, perform a R&R and then add 24 mL? Or just wait for 8 days then do R&R + 24mL?

Is it possible that the one pineberry that is growing well (which also has the best root structure of the 10 pineberries) is hogging nutrients?

[agfarm]

Feb 3, 2022 15:22:21 GMT -5 Sher said:

I am very interested in following your progress, agfarm .

And I also use hydrogen peroxide to help prevent/control root rot.

From reading others' post for a while, it seens that Seacrest is one of the varieties of strawberries that do especially well in Aerogardens.

Best wishes for the pineberries!

Thank you! I honestly am more excited about trying a pineberry than the seascape strawberries. I hope they pull through!

My 15 month old daughter loves strawberries. So hopefully I can get her excited about these weird green things growing in my home office. 

[lynnee]

Feb 3, 2022 15:49:18 GMT -5 agfarm said:

Is it possible that the one pineberry that is growing well (which also has the best root structure of the 10 pineberries) is hogging nutrients?

Could be, but increasing the nutrients should help the others to catch up.  You could trim the roots, but I personally wouldn't do that to my one really healthy plant.

Discolored leaves don't bother me, because fiddling with the nutrients will usually correct the problem. Even distorted leaves don't make me hasten to discard a plant, because plants with unhealthy leaves may still produce edible fruit.

If the pineberries continue to struggle, you may want to start over after a few more weeks. I'm thinking that you may have started with a poor batch of crowns, but you are basically doing everything right. Keeping the water fresh and adjusting the nutrients may fix everything.

Regarding your 3D-printed covers, go on using them! I just use the AG baskets in my Farms, but it's clear from your photos that the plants in your baskets are doing better, on both sides.

[agfarm]

Okay here is a clean update now that I have OneDrive (sorry for spamming posts). 

The farm status 17 days planted on the left (White Carolina Pineberry), 15 days planted on the right (Seascape Strawberry):


Per feedback, I added 7.5 mL of AG nutrients to the left (pineberries) 2 days ago. To lynnee's point about lack of nutrients being a possible cause for stunted growth and deformed looking leaves, I looked more closely at my left setup.

It is hard to tell, but the back right pods have leaves with edges showing slight yellowing. All the right pods on the left farm contain the stunted leaves and slight yellowing. I suspect that the nutrients, which get added to the left side might not be diffusing to the back right?

I became impatient and lifted the lid and added another 5mL to the back right corner today for the pineberries. This might be my undoing, but it is becoming clear that the pineberries require more nutrients.

For my pineberries, the "leader" is showing a lot of buds:
 

I have been trimming away runners for the pineberries. Hopefully I identified them correctly. No runners observed for seascapes.

For the seascapes, all 12 seem to be doing good:


Both farms are due for official nutrients in 6 days. I plan on flushing both tanks and replacing with new distilled water. Left pineberry farm will get 24 mL nutrients. Right seascape farm will get 16 mL nutrients.

[lynnee]

agfarm, you really are doing everything right. Strawberries and large veggies (e.g., eggplant) often require some experimentation to find out what works best for your/their particular garden conditions. (Placement of the gardens themselves can make a difference, because temperature, wind currents, and humidity can vary from room to room.)

It could be that nutrients aren't diffusing to the back, but it's more likely that all the plants just need something they aren't getting. CalMag helps to green up yellow leaves, but you need to be cautious with it. If you try it, add just a few ml at first, because too much can shock the plants. A little extra AG nutrients may be all that you need.

You have healthy-looking strawberries in both grow decks now. I would do a rinse & refill every 2 weeks to keep them healthy. You seem to have figured out how much nutrients are needed. Good job! Keep us posted with your nice photos.