AeroGarden Extra LED first grow

[Sylant]

Hey Rollitup! so im new to growing in general, I have been trying to do as much research as possible but feel i cannot always find my answers(or sometimes dont know the question to begin with). Anyways some more relevant information about the grow.

Video Tour of Setup
-Unit: AeroGarden Extra LED
-Tent : Aviditi 36"x20"x63"



Conditions:
humidity: 52% low , 70% high
temp: 64F degrees low , 75F degrees high


Are these okay? will it be fine for during veg and flowering? as you can see each plant has humidity domes so im sure its slightly higher % humidity right where the seed is.

Im starting all of my plants from seed, and the first 3 i planted ("Rocklock",by Elemental Seeds) into the Aerogarden unit about 4 days ago have not shown any signs of sprouting, so about 2 days ago i attempted to germinate a bag seed in a closed cup of water, it popped so i planted it after about 18 hours of soaking in the cup.

So my first question , is this normal? about how long should it germinate? I have kept the water PH'd between 5.5-6.0~ give or take. I use a 17hour on lighting cycle, with pump setting to 1hr on , 11 off. Ill post some pics/video of the setup and update this topic as things progress(hopefully..) and as always please leave any advice or comments you have, Thanks for reading!

 

[amfmclockradio]

The only thing that stands out to me is the light cycle. Why 17 hours and not 18? I see people try to squeeze in more light (like 24) but never less for veg.
Four days isn't anything I would panic about for the seeds. Good luck with the grow, man! I find these AeroGardens kind of neat.

 

[Sylant]

The only thing that stands out to me is the light cycle. Why 17 hours and not 18? I see people try to squeeze in more light (like 24) but never less for veg.
Four days isn't anything I would panic about for the seeds. Good luck with the grow, man! I find these AeroGardens kind of neat.

Should I go 24hr during germination, only reason 17 because its closest setting to 18 for me on the control panel. But I can do the normal 16on / 8off for veg. Thanks for the info! Hardest part is the wait for me =]

 

[Sylant]

Day 6 update
-Switched lighting to 24/0 , PH steady between 5.5-6.2, changing whole 1 gal reservoir tomorrow and will add in Dyna-Gro foliage pro

Finally! first signs of sprouts are showing. So far only 3/4 seeds sprouted , 2 rocklock and 1 bag seed(i call rando). Its still early but it seems the seed hasn't completely separated from 2 of the sprouts, on the other hand the center pod(rocklock) looks quite healthy.

Just to Clarify what will be what to track progress this is the key to follow:
Strain name = Label name , Current Age = X days x hours

Rando = Genovese basil , Current Age = 4 days 3 hours

Rocklock = Curly Parsley , Current Age = 6 days 7 hours (note: seems the healthiest and is the in center pod)

Rocklock = Mint , Current Age = 6 days 7 hours (note: seed is still attached to stalk and seems a little wilted, pod is in top left)

Rocklock = Chives , Current Age = 6 days 7 hours (has not sprouted at this time, will let it go a few days longer, location is top right pod. any tips?)


PS: how can i determine if the airflow in my tent is sufficient for the veg and flowering stages? i ask because if you look in the video i posted, it shows my intake duct on the left side of the closet beside the tent. That duct if funneled from under the tent(which smashes the duct slightly as the whole corner of the tent is sitting on the ducting. basically my intake from my basement is right under my grow tent. So im considering cutting a whole directly into my tent to make a short ram intake and increase air flow. Right now its kind of lackluster i think, and i fear my plants might not get enough air flow.

 

[Sylant]

Day 8 Update
-Made intake ducting much shorter by cutting a whole in the bottom of the grow tent(it sucks but its for the best) sealed it with duct tape and airflow seems to have improved drastically.
-Added Dyna-Gro Foliage pro(12ml/1 gallon water) , ppm was initially 23-25 for my base water. After adding nutes, its spiked to 1.3k ppm , diluted it down to about ~900ppm right now balanced ph to 5.8 now sits at about 6.0 at this posting.


blah blah blah... show me the money!

Rando = Genovese basil , Current Age = 6 days 10 hours(the hardy runt of the bunch, the 2 adult leaves are just starting to show not sure what else to say for this one. only one that has a chance to be male as the other seeds are feminized)

Rocklock = Curly Parsley , Current Age = 8 days(the leaves appear to be discolored a little? is this normal? other than that seems healthy, a little slower than mint)

Rocklock = Mint , Current Age = 8 days(This one looks the best out of all of them, really overtook the curly parsley

Rocklock = Chives , Current Age = 8 days(so far nothing, not sure when i should give up on this one..any thoughts?

 

[Yodaweed]

1 Plant is more than enough for the aerogarden extra, those plants are going to kill each other. Your aerogarden has a 1 gallon rez dude, my one plant drinks 1.5 gallons of water a day in my hydroponics. Your going to need to make a tough decision, which of these plants lives and which gotta go.

 

[Sylant]

how tall are your plants? i was going to raise my light as it grows then switch them all to flower at about 8-10" maybe. Most likely i will only grow 2 at a time, since i have very low hopes for the bagseed(rando) i will see if its male or female first though. The plant that didnt sprout (rocklock/chives) today i removed and was forced to discard(i think it grew upside down...) so im left with 2 good prospects at least. Im very vigilant about refilling the res, and keeping the ppm/ph regualted. still dont think theres a chance here? i dont mean that sarcastically any advice is appreciated, thanks for the info!

 

[Yodaweed]

how tall are your plants? i was going to raise my light as it grows then switch them all to flower at about 8-10" maybe. Most likely i will only grow 2 at a time, since i have very low hopes for the bagseed(rando) i will see if its male or female first though. The plant that didnt sprout (rocklock/chives) today i removed and was forced to discard(i think it grew upside down...) so im left with 2 good prospects at least. Im very vigilant about refilling the res, and keeping the ppm/ph regualted. still dont think theres a chance here? i dont mean that sarcastically any advice is appreciated, thanks for the info!

No I don't think there a chance, actually I will go as far as saying there is no chance in hell 3 plants will survive all the way through flower in that aerogarden. I have the exact same one and it can barely grow a pepper plant, put a tomato plant in it and its already overgrown, now try a marijuana plant and LOL! the hood only raises to 24 inches max height. That is not enough height for any plant even grown 12/12 from seed. Not to mention what happens in the bucket, marijuana grows robust roots, it will choke everything in that rez. One plant is honestly pushing it.

 

[Sylant]

Thanks for the info, when did you buy your AG. i believe this one just came out (EXTRA LED model) a few months ago. I have seen solutions to all these problems so im not that worried, roots grow to big and get tangled? there was a thread on trimming them for the AG only problem was watching for if little roots clogged the pump after the trim. I dont see why the height is a big problem? just veg to desired height then flower? am i missing something here? did not respond to my question about if i frequently change the water it shouldnt be too bad. Anyways i appreciate the input a lot, just putting it in perspective with the other things i heard. As it seems theres a strong Love/Hate relationship people have for these Aerogarden Units. Seems like people have very strong opinions about it either way. Regardless, this is what i have right now so i will see it to the end and make adjustments as needed. I thought the real problem was the lights? not enough power i would think is everyones first problem with AG, i will most likely add some CFL lights in during flower to keep it going strong. Thanks for reading!

 

[Dloomis514]

Thanks for the info, when did you buy your AG. i believe this one just came out (EXTRA LED model) a few months ago. I have seen solutions to all these problems so im not that worried, roots grow to big and get tangled? there was a thread on trimming them for the AG only problem was watching for if little roots clogged the pump after the trim. I dont see why the height is a big problem? just veg to desired height then flower? am i missing something here? did not respond to my question about if i frequently change the water it shouldnt be too bad. Anyways i appreciate the input a lot, just putting it in perspective with the other things i heard. As it seems theres a strong Love/Hate relationship people have for these Aerogarden Units. Seems like people have very strong opinions about it either way. Regardless, this is what i have right now so i will see it to the end and make adjustments as needed. I thought the real problem was the lights? not enough power i would think is everyones first problem with AG, i will most likely add some CFL lights in during flower to keep it going strong. Thanks for reading!

Do we knw the wattage of the Ultra LED and the Kelvin temps, seems good for vegging (so far, into early SOG)

 

[Sylant]

according to the Aerogarden Comparison chart : 382 LED, 30 Total Watts . Not sure on the kelvin temps but i know it is mainly White LED , with blue and red squares of leds mixed in like this.

 

[Dloomis514]

according to the Aerogarden Comparison chart : 382 LED, 30 Total Watts . Not sure on the kelvin temps but i know it is mainly White LED , with blue and red squares of leds mixed in like this.

They told me each LED is 0.075 watts, the math works for 30 watts total.

 

[Sylant]

Day 12.5 Update

Rando = Genovese basil , Current Age = 10 days 10 hours

Rocklock = Curly Parsley , Current Age = 12 days

Rocklock = Mint , Current Age = 12 days

Rocklock = Chives , Current Age = 10 days(retired and seemed to grow upside down, RIP)

 

[Dloomis514]

They told me each LED is 0.075 watts, the math works for 30 watts total.

Another email says...
The blended Kelvin is around 5,500, but with LED the specific overall kelvin becomes less important as you finitely blend spectrums to achieve the desired results.

 

[Yodaweed]

I have the aerogarden Extra , CFL version. The plants outgrow it before flowering if growing anything that's not an auto flower

 

[Sylant]

Another email says...
The blended Kelvin is around 5,500, but with LED the specific overall kelvin becomes less important as you finitely blend spectrums to achieve the desired results.

Good to know, like i said i will most likely add in some CFL's to each side for flowering which should be 2700k i believe? May even just see how it does on its own but i guess ill leave that up till time to tell

I have the aerogarden Extra , CFL version. The plants outgrow it before flowering if growing anything that's not an auto flower

sorry to hear that , Was reading up on LST(low stress training) methods maybe it could help it here? Heard of people using the empty pod holes to connect the hooks to.

 

[Yodaweed]

yeah maybe but the root systems become entangled and choke each other out I mean its a 1 gallon rez, its not made to grow large plants.

 

[Sylant]

Yeah true, well i suppose i will be doing a lot of maintenance. Will have to trim the roots as they get too long and detangle them and with LST should help the height issues if i can do it right. Still trying to figure out the best way to do things, so any input is very helpful. Also ive been hearing people put airstones in their aerogardens, any insight on this? Seems like people buy the pump and airstone, would just an airstone do anything for the existing pump? I think my aerogarden may already have an airstone but i cant confirm that.

 

[Yodaweed]

My aerogarden has an airstone in it. Yours does not unless you purchased separately you just have a pump.

 

[Yodaweed]

You need a second pump as well , the aerogarden has two holes in the housing(top near pods) for air stones to be put in.