Week 4 and beyond

[jrobertunderParticipant]

I too would like to put my vote in for another areoponics class, maybe something a little more advanced. Though I know several people who have seen my pictures on FB, or whom I have spoken to and who have expressed and interest in taking the basic class. My planter is doing very well, maybe a little too well, as I went whole hog and bought not only the flora series nutrients but also CAL-MAG, and a PH adjustment kit. However, I am starting to run into plant and maintenance issues. To put it bluntly my Yellow Crook Neck Squash hereafter referred to as Nigel is a PIG as in it drinks its weight in water every other day. In class you recommended waiting four weeks to cycle the water I only waited three as the orange bucket was becoming seriously clogged up with Algae. I completely redid the nutrients following the “transition to bloom” measurements on the side of the bottle. The results were nothing less than explosive. If Nigel quadrupled in size during his first three weeks it was nothing compared to his growth during the next 7 days, having said that he also managed to drink close to 2 and a half gallons of water. This may be a cue to other who are having problems, Squash, and I understand Tomatoes drink water like its going out of style. On Sunday 7/21, I again redid the nutrient mix figuring that the water I had added to replace what had been drunk was now too diluted. In the four days since I have had to add water twice to bring the bucket back up to level and I have begun planning on removing the Lemon Balm (which is doing fantastic), the Chives (also doing well), and the Cilantro (Gone to seed) to a new bucket and let Nigel hog the original bucket all to himself. Additionally thanks to the inspiration provided by this project I have researched other Hydroponic and Areoponic gardening techniques and will be starting at least one deep water culture system, and one Dutch bucket system in the near future.

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