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16

Planting Your Garden

(Continued on next page)

Setting the AeroGarden  
Light/Water Cycle 

The AeroGarden has a timer that 

automatically controls the length of 

time the lights and the water pump 

are on and off. There are 5 different 

plant settings on the 

Control Panel

 

from which to choose. This allows 

Control Panel Light and Pump Cycles

Note: On all settings, the pump always runs when the lights are on.

you to find the ideal combination 

of light and moisture for the plants 

you grow. Use the chart below to 

determine which plant setting is 

best for your garden.

HELPFUL HINT: “Herbs/Basil” & “Strawberry” 
are the only setting for which the pump is 
always off when the lights are off. All other 
settings have a “wet” interval, when the lights 
are off but the pump is still running.

 

 

24-Hour Light Cycle 

24-Hour Pump Cycle 

Hours Lights

  Control 

 

 

are Off with

  Panel 

Hours Lights  Hours Lights  Hours Pump  Hours Pump 

Pump

  Setting 

Are ON 

Are OFF 

Is ON 

is OFF 

Running

Tomatoes/ 

  

16 

20 

 Peppers

 Salad 

  

16.5 

7.5 

24 

7.5 

 Greens

 Herbs/Basil 

17 

17 

0

 Flowers 

15.5 

8.5 

20 

4.5

 Strawberry 

15 

15 

0

Summary of Contents for Master Gardener Deluxe

Page 1: ...Plant Grow Your Own Seeds TM Master Gardener Deluxe GUIDE...

Page 2: ...experience I sincerely hope you enjoy planting a garden of your own design Best Regards Michael Bissonnette Founder and CEO AeroGrow International Inc Introduction Master Gardener Basics What s Insid...

Page 3: ...s 23 Adding Water 24 Raising Lights 25 Thinning 26 Pollinating 27 Pruning 28 Keeping Your Garden Healthy 34 Plant Problems Remedies 35 Harvesting Your Garden Leafy Greens 36 Bunching Herbs 37 Branchin...

Page 4: ...o plant your seeds and how to care for your plants once they are growing We recommend that you read the entire Guide before starting your garden Note Planting an AeroGarden with your own seeds is a bi...

Page 5: ...s supplies for planting three custom gardens that s enough for one year s worth of indoor gardening Master Gardener Basics What s Inside Domes 7 Grow Sponges 21 Seed Pod Labels 21 Small Nutrient Table...

Page 6: ...aster Gardener Deluxe Kit there are a few additional items that you will need An AeroGarden An Iron Glue A Permanent Marker Seeds Master Gardener Basics Continued Remember to replace your Grow Bulbs a...

Page 7: ...uire very dry conditions and have very low water requirements such as cactus and succulents will not thrive in your AeroGarden Plant Height The maximum height of the Aero Garden Lamp Hood is 12 inches...

Page 8: ...ater and light needs For example we found that lettuces grow extremely well if there is a constant flow of water over the roots On the other hand herbs such as basil or cilantro do best when the water...

Page 9: ...a nice background for the more delicate plants in the front You can always experiment with arrangements Even after you ve planted your garden you can remove the Seed Pods and rearrange your garden Ju...

Page 10: ...eneral guide lines that will help you with these choices Planting Depth The ideal planting depth of seeds in the AeroGarden will not necessarily be the same as recommended on seed packages from suppli...

Page 11: ...started building a Seed Pod here are a few preliminary steps that will help the process go smoothly Preheat iron to a moderate tempera ture between the silk and cotton setting on most irons 300 400 F...

Page 12: ...he slit in the Grow Sponge Using a cotton swab toothpick matchstick or something else with which you can grab a small amount of glue apply a thin coat of glue on the inside of the Grow Sponge at the d...

Page 13: ...de up Be sure the base of the Grow Sponge is resting on the bot tom of the Split Apart Basket HELPFUL HINT Don t risk mislabeling your Seed Pods If you are planting multiple Seed Pods with the same se...

Page 14: ...down to the bottom of the Split Apart Basket This will prevent the Grow Sponge and seeds from getting overheated Place Seed Pod Label on top of the Split Apart Basket Iron for a total of 10 seconds a...

Page 15: ...face Opening by pressing the Seed Pod down firmly until rim of the Seed Pod almost touches the Grow Surface The direction of the Seed Pod does not matter but for easy reading we recommend you have the...

Page 16: ...ottled or purified water Well or softened water SHOULD NOT be used because the extra minerals in these sources may be harmful to aeroponically grown plants Lowering Lamp Hood Set the Lamp Hood at the...

Page 17: ...light and moisture for the plants you grow Use the chart below to determine which plant setting is best for your garden HELPFUL HINT Herbs Basil Strawberry are the only setting for which the pump is a...

Page 18: ...start If you are not sure which setting to use keep your eyes open for signs of plant stress You can always change the setting HELPFUL HINT On the Salad Greens setting the pump is always running Use...

Page 19: ...own plants Choosing a Nutrient Regime Most gardens will need a combination of the small and large nutrient tablets Since we don t know what s growing in your garden we can only offer some guidelines f...

Page 20: ...ents found in the Large Tablets after 4 weeks i e the third feeding after planting Mint basil and cilantro are exam ples of herbs that grow well with 2 Large Tablets at each feeding for the remainder...

Page 21: ...se when filling out the Gardener s Log s found in the back of this Guide Such as dwarf tomatoes chili peppers and eggplant Such as squash strawberries and peas S 2 2 Small Nutrient Tablets L 2 2 Large...

Page 22: ...n to restart the two week nutrient timer and to turn off the blinking lights Resetting Your Garden If you have already grown a Seed Kit in your AeroGarden please follow the instructions below to reset...

Page 23: ...ient tablets You may need to empty all the water out of the Bowl put in fresh water and add nutrient tablets Please see Rinse and Refill on page 47 of this Guide for detailed instructions Undernourish...

Page 24: ...tly after the lights turn off or near the end of the light cycle Never remove the Labels They promote germination decrease algae growth and identify your plants A little bit of care for your garden wi...

Page 25: ...re the Water Level Low light blinks When your plants mature they may need water as often as twice a week Be sure to check the Water Level Low light regularly Use room temperature water Very hot or ver...

Page 26: ...of the Arm where the Lamp Hood attaches to the Arm Pull up firmly on Lamp Hood until the Locking Button becomes visible in the next hole Move Locking Button up only one hole at a time The lights need...

Page 27: ...Be sure to cut not pull the extra seedlings to avoid damaging the roots of the strongest plant in each Seed Pod We recommended earlier in this Guide that you plant multiple seeds in each Seed Pod This...

Page 28: ...od Dead blossoms on the Grow Surface are a good indicator that your chosen pollination method is not working Pollination Method Plant Examples How to Hand Pollinate After Flowers Appear Self pollinati...

Page 29: ...h Upright Main Stem 1st Pruning such as dwarf tomatoes peppers and eggplant Early pruning of this plant helps strengthen the main stem and encourages the plant to branch out A strong plant with many b...

Page 30: ...se scissors to cut branches that are growing into the lights Follow the branch to where it meets another branch make cut just before this junction Don t be discouraged if you end up cutting a branch w...

Page 31: ...r over the edge of the Grow Surface and do not receive enough light from the Lamp Hood to be productive Use scissors to cut branches that hang over the edge of the Grow Surface Make your cut so that t...

Page 32: ...basil will encourage the plant to branch out rather than grow straight up For plants that will benefit from this you should Follow the main stem up from the base of the plant past 3 sets of leaves Cu...

Page 33: ...s If you see flower buds or flowers on a plant that is being grown for its leaves not its fruit or flowers remove them Cut the flowering stem just above a set of leaves no more than 1 3 of the way dow...

Page 34: ...f blooms and buds dwindle a seemingly severe pruning can result in an additional season of flowers Cut the entire plant to a height of about 3 to 5 inches Make your cuts so that the plant shape is app...

Page 35: ...stay healthy As your plants grow you may see some dead or brown leaves around the base of your plants This is perfectly normal Remove these leaves or branches with scissors or pinch off with your nger...

Page 36: ...Bulbs Raise the Lamp Hood or prune the plant Unpollinated Flowers Falling Off Fruiting Plants If you see unpollinated flowers on your plant or blossoms on your Grow Surface plants are not being polli...

Page 37: ...it As you harvest try to keep the plants at about the same height so that they all receive enough light After harvesting lower the lights if necessary How to harvest each plant depends on the plant s...

Page 38: ...h by cutting an entire stem just the stem not the entire plant Select the oldest stems found near the outer edges of the plant These stems are generally wider than the younger ones and the leaves may...

Page 39: ...uch as mint basil oregano Cut plants just above a set of leaves growth point not more than halfway down the stem Also harvest by cutting just above a termination point the place where one stem meets a...

Page 40: ...near the sink Empty contents of Bowl into sink never into your house plants The nutrient mixture may be too strong for them Remove Seed Pods and roots from Grow Surface Pull the Seed Pods out of the G...

Page 41: ...lter back in the Pump Stand After cleaning there may still be a few roots in your Pump Stand or Pump Filter This will not affect the operation of your AeroGarden Clean the Bowl and Grow Surface Use a...

Page 42: ...den and empty sanitizing water from Bowl Refill Bowl with tap water and replace on Base Plug in and run AeroGarden for 1 2 minutes Select Salad Greens again Unplug AeroGarden and empty water from Bowl...

Page 43: ...t least 3 sets of true leaves Plants should only be transplanted when the weather outside is favorable a problem you will never have if you grow indoors using your AeroGarden If the weather is too col...

Page 44: ...fore transplanting to ensure appropriate nutrition and good drainage Fill the hole with soil so that the top of the Grow Sponge is even with or less than 1 4 below the ground surface Water the seed li...

Page 45: ...ire Also avoid materials that stretch such as stretch ties sold in gardening shops as these are not strong enough to support heavily laden branches Suggested Materials to Use for Supporting Fruiting P...

Page 46: ...at a point where it a is strong enough not to bend or break when the tie is secured and b stands upright when the tie is pulled towards the Lamp Arm Helpful Hint The best way to figure out where to p...

Page 47: ...in position with one hand With the other hand gently pull the opposite end of the tie to bring the main stem to an upright position Secure the two ends of the tie to each other in this case we used ve...

Page 48: ...Empty contents of Bowl into sink and rinse Bowl Use only water Fill Bowl with room temperature water up to Fill To Here and set Bowl on counter Place Grow Surface back on Bowl Carefully replace Bowl...

Page 49: ...r natural or artificial we recommend that you set your AeroGarden Grow Lights to be on during the day and off at night Non fruiting plants herbs flowers leafy greens don t care when the lights go on a...

Page 50: ...st seeds do not germinate 100 of the time Always plant more than one seed to ensure a successful grow ing experience See page 10 for more details on how many seeds to plant in each Seed Pod Can the Gr...

Page 51: ...e sure to pick it up by holding the Lamp Arm with one hand and sliding your other hand under the bottom of the Base What can I do if one of the plants in my AeroGarden is much taller than the others D...

Page 52: ...too many or too few nutrients How do I take care of my garden when I go out of town Add water to raise the level up to Fill To Here A newly planted AeroGarden with Domes removed may not need care for...

Page 53: ...to the chart on page 16 to see the number of hours that the AeroGarden pumps water through the Seed Pods If the water isn t flowing when it should be please check the following Is the Lamp Arm fully...

Page 54: ...ally go to bed so as not to disturb your sleep 5 Simple Steps In order to make this as simple as possible you only need to set the time you want the lights of your AeroGarden to go off Off Time and yo...

Page 55: ...ou can reset your timer as often as you want Lights Button Blinking Light Note In case of power failure your AeroGarden has a back up system that stores your light and nutrient timers and plant select...

Page 56: ...water in your Bowl up to Fill To Here Is your Lamp Hood at the lowest level Planting Your Garden Is there a Seed Pod or cover in on every Grow Surface Opening Did you put a Dome on each Seed Pod Are t...

Page 57: ...nt Type Seed Planting Germination Nutrient of seeds planted Depth Date Time Regime 1 Chives 20 1 8 12 1 06 7 days B 2 Cilantro 6 1 4 12 1 06 11 days B 3 4 5 6 7 1 3 2 4 5 6 9 12 13 10 8 11 7 56 Append...

Page 58: ...ner s Reference and Log Pod Plant Type Seed Planting Germination Nutrient of seeds planted Depth Date Time Regime 1 Chives 20 1 8 12 1 06 7 days B 2 Cilantro 6 1 4 12 1 06 11 days B 3 4 5 6 7 Use the...

Page 59: ...58 Appendices Pod Plant Type Seed Planting Germination Nutrient of seeds planted Depth Date Time Regime 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gardener s Log Garden 1 Notes...

Page 60: ...59 Appendices Pod Plant Type Seed Planting Germination Nutrient of seeds planted Depth Date Time Regime 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gardener s Log Garden 2 Notes...

Page 61: ...60 Appendices Pod Plant Type Seed Planting Germination Nutrient of seeds planted Depth Date Time Regime 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gardener s Log Garden 3 Notes...

Page 62: ...roducer flowers herbs and vegetables Park Seed www parkseed com Providing vegetable perennial seeds since 1868 Thompson Morgan www thompson morgan com Flower seeds galore Also herb and vegetable seeds...

Page 63: ...62 Appendices My Garden Notes...

Page 64: ...AeroGrow International Inc 300309 INTa 8 14 07 2006 2007 AeroGrow International Inc Patents Pending...

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