April 16, 2006 (Day22)

Most of us were away for the week in NYC for the International Auto Show.  We were amazed when we walked into the RainyDayKitchen and saw the amount of changes since Tuesday.

The largest leaf is about 2" from the lights.  We took a look at the instructions and the recommendation is to adjust the height when it comes within an inch or so.  We'll wait a few more days before increasing the height of the lamp.

Check out the root system!  The amount of water used in one week was more than the previous two weeks.  Not surprising, but just interesting that we could see it so clearly.  We are wondering when the "add water" light will be go on...the current water level is much lower than when the light came on last time.

April 19, 2006 (Day25...1st harvest)

We refilled the water tank yesterday back to the "Fill Line" since the tank was almost emptied.  We thought the "Fill Tank" light would go on, but it didn't.  Since some of the edges of the leaves were starting to brown, we decided to use our common sense :-)  We also raised the lights up one notch.  Somebody else did the light raising, but didn't take any pics (hint, hint...you know who you are).

We also harvested some of the lettuce today to go with our veggie burger.  This was our first harvest...the taste was excellent!

April 22, 2006 (Day28...2nd feeding )

Today the "Add Fertilizer" light came on.  This was the second time since the start of the project.  The "Add Water" indicator also came on.  This is so the proper amount of nutrient is mixed in the same amount of water.

Hydroponic gardening has been around for a long time.  Techniques and systems for growing plants in soil-less environments have been successfully created by amateur and professionals alike.

While the concepts and equipment necessary for a hydroponic garden is pretty simple to set up, it is often quite industrial looking and definitely not something one would want in the kitchen.

AeroGrow has created a system that is both simple and attractive. The photo below is the start of the project.

The AeorGarden was quick to assemble, easy to plant, and looks great anywhere in the house.  The photo below is the end of Week 2.

We will track the progress of the growth of the garden from planting (March 25th) to harvest.  We'll post the updates and photos every Saturday.  The photo below is the end of Week 3.

Here we are at the end of Week 4 and the crop is very vigorous.  We have been eating bits from it for a week now.

Reviews:

1. Assembly

2. Planting

3. Updates - this week

         Week 1: March 25 - March 31

         Week 2: April 1 - April 7

         Week 3: April 8 - April 16

         Week 4: April 17 - April 23

Assembly Summary:

1. Difficulty - easy

2. Time - 10 minutes

3. Tools - none

Planting Summary:

1. Difficulty - easy

2. Time - 5 minutes

3. Tools - none

Maintenance Summary:

1. Difficulty - easy

2. Time - 1 minutes

3. Tools - none