AeroGarden for starting seeds?

Mid-February is quickly approaching, and it will soon be seed starting time for me!

This year will see a new method of seed starting for my SFG gardens. After successfully using the AeroGarden Harvest 360 Elite for starting seedlings for transplanting into the raised bed in the greenhouse, I have decided to use the AeroGarden for starting all seedlings for transplanting in the beds.

When I purchased the AeroGarden Harvest 360 Elite on sale a few years ago it came with the Seed Starter Kit which I have never used. But, it will be used this year for starting all seedlings. The seed starter tray holds 23 seed pods, which will allow starting many seedlings at the same time. After the seedlings have grown to a sufficient size I will pull the pods out of the Aerogarden and up-pot them in Cow Pots for later transplanting in the garden.  This will eliminate the use of the trays with plastic covers set on heat mats to germinate the seeds.

In using the AeroGarden to start seedlings for the greenhouse I have found that the seeds typically sprout in 4 to 5 days, and quickly grow. I use FoxFarm Grow Big Hydroponic Plant Food rather than the MiracleGro plant food that is sold with the kit, and have had very good results with it.  I bought 100 peat pods off Amazon for $11.95, which seemed a good price.

I have found the best way to get quick and reliable germination of seeds in the AeroGarden is by soaking the peat pods in water for a couple hours, then placing the seeds in the pod before dropping the pod into the tray under the lights.  It is very, very important to note on the seed starter template what seed was put into what hole in the seed starter tray!



Use of the Seed Starting Template is critical in knowing what was planted in which hole.

sanderson wrote:Is the template something you can print out each time you use the unit?  For example, I have 13 varieties of tomatoes and 11 varieties of peppers, so each square might have a different fruit and variety.

Yes, I scanned it into a PDF document so I can print at many as I need. It is available for all models of the AeroGarden - that one is for the Harvest 360 model that I have.

I'm only doing 3 varieties of tomatoes and 3 varieties of peppers this year.  We got overrun with tomatoes and peppers last year, and neighbors started not answering their phone when we called to see if they could use some tomatoes or peppers.
 

Set up the AeroGarden with the Seed Starter Tray and planted it with bunching onion seeds. There are 23 seed pods in the tray, and since I do multi-sowing of onion seeds there are 3 or 4 seeds in each pod. There will be approximately 80 spring onions to transplant into the garden in early March.

OhioGardener wrote:Set up the AeroGarden with the Seed Starter Tray and planted it with bunching onion seeds. There are 23 seed pods in the tray, and since I do multi-sowing of onion seeds there are 3 or 4 seeds in each pod. There will be approximately 80 spring onions to transplant into the garden in early March.

The onion seedlings have come a long way since they were put into the AeroGarden seed starter tray on Feb 1st.  A week ago I trimmed the tops off of the seedlings to use in a salad, and they need to be trimmed again.  In a week I will start moving the planter outside a little each day to harden the onions off, and get them ready for transplanting into a raised bed. Then I can start the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc., in the AeroGarden. 

If anyone is interested in purchasing a Seed Starting Kit for their Aerogarden system they are currently on sale for up to 50% off.  No indication on how long the sale will be available.

https://aerogarden.com/todays-deals/