Some assembly required. Recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera for a four minute time-lapse video.
Daily Electric Energy Used (72.0 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (37.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun than yesterday, but getting colder. Overall a net deficit of 34.1 kWh. Geothermal HVAC to heat the house (6.2 kWh), Laundry (4.7 kWh), Hydroponics (22.5 kWh), Computers and Servers (20.7 kWh), Kitchen (2.7 kWh).
Indoor Hydroponic AeroGarden Farm XL. Setup and Planting.
The three new Farms were assembled yesterday. Today I set them up with deionized water (~10 L/tray) and plant food (16 mL/tray). I then planted Bok Choi, Edible Flowers, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Swiss Chard, Kale, Hot Peppers, eight varieties of Basil, and Arugula. Each of the trays was programed for the type of plants, and the LED lights lowered to just above the tray for the germination process. All recorded with a Garmin VIRB-360 camera for a time-lapse video.
Daily Electric Energy Used (58.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A bit more sun than yesterday, but getting colder. Overall a net deficit of 24.7 kWh. Closing the windows, and switching the Geothermal HVAC on to heat the house.
At two weeks it was time to add additional plant food, and top off the water for the two “Classic 6” gardens. In the first one, everything but the Dianthus has sprouted. In the second one, everything but one of the Purple Snapdragons has sprouted.
AeroGarden “Classic 6” Great Room 01 at Day 14. Position 01-02: Celosia (Rainbow Fire); Position 03: Phlox Mix; Position 04: Orange Gazania; Position 05: Yellow Coreopsis; Position 06: Dianthus. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden “Clasic 6” Great Room 01 at Day 14. Position 01-02: Celosia (Rainbow Fire); Position 03: Purple Snapdragon; Position 04: Lavender; Position 05: Dianthus; Position 06: Purple Snapdragon. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 320, 35 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (58.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (33.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. A bit more sun than yesterday, but getting colder. Overall a net deficit of 24.7 kWh. Closing the windows, and switching the Geothermal HVAC on to heat the house.
Indoor Hydroponic AeroGarden Farm XL. Some Assembly Required
Three additional Farms arrived via FedEx and were then assembled in a 5 minute Time-lapse Video. Crops will be planted tomorrow.
Daily Electric Energy Used (56.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (29.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun and cooler out than yesterday with lots of wind. Overall a net deficit of 26.3 kWh.
Indoor Hydroponic AeroGarden Farms 01-03 Week Four Update.
AeroGarden Farm 01, Left Tray, Day 29. Red Heirloom Tomatoes and Golden Harvest Tomatoes (seed pods from AeroGarden). All plants sprouted, but growth is still slow. Indoor temperatures have ranged from mid 60’s to mid 70’s. Today installed reflectors on 3 sides to see if that helps to warm the plants.
AeroGarden Farm 01 Left Tray at 29 days. Position 1-6 Red Heirloom Tomatoes. Position 7-12 Golden Harvest Tomatoes. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 640, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 01, Right Tray, Day 29. A variety of lettuce plants showing robust growth. Red Romain, Deer Tongue, Paris Island, Black-seeded Simpson, and Red Sails (seed pods from AeroGarden). One Red Romain did not sprout. So far two batches of leaves harvested. The Dill, Chives, and Genovese Basil (seed pods from AeroGarden) all sprouted, but are small. They were moved to a different Farm.
AeroGarden Farm 01 Right Tray at 29 days. R03 Red Romaine; R02 Deer Tongue; R04, R06 Marvel of 4 Seasons; R05 Paris Island; R07, R09 Black-seeded Simpson; R08 Red Sails; R10 Dill; R11 Chives; R12 Genovese Basil. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 02, Left Tray, Day 28. Mini-Jalapeno Peppers, Purple Super Hot Peppers, Red Fire Peppers (seed pods from AeroGarden). All plants sprouted, but growth is slow. Do they need a higher temperature? Indoor temperatures have ranged from mid 60’s to mid 70’s. Today installed reflectors on 3 sides to see if that helps to warm the plants.
Chives (seeds from Sustainable Seeds) did not sprout and have been removed.
AeroGarden Farm 02 Left Tray at 28 days. L01-L03 Mini Jalapeno Peppers; L04-L06 Purple Super Hot Pepper; L07-L09 Red Fire Pepper Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 640, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 02, Right Tray, Day 28. Romaine Lettuce (seed pods from AeroGarden). All plants sprouted, and most are growing robustly. One batch of leaves harvested four days ago. The front three positions were Arugula (seeds from Botanical Interests) that were being crowded out and have been moved to a different Farm tray.
AeroGarden Farm 02 Right Tray at 28 days. R01-R09 Romain; Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 03, Left Tray, Day 2. Broccoli, Swiss Chard, and Arugula (seeds from Botanical Interests). All Broccoli plants sprouted, but growth for two are being crowded by the Swiss Chard plant. Only one of the Swiss Chard plants sprouted, and is growing robustly. It was moved to position 10. Positions 03-06 were plugged. The Arugula in position 11 an 12 came from a different Farm tray. The Swiss Chard is ready to have some leaves harvested.
AeroGarden Farm 03 Left Tray at 28 days. L01-L03 Broccoli; L10 Swiss Chard; L11-12 Arugula. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 03 Left Tray at 28 days. L01-L03 Broccoli; L10 Swiss Chard; L11-12 Arugula. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). After Swiss Chard partial harvest. (DAVID J MATHRE)First Harvest of Swiss Chard at 28 days. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 35 mm, f/16, 1/25 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
AeroGarden Farm 03, Right Tray, Day 23. Cauliflower, Kale, Cilantro, Oregano, Rosemary, and Thyme (seeds from Botanical Interests). All Cauliflower plants sprouted, and are growing robustly. Two of the three Kale plants sprouted, and are growing. All Cilantro plants sprouted but are growing slowly. The I will move it to the front of the tray, and try to start two new plants. Oregano, Rosemary, and Thyme have sprouted but are tiny . The three herbs were moved to a different tray. The Kale was moved to positions R07-R08 and will try to start another Kale plant for position R09. The Cilantro was moved to the front three positions R10-R12. Positions R04-R06 were plugged to allow more space for the Cauliflower and Kale.
AeroGarden Farm 03 Right Tray at 28 days. R01-R03 Cauliflower; R07-R09 Kale; R10-R12 Cilantro; Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens (ISO 800, 35 mm, f/16, 1/50 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (56.2 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (29.9 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun and cooler out than yesterday with lots of wind. Overall a net deficit of 26.3 kWh.
