I am expanding my indoor hydroponic garden capacity this year so I can have both fresh vegetables and greens as well as wildflowers. Two AeroGarden Farm XL systems were delivered. Some assembly required. I set up the Garmin VIRB-360 camera to record the assembly process for a Time-Lapse video. Unfortunately, one of the boxes was missing the hardware (bolts, cables, control unit). ARRG! I’ve requested the missing items be replaced but haven’t heard from the Support folks from AeroGarden yet so I can finish assembling the 2nd unit.
AeroGarden Farm XL Box One — Contents Jumbled, and Parts Missing. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm XL Box Two — Contents in Order, and no Parts Missing. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (54.3 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (41.6 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. More sun in the afternoon and warmer out. The Geothermal HVAC used 6.1 kWh for cooling. The new hydroponic gardens used 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 12.7 kWh.
The three AeroGarden hydroponic Farms have been online for 10-11 days. Many of the plants have already sprouted. Depending on how big some of the plants get, I may have to trim some out. The LED lights for each tray raises to 36 inches as the plants grow. I also set up two AeroGarden Bounty systems to try to grow some wildflowers indoors. Here many of the seeds sprouted within five days.
AeroGarden Farm 1 Left. at 11 days. Red Heirloom and Golden Harvest Tomatoes. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 1 Right. at 11 days. Lettuce (Red Romaine, Deer Tongue, Marvel of 4 Seasons, Paris Island, Black-seeded Simpon, Red Sails), Basil, Chives, and Dill. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 2 Left. at 10 days. Peppers (Mini Jalapeno, Purple Super Hot, Red Fire), and Chives. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 2 Right. at 10 days. Lettuce, Romain, Arugula Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 3 Left. at 10 days. Broccoli, Swiss Chard, Basil, Dill, Parsley. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 3 Right. at 10 days. Cauliflower, Kale, Cilantro, Oregno, Rosemary, Thyme. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Foyer Bounty Left at 5 days. 1) Cosmos Dwarf Sensation; 2) Cosmos Early Dwarf; 3) Zinnia Thumbelina; 4) Zinnia Lilliput Mix; 5) Marigold Sparky Mix; 6) Blanket Flower; 7) Sweet Alyssum; 8) Coreopsis Lance-leaf; 9) Coreopsis Plains. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
[caption id="ps_captionIns" align="alignnone" width="600"]AeroGarden Foyer Bounty Right at 5 days. 1) Crimson Clover, ; 2) California Poppy; 3) Oriental Poppy; 4) Red Poppy Mix; 5) Red Poppy; 6) Blue Cornflower; 7) Purple Cornflower; 8) Lemon Mint; 9) Lupine. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (57.5 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (34.2 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Cloudy but warmer out so the Geothermal HVAC was on (10.0 kWh) part of the afternoon and evening. The new hydroponic gardens are using 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 23.3 kWh.
Weekly electric energy used (419 kWh) and Solar electric energy produced (288 kWh) for a net deficit of 131 kWh. Several cloudy days, Geothermal HVAC still on, server backups, and installation of new hydroponic systems went online.
Gone to See America 2013 Road Trip. Badlands National Park.
A Butt only a Mother could love. Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec).
A Butt Only a Mother Could Love. Badlands National Park, South Dakota. Image taken with a Nikon D3s camera and 80-400 mm VRII lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/5.6, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
The new Aerogarden hydroponic Farms have been online for just over a week. You can see how many of the plants have already sprouted. Depending on how big some of the plants get, I may have to trim some out. The LED lights for each tray raises to 36 inches as the plants grow.
AeroGarden Farm 1 Left. at 8 days. Red Heirloom and Golden Harvest Tomatoes. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 1 Right. at 8 days. Lettuce (Red Romaine, Deer Tongue, Marvel of 4 Seasons, Parris Island, Black-seeded Simpson, Red Sails), Basil, Chives, and Dill. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 2 Left. at 7 days. Peppers (Mini Jalapeno, Purple Super Hot, Red Fire), and Chives. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 2 Right. at 7 days. Lettuce, Romain, Arugula Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 3 Left. at 7 days. Broccoli, Swiss Chard, Basil, Dill, Parsley. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)AeroGarden Farm 3 Right. at 7 days. Cauliflower, Kale, Cilantro, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme. Image taken with a Leica TL-2 camera and 35 mm f/1.4 lens. (DAVID J MATHRE)
Yesterday Electric Energy Used (62.4 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (34.8 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. As the sun gets lower, the leaves from one of my Sycamore trees block the solar panels part of the afternoon. You can see the hump in the graph. The Geothermal HVAC was off. The new hydroponic gardens are using 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 27.6 kWh.
Daily Electric Energy Used (62.1 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (49.1 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Warmer out so the Geothermal HVAC was back on for some of the afternoon and evening (3.3 kWh). The new hydroponic gardens are using 8.7 kWh. Overall a net deficit of 13.0 kWh.
I harvested the carrots and scallions from the top level of GrowTower #1. I was surprised how big some of the carrots were as the seed packet said miniature carrots. I had also planted some garlic cloves that started to sprout in the kitchen. A few developed into heads of garlic. An opossum managed eat my remaining Tomatillos so I ended up buying a bunch from Clifford Family Farm at the Montgomery Farmers market. I use the Tomatillos along with the hot peppers from my GrowTowers to make Salsa Verde. With too many carrots, I may try incorporating carrots into the Salsa. So far the air dancer scarecrow seems to be keeping the deer out of the wildflower meadows. As soon as the deer hear or see the air dancer they start running.
Carrots, Scallions, Garlic, Hot Peppers from Grow Tower #1. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 125, 23 mm, f/2, 1/50 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Tomatillos from the Farmers Market. Image taken with a Leica CL camera and 23 mm f/2 lens (ISO 200, 23 mm, f/2.2, 1/50 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Fawn with spots eating grass. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 94 mm, f/4.8, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)Fawn and Doe leaving after hearing the Air Dancer Scarecrow. Image taken with a Nikon 1 V3 camera and 70-300 mm VR lens (ISO 800, 144 mm, f/5.3, 1/100 sec). (DAVID J MATHRE)
Daily Electric Energy Used (41.8 kWh) from Sense and Daily Solar Electric Energy Produced (24.4 kWh) from SolSystems and Locus Energy. Clouds most of the day and starting to get warmer again. The Geothermal HVAC was only on for a short time. Overall a net deficit of 17.4 kWh.
