Another year of gardening is here. It is time to start preparing for a great growing season. Each year I get better and better at growing outside. I find it just as much of a challenge as growing indoors. But I have my flowers germinating right now and have my lettuce started too. The tomatoes are germinating right now. I have big plans for this year with My Aeroponics System.
I was earlier concentrating on vertical aeroponics but have come to my senses of what will work best. I know for a fact that the roots of the plant follow the water flow and that the root systems can get huge. While taking measurements of some of the root systems I have had, I just cannot see a 6 inch pipe holding the root system. Not just one plant but many plants could cause a clog of roots not allowing the water to pass. This can and would present a problem down the road. So I decided not to use tubes but stick with the tubs making sure the roots stay suspended and avoid flow back clogs.
So I decided to take the 20 gallon tub outside and mount my tubs off the house above the ground. My south side of the house has full sun during the middle of the day where the morning and evening sun does not get to. It is a shame because the morning sun is so important to a successful garden. In the years past my outdoor garden was in the ground and each year I have improved my yield but I have never been satisfied with my harvest. It really makes you appreciate the farmers who grow and maintain such great harvests. Vegetables do not grow over night and take a lot of time. Every time I buy a pepper or a tomato I know how long it took to become ripe enough to eat. And not only that, but how perishable it is.
Last year I started all my plants indoors using my germination method and my aeroponics cloning system. Before I transferred the plants to soil the root systems were well established. It amazes me how the plants respond going from aeroponics directly into the soil. They do not react the same way as going from soil to soil and actually do not show any stress from the transplant. The plants are so healthy they just keep right on going. My pepper plants last year were full of flowers before I put them in the ground. One of the main reasons I transferred them to soil is because I was having a hard time pollinating the flowers and decided to let the bees do it. Did you know that bees have been dying? Since then, I have figured out how to pollinate a flower indoors using an electric tooth brush and moving air. It works!
This year I plan on taking the indoor starters that have good roots and move them outside in my outdoor Aeroponic System. I am so excited to build my system I can hardly wait. All I need to buy are the tubs, some half inch pvc pipe and a new 1000gph pump and I am ready to go. I have extra sprays, 2” net pots and hydroton to get me going.
Build a Custom Aeroponic System
But the tubs are still $6 at home depot and at the dollar store. I figure starting out with 6 tubs will be great. The pipe may cost me $20 and the pump is around $50. I counted up how many tubs I can install on my outside wall. I counted 30 tubs total and I am thinking two pumps. So it will be a goal to have that many tubs growing all sorts of plants and have a huge aeroponic system growing a showering field of green in my backyard. I am excited about this year and my project.
I will be posting details of the build on video and pictures, so please look forward to seeing my outdoor project as I build it, expand it and the growth of the plants. After watching food prices increase, not knowing where the vegetable came from and just having control over what I am putting in my body will be a huge plus for me and my family. Between Monsanto and Bayer I am dedicated to making sure I do not eat any products that were designed by them. They are probably the reason bees are dying, but who knows? The EPA or the FDA sure doesn’t care about cause and effect and what we ingest as they calculate their risk factors if it will kill us or not. They have no idea what will happen while they play the game of “Well, Let’s See What Happens” the manufactures reports don’t show any side effects of danger. And anyways, that little bit of chemical will not kill anybody; we will take the risk because the lab rat did not show any illness after eating twice the amount a human will.
There are reasons I am experimenting and sharing. We need a better way to sustain. !/3 of our food is coming from another country, over half of our oil is coming from another country. Just look at the prices and that should give you and me fair enough warning. It wasn’t like we didn’t see the great recession before it got here on our door steps. Those that prepared for what was coming planned for it to sustain. Those that did not, well, we have heard the stories, and it’s not over. Grow a garden, you may have to feed your neighbor some day!
