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arden tarter ray
arden tarter ray
G S T
G S T
Planting & Growing Guide
English
NOTE:
Do not unwrap Tray until you are ready to plant your seeds. The plastic
cover retains moisture that is critical for easy planting and fast germination.
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Contents Introduction Moving Seedlings to Your Outdoor Garden Garden Starter Tray Basics .........................2 Hardening Off .......................................... 14 What’s Inside .............................................2 When to Plant ........................................... 14 Additional Supplies .....................................3 Water Garden ........................................... 14 Planning Your Garden– Transplanting Seedlings ............................. 15
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Introduction The Garden Starter Tray enables you to use your AeroGarden to start seedlings for transplanting into an outdoor garden. In just a small amount of space, with minimal care, you can now start up to 66 seedlings (36 seedlings for Space•Saver 6 models) and get a jump-start on the outdoor gardening season. This Guide will assist you in deciding what to grow, when to start your seeds, how to seed the Garden Starter Tray and how to care for and transplant your seedlings to an ou
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Introduction (Continued) Additional Supplies There are a few additional items that you will need. Seeds Watering Can AeroGarden with Deck removed Planning Your Garden – Seed Selection Sample Gardens There are thousands of seed choices available to grow in your Garden Starter Tray. To simplify the plan- ning process, we’ve provided some plant lists for theme gardens that you can start in your Tray. Feel free to modify the lists any way you like, or plant a garden of your own design. Spring Summ
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Your Seed Planting Schedule Determining when to plant seeds in your Tray so that they are ready at the right time depends on a few factors: the last frost date for your area, what you want to plant and how quickly each seed type germinates and grows into a seedling ready to transplant. Last Frost Date The last frost date is, on average, the last day in the spring that you might have a frost that can damage tender plants. It is a useful date to know when starting seeds indoors. A great resourc
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Your Seed Planting Schedule (Continued) April 23 or 4 weeks after starting your tomato and by May 7. An example of a completed Planting pepper seeds. All seedlings will be ready to harden Schedule (shown below) includes all this information. Planting Schedule Last Frost Date: May 7 Weeks to Earliest Seed Ready to Transplant Plants Grow Starting Date Harden Off Date Notes Tomatoes 6 weeks March 26 May 7 May 17 For cucumbers - Peppers 6 weeks March 26 May 7 May 17 Seed 4 weeks after Cucumbers
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Seeding Your Garden Starter Tray Once you have decided which seeds to plant and when to start them, the next step is to decide where in the Tray to plant seeds, how many seeds to plant in each Grow Sponge and how deep to plant seeds. We recommend using a Blank Tray Layout (pages 21-22) and/or Seeding Log (page 23) to keep track of your choices and create a Seeding Plan. (Additional blank Tray Lay- outs and Seeding Logs available at www.aerogardensupport.com.) Tray Layout The Grow Sponges are
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Seeding Your Garden Starter Tray (Continued) Seeding Plan (Space•Saver 6 AeroGarden models) 7 12 17 19 21 26 3 8 13 18 20 22 27 31 Seeding Log 1 lettuce 4 9 14 23 28 32 2 lettuce 3 tomato 1 5 10 15 24 29 33 35 4 tomato 5 tomato 25 30 34 6 36 tomato 2 6 11 16 7 scallions Sample Seeding Plan for frost tolerant and non-frost tolerant plants from Example 2 on page 5. Blank Tray Layouts and Seeding Logs found on pages 21-24 of this Guide and also available at www.aerogardensupport.com. Number
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Seed Depth The planting depth of seeds in your Garden Starter Tray will not necessarily be the same as recommended on seed packets from suppliers. Each Grow Sponge has a small, tapered hole near the center called a Dibble. The Dibble is adequate for most small and medium sized seeds. For larger seeds, the Dibble may need to be enlarged. We recommend using a Tray Layout or Seeding Log to keep track of which Dibbles need to be enlarged. Please refer to the table on page 7 for some guidelines
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Seeding Your Garden Starter Tray (Continued) It is important to seed your Grow Sponges and get the Tray into your AeroGarden on the same day. Otherwise, the seeds will start germinating without the benefit of moisture, warmth and light provided by your AeroGarden. Place Seeds in Grow Sponge To avoid confusion, work with only one seed type at a time. Empty contents of 1 seed packet onto a 1 piece of paper or clean work surface. For larger seeds, you may be able to grab seeds right from seed
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AeroGarden 6 and all 7-Pod models Garden Starter Tray ✓ ✓ 1 7 13 19 25 31 34 37 43 49 55 61 2 8 14 20 26 32 35 38 44 50 56 62 ✓ ✓ 3 9 15 21 27 39 45 51 57 63 4 10 16 22 28 40 46 52 58 64 ✓ ✓ 5 11 17 23 29 33 36 41 47 53 59 65 6 12 18 24 30 42 48 54 60 66 Sample Seeding Plan with planted Grow Sponges marked. Blank Tray Layouts and Seeding Logs found on pages 21-24 of this Guide and also available at www.aerogardensupport.com. Space•Saver 6 model Garden Starter Tray 7 12 17 19 21 26 ✓ ✓ 3 8 13 18
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Setting Up Your AeroGarden Place Tray in AeroGarden Remove Grow Surface from Bowl and set aside. 1 Lower Lamp Hood to lowest position. 2 Place Bowl on Base. 3 Add water up to “Fill to Here” inside Bowl. 4 Plug in AeroGarden. 5 Press “Select” button to set AeroGarden to 6 “Tomatoes/Peppers” on 7-Pod models, and “Vegetables” on AeroGarden 6 and Space•Saver 6 models. Press and HOLD “Reset” button for 6 seconds 7 (Space•Saver 6 models), and 9 seconds (AeroGarden 6 and all 7-Pod models). Wh
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Tending Your Seedlings Add Water There should always be water in the Bowl of your AeroGarden. Using a spouted container, pour water into front of Bowl where “Fill To Here” is indicated. Always add water when “Water Low” light illuminates. • Use room-temperature water. Very hot or very cold water will hurt your plants. • W e recommend using municipal tap, bottled or purified water. Well or softened water SHOULD NOT be used because the extra minerals in these sources may be harmful to ! aeropo
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Tending Your Seedlings (Continued) Thin Plants We recommended earlier in this Guide that you plant multiple seeds in each Grow Sponge. Often times this results in more than one plant growing in a Grow Sponge. Herbs, lettuces, and plants that grow in bunches (such as chives) do not require thinning. However, with broad- stemmed varieties, such as fruiting plants, it is best to thin plants as described below. • When plants are about 2” (5cm) tall, check each Grow Sponge for multiple plants. Usi
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Moving Seedlings to Your Outdoor Garden Once soil is prepared and seedlings are grown, it is time to harden off and transplant seedlings to your outdoor garden. If you are new to gardening, please take a moment to read this entire section and “Caring For Young Seedlings” before transitioning delicate seedlings to the outdoors. Sample Hardening Off Schedule Hardening Off Hardening off seedlings eases their transition from Day 1: P u t Bowl outside in a shady, pro- the AeroGarden to the outdo
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Moving Seedlings to Your Outdoor Garden (Continued) Transplant Seedlings Supplies needed: A filled watering can A narrow trowel Your garden plan indicating seedling locations Your Tray of hardened-off seedlings To transplant seedlings, take entire Bowl and Tray outside. Follow these 4 basic steps for each seedling until entire Tray is planted: 1) Dig hole; 2) Remove seedling from Tray; 3) Place seedling in hole and fill; and 4) Water seedling. Remove Seedling from Tray 1 • Lift T
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Caring for Young Seedlings Your seedlings will do best if they have care and attention after transplanting. make good covers are yogurt containers, card- Daily Watering board boxes, milk jugs, flower pots or baskets. Your seedlings need water every day. It is best Just remember to put a rock (or other weight) on to water when the sun is low, either in the early top of these containers to stop them from blow- morning or evening. Water each plant at the base, ing away. It is a good idea to pl
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Quick Start Guides available at: Troubleshooting (Continued) www.aerogardensupport.com What do I do if one of my seedlings die? How do I take care of my garden when I go out of town? Occasionally you might find that one of the seed- lings in your Tray does not thrive. If a plant dies, Add water to raise level up to “Fill to Here.” A remove entire Grow Sponge from AeroGarden and newly planted Tray may not need care for 2 weeks cover empty Grow Sponge Opening to inhibit algae or more. If your s
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Prepare for Your Next Garden Starter Tray Clean AeroGarden: For step-by-step cleaning instructions, please refer to the “Prepare for your Next Garden” section in your model’s Quick Start Guide. Clean Tray before reusing: • Rinse Seed Starter Tray in water to remove plant or Grow Sponge debris. A small scrub brush or old toothbrush is helpful for this task. Sanitize Seed Starter Tray: • Fill a sink or 5 gallon bucket with water. • Add ¼ cup (.06 liter) chlorine bleach per 5 gallons (3.78
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Planting Schedule Please refer to “Your Seed Planting Schedule” on page 4 for Planting Schedule details. Planting Schedule Last Frost Date: Weeks to Earliest Seed Ready to Transplant Plants Grow Starting Date Harden Off Date Notes 19
