This past week the seedlings have grown a little more, both inside and outside. We had some freezing nights so we threw a sheet over the ones outside. They seem to have survived. Speaking of survival, it looks as if my cucumbers and broccoli aren’t going to make it.
The broccoli got pretty leggy and then the cucumber shriveled up. What’s up with that guys?! Looks like I’ll have to get some seedlings that are already started. 😛
This past week I got a Hydro Picker Hydroponic Raised-Bed Gardening System. It’s a great way to grow inside all year long. I figured that I could plant herbs in there to startand if this worked out I could always try other veggies like tomatoes and peppers too!
Anyway in my mind, I would be growing in all water in the windowsil in the kitchen. The kit comes with everything you need, pH testing strips, fertilizer, air pump, coco grow media, cover and simple instructions.
First thing was first you had to soak the cocoa mulch in a 5 gallon bucket of water “overnight” or in my case all day. Pepper was exhausted having to wait for this sludge to dissolve.
One that was done, we dumped in the “sludge”. This is when it got really messy. John poured it in the empty box while I held it…
Water and cocoa splattered all over the place, and on us. We probably could’ve strategized it a little better in retrospect.
We then added the seeds which are thyme, rosemary, oregano and parsley.:
The final step was to pour 2 more gallons of water into the tube that would then feed into the bed as the air pumped. For each gallon we a 1/4 teaspoon of the nurtients.
Now it gets even messier… the water went right out of the two small drainage holes on the side. So we had to put towels in the ground and clean up what was going on. I was worried Pepper would try to drink this stuff. Thankfully she didn’t.
In the end, everything is planted and we’ve got bucket under the drainage holes to keep from getting all over the kitchen. As soon as the weather clears up, I’m definatley moving this outside since it’s significantly more messy than I had anticipated.
On a less messy note: I started this hydroponic madness on Sunday, I noticed something spectacular…lilacs are blooming outside! 🙂
