Gyroscopic Investing

Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Thu Nov 14, 2019 7:27 pm I just realized I forgot to mention the rhubarb wine I have bubbling away on the dinner table.

Yum! Maybe we should all drop by for a taste.

I've got small Aerogardens (Sprout LEDs) that double as undercounter lighting in my kitchen, and a regular soil pot growing arugula under lights. The Aerogardens are growing basil, cilantro, thyme, mustard greens, and beet greens. They are all doing very well so far! I've been using a powdered nutrient, which didn't do so well last time on its own, but this year I added a rooting compound which has made a huge difference. I suspect that the Aerogarden nutrients have a combination of the two, which is why the plants started out well but then became root bound very quickly. You're only supposed to use that stuff for the first few weeks.

WiseOne, what kind of light do you need for a countertop garden? LED, fluorescent? How many watts? I've looked online at the various "grow light" options, and what appears to be most popular is a ceiling-hung set of LEDs in various shades of pink/purple. I think I'd go stir crazy if I had to make coffee in that light!

Wow, WiseOne. Sounds great. Cilantro is one thing I would grow if I ate it, since it is reportedly extremely dirty. (No offense, Mexico). It’s probably the one natural food that I don’t eat, and I’ve — I just found my tablet open to this page, and I have no idea how I was going to finish the sentence.

Maddy wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2019 1:25 pm WiseOne, what kind of light do you need for a countertop garden? LED, fluorescent? How many watts? I've looked online at the various "grow light" options, and what appears to be most popular is a ceiling-hung set of LEDs in various shades of pink/purple. I think I'd go stir crazy if I had to make coffee in that light!

Yes, I looked into LEDs and they are designed to grow a certain cash crop in a grow tent, not exactly what I'm going for. I went with tried and true T5 fluorescent tube lights - I got a 2 foot long, 4-tube fixture mounted on a pulley system so I can raise and lower it to keep it close to the plants. They don't use much more electricity than LEDs and they're a lot cheaper.