Thank you Joel for that video. Today I'm starting the germination prep and this video will be very helpful in getting me started. Thank you for your calm demeanour and systematic and clear instructions :) Talk again soon.
Thanks brother :) Germinating has always been the most challenging aspect of all of this cuz sometimes seeds just do not take for any number of reasons, could be the seeds, could be the pH, could be too much nutrients, etc. After they successfully root, then it is easy breezy from there :-D
Tim Blank says do NOT add the Tower Tonic until the seedlings are at least a couple of inches tall. They will grow a healthier root system if it has to "work" at finding nutrients.
You could follow that advice. I been doing this enough years now to know that what really makes or breaks the deal to successful germination, is good seed that's been properly stored, constant moisture levels of course, and an abundance of light! But you're right seedlings don't need "food" until they start to grow their first true leaves. Also worth mentioning I no longer germinate seeds in this way as I made a little deep water culture germination station which is how I start my seeds for hydroponics purposes.
This applies whether growing in soil or hydroponics, more often than not, you're going to want to thin it down to just ONE, the strongest looking seedling of the bunch. The only time I might let there be 2 plants growing side by side is for things that grow small or narrow, such as a lettuce or some small green/herb. Keep in mind, 2 plants growing right besides each other, will never grow as large as they could get, if it was growing on its own!
Thank you for your great video. I just purchased the indoor tower with grow lights, and I've seen videos recommending starting seeds directly in the tower as well as in the provided trays. I live in zone 6B (34 - 50 degrees F today) with diminishing sunlight moving into winter, and no great sunny location in which to start my seeds on a window sill. What are your thoughts about starting seeds directly in the tower and using the grow lights? Many thanks!
Hey there Kate! Great question, and I just responded to someone about this, I might copy and paste some details :-P Your zone ain't too much warmer than mine, guess your outdoor growing season is done'ish! Don't start seedlings in the Tower tho. Now some copy and paste haha It is CRITICAL that those into indoor growing, invest into growing lights. Almost any type of grow light will work fine for starting seeds, they just need to be at the right distance from the seed/plant canopy for it's type (CF about 6" away and LEDs usually 1.5 to 2 feet away). Without the adequate lighting, the seedlings always become leggy and weak and may not survive the long haul. Beside a window just doesn't cut it. Once the seedlings have developed their first or second pair of TRUE leaves, their "neck" is done stretching, and with close proximity to the lights that neck stem won't stretch much from the start, that's what you want. You Cannot start seeds in the tower garden itself, because the lights are far too distant from the seeds. You'll produce plants with a poor support structure. Mature seedlings need to be nurtured first before being transplanted into the garden!
@@CardinalGardener thank you for your time and invaluable instructions! I'm very excited to start the germination process effectively. I have LED grow lights on positional gooseneck armatures that attach to the tower top. I can angle them to shine as you've directed over the grow boxes.
Your Tower Garden videos are very helpful and appreciated. Is there any chance you would consider doing a video of any problems and solutions, tips and comments you have after using your Tower Garden for nearly a year? I have been watching many videos and find yours very easy to watch and absorb and your instructions are excellent. We are awaiting arrival of the the family TG (3 towers plus extensions) and I want to get as much info as possible to be prepared to grow well from the beginning. Thank you for your time. Jackie
That was a lovely link, thank you Jackie! You've inspired me to play with Okra again this year in the Tower! As per your request, I would actually like to make a video this Spring about the hardships I faced with the Tower Garden last year (and there were many, for different reasons), because like yourself, when troubleshooting for solutions sometimes searching for that stuff can be a pain in the neck! So sharing is important :-) Here in Ontario though, we have had such dismal cold weather it may be just a little while before I get myself set up. And I know OKRA loves hot weather :P Meanwhile though you can ask me any specific questions you may run into! ~ Blessings ~
Hey Allegra When you anticipate your seedlings will be ready in a few days time that they can move to their bigger home, you can set up the Tower with water and nutrients and do all that needs to be done, whenever you want really up to a day or a few days before you move things into the Tower. Yes you will want to add nutrients to your filled up water reservoir. Only half strength though, so if you're using the Tower Tonic A and B then that would be 200 ml of each if memory serves me right. As the plants get bigger, probably by the next time you need to top up the reservoir with water, you can go full dose of nutrients (relative to the amount of water you're adding in so always know how much water you're filling in, I use pales or bottles to deposit water into the reservoir, not a watering hose, for one reason being that I'll know how much water is going in). Then I can more reasonably eyeball how much nutrients I'm gonna add. And if the plants are really really flourishing and using water more quickly I tend to use a little less Nutrient solution because water is going quicker than Nutrients are being used up (noteworthy for hot summer days). Eventually, you just get a feel for it and it becomes a little more personal than scientific :-P That's my experience anyway hehe Though a simple battery operated TDS reader is also a cool gadget to measure the parts per million PPM in the water reservoir, so if the number is too high, say over 500 or 600, PROBABLY a sign too much nutrients in there (for tap water). For distilled water which is what I use, I keep it under 300 PPM. Sorry if I inundated you with too much information to your question lol Happy growing tho!!!
+Rosemarie Palmieri Glad you found it helpful :-D And Spring will be here soon'ish, though it's still snowing in Canada lol! Looking forward to germinating again as the weather is tempered. Good luck with your growing!!
I just got my tower garden great vid btw. Even though the seeds might say organic there is nothing organic about growing these since the tonic solution itself is not organic. The plants are feed off a non organic solution
Ya know, in more recent times I've learned that hydroponic growing can achieve more consistent results from synthetic nutrients simply because there is no living byproduct (with some organic liquid nutrients) that can change over time to alter the nutrient/mineral constitution of the solution used. More importantly though, is the obvious apparent nature of a plant to absorb nutrients, it does not discriminate the source of minerals, they are Inorganic in nature anyway, therefore the plant's gonna use and grow whatever you give it to eat :-P Since growing in water and without soil doesn't make use of the traditional web of a mycelium network interacting with bacteria, humus, etc. etc. etc., organic or not organic becomes a mute point with growing hydro/aeroponically, it's just a convenient, space and cost effective way to grow food anywhere that can feed a family Fresh healthy food! That gets my thumbs up. Happy growing my friend!
Hey there. Well, I have not experimented with growing seedlings in coconut coir for use in the Tower Garden. I would say probably, but you would need to make sure of the following: 1) That the coir does not disintegrate when consistently exposed/submerged in water, because you don't want little coconut pieces streaming into the water reservoir and jamming up the pump. 2) That the coir fits adequately into the neti pots on the tower and the roots are able to grow out from them to gain exposure to the trickling water in the tower slots. Are you opting for coconut coir for eco/sustainability purposes?
Thank you Joel for that video. Today I'm starting the germination prep and this video will be very helpful in getting me started. Thank you for your calm demeanour and systematic and clear instructions :) Talk again soon.
Thanks brother :)
Germinating has always been the most challenging aspect of all of this cuz sometimes seeds just do not take for any number of reasons, could be the seeds, could be the pH, could be too much nutrients, etc. After they successfully root, then it is easy breezy from there :-D
Great video!!!
What PH Test kit can I purchase for my tower garden?
Tim Blank says do NOT add the Tower Tonic until the seedlings are at least a couple of inches tall. They will grow a healthier root system if it has to "work" at finding nutrients.
You could follow that advice. I been doing this enough years now to know that what really makes or breaks the deal to successful germination, is good seed that's been properly stored, constant moisture levels of course, and an abundance of light! But you're right seedlings don't need "food" until they start to grow their first true leaves.
Also worth mentioning I no longer germinate seeds in this way as I made a little deep water culture germination station which is how I start my seeds for hydroponics purposes.
What happens when more than one seed germinates in each pod? Do you discard the extra plants, or keep them all bunched together?
This applies whether growing in soil or hydroponics, more often than not, you're going to want to thin it down to just ONE, the strongest looking seedling of the bunch. The only time I might let there be 2 plants growing side by side is for things that grow small or narrow, such as a lettuce or some small green/herb. Keep in mind, 2 plants growing right besides each other, will never grow as large as they could get, if it was growing on its own!
Hi again Joel, I thought you might like this video from Leah Brooks... she grows Okra in her tower garden.
Thank you for your great video. I just purchased the indoor tower with grow lights, and I've seen videos recommending starting seeds directly in the tower as well as in the provided trays. I live in zone 6B (34 - 50 degrees F today) with diminishing sunlight moving into winter, and no great sunny location in which to start my seeds on a window sill. What are your thoughts about starting seeds directly in the tower and using the grow lights? Many thanks!
Hey there Kate! Great question, and I just responded to someone about this, I might copy and paste some details :-P
Your zone ain't too much warmer than mine, guess your outdoor growing season is done'ish!
Don't start seedlings in the Tower tho.
Now some copy and paste haha
It is CRITICAL that those into indoor growing, invest into growing lights. Almost any type of grow light will work fine for starting seeds, they just need to be at the right distance from the seed/plant canopy for it's type (CF about 6" away and LEDs usually 1.5 to 2 feet away). Without the adequate lighting, the seedlings always become leggy and weak and may not survive the long haul. Beside a window just doesn't cut it.
Once the seedlings have developed their first or second pair of TRUE leaves, their "neck" is done stretching, and with close proximity to the lights that neck stem won't stretch much from the start, that's what you want.
You Cannot start seeds in the tower garden itself, because the lights are far too distant from the seeds. You'll produce plants with a poor support structure. Mature seedlings need to be nurtured first before being transplanted into the garden!
@@CardinalGardener thank you for your time and invaluable instructions! I'm very excited to start the germination process effectively. I have LED grow lights on positional gooseneck armatures that attach to the tower top. I can angle them to shine as you've directed over the grow boxes.
Very Helpful Joel. I will share w/ my customers who I encourage to start w/ seed.
Your videos are excellent! I throughly enjoy them and have learned a great deal from them. Thank you!
Your Tower Garden videos are very helpful and appreciated. Is there any chance you would consider doing a video of any problems and solutions, tips and comments you have after using your Tower Garden for nearly a year? I have been watching many videos and find yours very easy to watch and absorb and your instructions are excellent. We are awaiting arrival of the the family TG (3 towers plus extensions) and I want to get as much info as possible to be prepared to grow well from the beginning. Thank you for your time. Jackie
That was a lovely link, thank you Jackie! You've inspired me to play with Okra again this year in the Tower!
As per your request, I would actually like to make a video this Spring about the hardships I faced with the Tower Garden last year (and there were many, for different reasons), because like yourself, when troubleshooting for solutions sometimes searching for that stuff can be a pain in the neck! So sharing is important :-)
Here in Ontario though, we have had such dismal cold weather it may be just a little while before I get myself set up. And I know OKRA loves hot weather :P
Meanwhile though you can ask me any specific questions you may run into!
~ Blessings ~
When do i plug up the tower garden? Do i wait for the seeds to germinate before adding nutrients to the tower ?
Hey Allegra
When you anticipate your seedlings will be ready in a few days time that they can move to their bigger home, you can set up the Tower with water and nutrients and do all that needs to be done, whenever you want really up to a day or a few days before you move things into the Tower. Yes you will want to add nutrients to your filled up water reservoir. Only half strength though, so if you're using the Tower Tonic A and B then that would be 200 ml of each if memory serves me right. As the plants get bigger, probably by the next time you need to top up the reservoir with water, you can go full dose of nutrients (relative to the amount of water you're adding in so always know how much water you're filling in, I use pales or bottles to deposit water into the reservoir, not a watering hose, for one reason being that I'll know how much water is going in). Then I can more reasonably eyeball how much nutrients I'm gonna add. And if the plants are really really flourishing and using water more quickly I tend to use a little less Nutrient solution because water is going quicker than Nutrients are being used up (noteworthy for hot summer days). Eventually, you just get a feel for it and it becomes a little more personal than scientific :-P
That's my experience anyway hehe
Though a simple battery operated TDS reader is also a cool gadget to measure the parts per million PPM in the water reservoir, so if the number is too high, say over 500 or 600, PROBABLY a sign too much nutrients in there (for tap water). For distilled water which is what I use, I keep it under 300 PPM.
Sorry if I inundated you with too much information to your question lol
Happy growing tho!!!
Thanks for the video!! Just received my Tower Garden.. very helpful video!!
+Rosemarie Palmieri Glad you found it helpful :-D And Spring will be here soon'ish, though it's still snowing in Canada lol! Looking forward to germinating again as the weather is tempered. Good luck with your growing!!
I just got my tower garden great vid btw. Even though the seeds might say organic there is nothing organic about growing these since the tonic solution itself is not organic. The plants are feed off a non organic solution
Ya know, in more recent times I've learned that hydroponic growing can achieve more consistent results from synthetic nutrients simply because there is no living byproduct (with some organic liquid nutrients) that can change over time to alter the nutrient/mineral constitution of the solution used. More importantly though, is the obvious apparent nature of a plant to absorb nutrients, it does not discriminate the source of minerals, they are Inorganic in nature anyway, therefore the plant's gonna use and grow whatever you give it to eat :-P
Since growing in water and without soil doesn't make use of the traditional web of a mycelium network interacting with bacteria, humus, etc. etc. etc., organic or not organic becomes a mute point with growing hydro/aeroponically, it's just a convenient, space and cost effective way to grow food anywhere that can feed a family Fresh healthy food! That gets my thumbs up.
Happy growing my friend!
Can I use coconut coir instead of rock wool?
Hey there. Well, I have not experimented with growing seedlings in coconut coir for use in the Tower Garden. I would say probably, but you would need to make sure of the following:
1) That the coir does not disintegrate when consistently exposed/submerged in water, because you don't want little coconut pieces streaming into the water reservoir and jamming up the pump.
2) That the coir fits adequately into the neti pots on the tower and the roots are able to grow out from them to gain exposure to the trickling water in the tower slots.
Are you opting for coconut coir for eco/sustainability purposes?
Joel Simoes Yes and it has just worked so well for me in other growing projects. Figured I would give it a try.