Seed Starter

   I followed the directions putting the Tower Garden together with a few exceptions and advice from friends already doing the Tower Garden.
   1) I held off filling the resevoir with water until my seedlings are ready to transfer onto the tower. This was recommended because light will enter through the baskets if they are not filled and cause algae to grow in the water.
   2) Once the resevoir is filled with water I will test and set the water pump for the proper level before mixing the nutrient solution. Then I won't have to wear gloves and won't have to get my hands in the nutrient solution once. After the pump is set I will mix the solution and check and adjust the PH.
                                                        3) I decided to start with seeds in the included seed starter. I took the advice offered by the Tower Garden instructions to avoid introducing any potential diseases from potted store plants into my nutrient solution.
    I made a diagram of my seed layout in the minature seed greenhouse. I labeled what seeds I placed into each rockwool pod so that I can later place the right seedlings at the right level. I plan to put my leafy vegetables near the top and my fruiting vines near the bottom with the larger fruits near the back of the balacony so I can train them to climb on the deck rails. Now we wait for those wonderful green sprouts to appear!

My Tower Garden is Here!

It's Here!!

   My Tower Garden has arrived. I am so excited. I have tried a lot of gardening methods including Four Square Gardening, row gardening, raised beds, and indoor hydroponics. Even tried the Garden boxes, which didn't go so well during the year of the drought. I was most successful at my first raised bed four square garden where I mixed my own soil and used garden paths in between each 4x4 bed.
     My indoor hydroponics garden would have been successful if I had only planted greens indoors over the winter. I had the tallest tomato plants and green pepper plants that reached the ceiling, only they refused to set fruit. Since we have moved to the ranch, my gardens have  produced little fruit and what fruit was produced was eaten by insects or destroyed by disease.
  I had all but given up on gardening until I learned about the Tower Garden. It is similiar to the hydroponics garden except it adds vertical gardening. This is the only method I decided to try that was actually recommended by friends I know that are using it instead of just internet testimonies on some website. I have gotten a chance to see and try their produce and it is amazing.
      If you get a chance to see the Tower Garden up close, it doesn't take long to be totally amazed by the amount of wonderful produce in a small amount of space. And not only does it conserve space and water but the produce is the best I have ever seen, even fresher than the farmers market. You can literally take your plate to the garden. It doesn't get more fresh picked than that.
    The science is called aeroponics. Click here to see it  being used at The Land at the Epcot center.  http://thephotogardenbee.com/2010/01/05/aeroponics-gardens-at-epcot-part-iii-the-land/
The Tower Garden was designed using the same technology used at the Epcot center.
   You can follow this blog and see step by step how the Tower Garden works for an amateur and relatively unsuccessful garden like myself. Will I be able to grow From Tower to Table as promised? Let's find out!

Unpacking

   So far so good. The box came in three days which was four days earlier than the expected delivery date. Opening the box I found it well organized, carefully packaged, and easy to remove  by myself. I found the written instructions and a DVD. I proceeded to assembly the Tower Garden in less than 15 minutes. No tools required. The best part was the DVD that came with it had assembly instructions which were extremely simple to follow. No reading required!

Instructions

 

Making sure it's Level

The first thing was to find a level location and set the base out where it can get full sun. Then we added a pump and tube.
     Again I just followed the instructions on the DVD, pausing between steps and following along until the entire Tower Garden was assembled.

Growing sections slide on to rods

I added the rods and then the growing sections to the base. At the top I placed the shower cap on.

Shower Cap

Fully Assembled Tower Garden

The last step was putting in the baskets into each of the 20 growing ports. That is it. So simple. So nice looking on the deck.

   Tomorrow morning we will fill the reservoir and adjust the pump for the proper action. Then we'll mix our solution, check the Ph, and start our seedlings. Follow along and you can see exactly how long it takes to go from Tower to Table!

www.kbrixey.towergarden.com