The Hydroponics Experiment (Part 10 – Frugal)

Tomato Emoji and Flying Money with Wings EmojiMost hobbies are expensive. And right now, my adventure into farming is still at the hobby level. After growing a few boxes of tomatoes, and a lot of soggy lettuce, I was wondering if I should just give up on the AeroGarden. One consistent finding in the “Hydroponics Experiment” is that it’s simply cheaper to buy veggies at Costco or the local grocery store. I like the idea of growing my own food. But if this is going to work, I really have to cut costs.

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The Hydroponics Experiment (Part 9 – The Pollination)

Pollination - Bee EmojiHydroponics is a great project for me, as I don’t like dirt or bugs. There’s a problem with that mindset though. Pollination is needed to make the tomato fruits grow. That usually involves bees fluttering their little wings around the flowers. A strong wind could also shake the whole plant. But with an indoors AeroGarden setup, neither action was occurring. To ensure that my tomato plants would produce lots of tasty fruits, a bit of technology was used.

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The Hydroponics Experiment (Part 8 – Pruning)

Angelic Tomato EmojiIf you’re thinking about picking up an AeroGarden as a hobby, you should know something important – IT’S BORING! After five weeks, there hasn’t been a whole lot of involvement. Most of the upkeep involves filling the AeroGarden water and occasionally tossing in some nutrients. Although, there were a few interesting events during this project. In life, there are ups and downs. And since the tomato plants are living things, it too had its share of achievements and setbacks.

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The Hydroponics Experiment (Part 7 – Day Zero)

AeroGarden - Tomatoes GerminatingFrom October 24 to November 13, Costco Wholesales is having a sale on the Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Ultra LED. At $159.99 – with the cherry tomato kit – it’s $40 off the usual price. Still feeling badly from my failed hydroponics experiment, I decided to try yet again. After squishy lettuce and slimy tomatoes, picking a different hobby seems like a reasonable decision. Yet, I can be relentlessly stubborn. With all the time I spend in front of the computer, the idea of growing vegetables seems relaxing.

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