Bottom line. I got my Tower Garden when the pandemic started. But it has become so much more than a solution to ease my fears of running out of food. I was slightly interested in gardening, but the thought of the back breaking work in dirt was a deterrent. Let me be clear. I fear the bugs. I do not mind dirt, I mind bugs.
I knew my friend had aero or hydroponic gardens I did not know what it was, I just knew she grew her own food and I wanted in. I looked to build my own, it seemed like a simple design, easy enough for a handy girl like me to replicate. I even found videos online to show how to build them, I found knock offs, I found a lot of details online about setting up a aeroponics garden. I went as far as figuring out all the parts and adding up the costs of material. As I looked over my figures proudly, at some cost savings, I realized that my costs to build were close to the cost of purchasing a Tower Garden, and building it was half the issue.
How would I figure out how to plant, how to care for, what to do if something is not right. Sure, I had my friend with a Tower Garden, but she travels and is not available all the time. I did not know what I needed to use to make the plants grow. What seeds to use, where to get the best seeds from. Could I put potatoes in there? A lot of questions came over me and the pride of my calculations faded. What I did not find in my math was the community and support around growing with aeroponics.
I called my friend and told her I was looking at the Tower Gardens. She explained the costs could be spread out over a year with the payment plan. I continued to do more research. What I found that convinced me to Purchase a Tower Garden included these key points.
Materials: The Tower Garden is made from food grade plastic. If I am going to the hardware store for parts, I am getting whatever is on the shelf. I looked at ordering food grade PVC, but for the size I needed the prices went up. I saw people using 5-gallon buckets and fencing posts. How do I know that is the best materials for my plants to live in. I mean this is my food. Can I take that chance? No. I found out that the material Tower Garden uses are food safe and will not harm my plants.
Plant Care: How should plants grown in an aeroponics setup. Do they need food, what do I feed them? I saw a lot of hydroponics setups and again, there is a difference. I did not see a lot of consistent and detailed information about how to group with air and water. I wanted to know from seed to plate what to do. I did not find that information.
Community: I setup my Tower Garden in March of 2020 in New Jersey, if you know anything about the gardening season on the east coast, which I did not. It does not start until May, after mother’s day is usually safe to put plant outside. Well, I had no idea, I put my Tower out and freaked out when the temps dropped into the 20’s.
My friend organized a call to an expert, and I asked questions about what do. He explained how to handle the situation and told me my plants would be ok. I appreciated that. Not to mention the Tower Garden Communities on Facebook. I asked the most basic questions, and everyone answers with patients and understand. Everyone was new once. That was priceless, I could not put a monetary value on that type of support.
After evaluating the costs with the added criteria of really learning what to do to be successful. I decided to get a Tower Garden and I know I made the right choice. I had a great growing season. It has been a year now. Happy Anniversary to Louise, my Tower! If you have any questions about a Tower Garden or growing with aeroponics, please drop me a line. I love talking plants. If you want to get one, go to bit.ly/CALLCD4TG.
Bottom line. I got my Tower Garden when the pandemic started. But it has become so much more than a solution to ease my fears of running out of food. I was slightly interested in gardening, but the thought of the back breaking work in dirt was a deterrent. Let me be clear. I fear the bugs. I do not mind dirt, I mind bugs.
I knew my friend had aero or hydroponic gardens I did not know what it was, I just knew she grew her own food and I wanted in. I looked at the price and immediately got sticker shock. I then looked to build my own, it seemed like a simple design, easy enough for a handy girl like me to replicate. I even found videos online to show how to build them, I found knock offs, I found a lot of details online about setting up a aeroponics garden. I went as far as figuring out all the parts and adding up the costs of material. As I looked over my figures proudly, at some cost savings, I realized building was half the issue.
What was missing was next steps. How to plant, how to care for, what to do if something is not right. Sure, I had my friend with a Tower Garden, but she travels and is not available all the time. I did not know what I needed to use to make the plants grow. What seeds to use, where to get the best seeds from. Could I put potatoes in there? A lot of questions came over me and the pride of my calculations faded. What I did not find in my math was the community and support around growing with aeroponics.
I called my friend and told her I was looking at the Tower Gardens, but the price was steep. She explained the costs could be spread out over a year with the payment plan. That made me feel better, I continued to do more research. What I found that convinced me was a few key points.
Materials: The Tower Garden is made from food grade plastic. If I am going to the hardware store for parts, I am getting whatever is on the shelf. I looked at ordering food grade PVC, but for the size I needed the prices went up. I saw people using 5-gallon buckets and fencing posts. How do I know that is the best materials for my plants to live in. I mean this is my food. Can I take that chance? No. I found out that the material Tower Garden uses are food safe and will not harm my plants.
Plant Care: How should plants grown in an aeroponics setup. Do they need food, what do I feed them? I saw a lot of hydroponics setups and again, there is a difference. I did not see a lot of consistent and detailed information about how to group with air and water. I wanted to know from seed to plate what to do. I did not find that information.
Community: I setup my Tower Garden in March of 2020 in New Jersey, if you know anything about the gardening season on the east coast, which I did not. It does not start until May, after mother’s day is usually safe to put plant outside. Well, I had no idea, I put my Tower out and freaked out when the temps dropped into the 20’s.
My friend organized a call to an expert, and I asked questions about what do. He explained how to handle the situation and told me my plants would be ok. I appreciated that. Not to mention the Tower Garden Communities on Facebook. I asked the most basic questions, and everyone answers with patients and understand. Everyone was new once. That was priceless, I could not put a monetary value on that type of support.
After evaluating the costs with the added criteria of really learning what to do to be successful. I decided to get a Tower Garden and I know I made the right choice. I had a great growing season. It has been a year now. Happy Anniversary to Louise, my Tower! If you have any questions about a Tower Garden or growing with aeroponics, please drop me a line. I love talking plants. If you want to get one, go to bit.ly/CALLCD4TG.