AeroGarden 507140-0000 AD User Manual

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Planting & Growing Guide

arden

arden

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tarter

tarter

ray

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English

NOTE:
Do not unwrap Tray until you are ready to plant your seeds. The plastic
cover retains moisture that is critical for easy planting and fast germination.

Contents

Introduction

Garden Starter Tray Basics .........................2

What’s Inside .............................................2

Additional Supplies ..................................... 3

Planning Your Garden–

Seed Selection

Sample Gardens .........................................3

Your Seed Planting Schedule

Last Frost Date ............................................4

Rate of Growth ........................................... 4

When to Transplant.....................................4

Seeding Your Garden Starter Tray

Tray Layout ................................................. 6

Number of Seeds ........................................ 7

Seed Depth ...............................................8

Changing Dibble Size ............................8

Place Seeds in Grow Sponge ......................9

Moving Seedlings to Your

Outdoor Garden

Hardening Off .......................................... 14

When to Plant ........................................... 14

Water Garden ........................................... 14

Transplanting Seedlings ............................. 15

Caring For Young Seedlings

Daily Watering ......................................... 16

Frost ........................................................ 16

What to Expect ......................................... 16

Appendices

Troubleshooting ........................................ 16

Prepare for Your Next

Garden Starter Tray ................................... 18

Blank Planting Schedule ............................ 19

Blank 6- and 7-Pod Tray Layout ................. 21

Blank Space•Saver 6 Tray Layout ...............22

Blank Seeding Log .....................................23

Setting Up Your AeroGarden

Place Tray in AeroGarden ......................... 11

Tending Your Seedlings

Add Water ................................................ 12

Add Nutrients ........................................... 12

Thin Plants ................................................ 13

Planning Your Outdoor

Vegetable Garden

Prepare Your Soil ...................................... 13

Plant Size .................................................. 13

Garden Plans ............................................ 13

Photos of Garden Starter Tray for

AeroGarden 6 and all 7-Pod model

AeroGardens are shown throughout this

Guide to accompany instructions.

The same instructions apply to

Space•Saver 6 Garden Starter Tray.

Additional blank Planting Schedules,

Seeding Logs, Tray Layouts and

Quick Start Guides are available at

www.aerogardensupport.com

The Garden Starter Tray enables

you to use your AeroGarden to
start seedlings for transplanting
into an outdoor garden. In just

a small amount of space,

with
minimal care, you can now start
up to 66 seedlings

(36 seedlings

for Space•Saver 6 models) and
get a jump-start on the outdoor
gardening season.

This Guide will assist you in deciding what to grow, when to start your seeds,
how to seed the Garden Starter Tray and how to care for and transplant your
seedlings to an outdoor soil garden or containers. We recommend that you
read this entire Guide before starting your seeds.

Introduction

Garden Starter Tray Basics

The Garden Starter Tray has supplies for starting 36 or 66 seedlings (depending on model you are using) –
enough to start a summer vegetable or butterfly flower garden for your yard.

What’s Inside (66 Seedling Garden Starter Tray shown)

Grow Sponge Opening

Seed Tray

Do not unwrap Tray until
you are ready to plant your
seeds. The plastic cover re-

moisture that is critical

tains

!

for easy planting and fast
germination.

Small Nutrient

Tablets (4)

Biodegradable, pre-moistened

Grow Sponge with Dibble

(36 or 66)

Large Nutrient

Tablets (6)

2

Introduction (Continued)

Additional Supplies

There are a few additional items that you will need.

Seeds

AeroGarden with Deck removed

Watering Can

Planning Your Garden – Seed Selection

Sample Gardens

There are thousands of seed choices available to grow in your Garden Starter Tray. To simplify the plan-
ning process, we’ve provided some plant lists for theme gardens that you can start in your Tray. Feel free to
modify the lists any way you like, or plant a garden of your own design.

Spring Summer Butterfly Children’s Kitchen Herb Cutting
Vegetables Vegetables Garden Garden Garden Garden

Lettuces Beans Alyssum Beans Basil Zinnias

Spinach Tomatoes Cosmos Pumpkins Oregano Black-Eyed Susans

Scallions Bell Peppers Nasturtiums Watermelons Thyme Dianthus

Beets Chilies Petunias Cucumbers Cilantro Snapdragons

Radishes Cantaloupe Verbenas Crazy Carrots* Mint Phlox

Swiss Chard Cucumbers Candytufts Marigolds Sage Rudbeckias

Broccoli Eggplants Phlox Nasturtiums Parsley Calendulas

Brussels Sprouts Zucchinis Zinnias Savory Campanulas

Cabbages Dill Foxglove

Cauliflower Sorrel Coreopsis

* Carrot seedlings transplanted from a Garden Starter Tray into our outdoor test garden grew into some wild and twisted shapes.

Children (and adults) had fun harvesting, naming and eating them. If you’re up for some garden surprises, sow some carrot
seeds in your Garden Starter Tray. To see pictures of our one-of-a-kind Crazy Carrots, please see page 16 of this Guide.

3

Your Seed Planting Schedule

Determining when to plant seeds in your Tray so that they are ready at the right time depends
on a few factors: the last frost date for your area, what you want to plant and how quickly each

seed type germinates and grows into a seedling ready to transplant.

Last Frost Date

The last frost date is, on average, the last day in the spring that you might have a frost that can
damage tender plants. It is a useful date to know when starting seeds indoors.

A great resource for specific information for your area is a local master gardener, someone at a
garden supply store or a local cooperative extension agent.

You can also check the internet for Last Frost Dates in your part of the world.

Rate of Growth

You will find that seeds started in the Garden
Starter Tray germinate and grow much faster than

you may have experienced with other seed start­ing systems. That said, not all plants germinate
and grow at the same rate.
toes and peppers need
seedlings are ready for transplanting. In compari­son, beans and cucumbers grow much quicker
and need only 2 weeks of growth in the Garden
Starter Tray until they are ready to transplant. This
information is sometimes provided on the back
of seed packets, but as with much gardening,
the best guidance is from experience: your
or a trusted expert at a gardening store or local
cooperative extension service. Use this informa­tion with the last frost date to calculate the earliest
date to start seeds.

For example, toma-

about 6 weeks until the

own,

When to Transplant

Some plants can withstand frost, others require
frost free days and certain soil temperatures to
thrive. For example, beets, lettuce and some
flower seedlings can all be transplanted several
weeks before the last frost. Summer crops, such as
cucumbers, tomatoes, melons and beans, should
only be transplanted after the last frost date. Your
seed packet is the best source of “when to plant”
information. Keep in mind, you do not need to
seed the entire Tray at one time. Instead, you can
stagger when you seed your Tray. For example,
you can seed some Grow Sponges with spring

crops that can withstand a frost, transplant the
seedlings outside and then seed the remaining
Grow Sponges with summer vegetables or flow­ers that need warmer outdoor weather to thrive.

Putting It All Together: Creating a Staggered

Planting Schedule

Following are two examples of how to create a
staggered planting schedule. Use the blank Plant-
ing Schedule on page 19 of this Guide to calcu­late and keep track of your seed starting dates
for each plant type. In each example, a sample
Planting Schedule is provided. A month-to-month
calendar also comes in handy when setting up
your planting schedule.

Example 1: Planting schedule for summer
vegetables to transplant after the last frost
(e.g., non-frost tolerant plants).

Suppose you live in Lansing, Michigan, U.S.A.
and want to grow tomato, pepper and cucumber
seedlings, which are not frost tolerant. The last
frost date for this area is May 7 (date obtained
from internet). Tomato and pepper seeds need
about 6 weeks to grow before hardening off (see
“Hardening Off” on page 14 of this Guide).

Using a calendar to count backwards 6 weeks
from the last frost date (May 7),
starting date of March 26
pers. Cucumbers need only 2 weeks to grow, so
counting backwards 2 weeks from the last frost
date (May 7), gives you a seed starting date of

gives you a seed

for tomatoes and pep-

Continued on next page

4

Your Seed Planting Schedule (Continued)

April 23 or 4 weeks after starting your tomato and
pepper seeds. All seedlings will be ready to harden

by May 7. An example of a completed Planting
Schedule (shown below) includes all this information.

Planting Schedule

Last Frost Date:

Weeks to Earliest Seed Ready to Transplant
Plants Grow Starting Date Harden Off Date Notes

Tomatoes 6 weeks March 26 May 7 May 17 For cucumbers ­Peppers 6 weeks March 26 May 7 May 17 Seed 4 weeks after
Cucumbers 2 weeks April 23 May 7 May 17 tomatoes & peppers.

Sample Planting Schedule for seeding non-frost tolerant plants. See page 19-20 for blank Planting Schedules.

Example 2: Planting schedule for both frost
tolerant and non-frost tolerant plants.

Continuing with the example from Lansing,
Michigan, U.S.A. (where the last frost date

7), suppose you want to also start seedlings for
frost tolerant plants such as lettuce, beets, chard
and scallions, as well as for non-frost tolerant
plants such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

Scallions, beets, and chard seeds need about 2
weeks to grow until the seedlings are ready for
hardening off. The lettuce seeds grow quicker and
can be planted a week after the scallions, beets

May 7

is May

and chard seeds. In addition, these plants can all
tolerate a frost and can
ground 6 weeks

before the last frost date.

You’ll need another 1½ weeks to harden off the
lettuce, scallions, beets and chard plants before
transplanting outside (more on this on page 14 of
this Guide). Using a calendar to count backwards
9½ weeks (2 weeks + 6 weeks + 1½ weeks)
gives you a seed starting date of February 28. An
example of a completed Planting Schedule (shown
below) includes all this information.

usually be planted in the

Planting Schedule

Last Frost Date:

Frost Tolerant Weeks to Earliest Seed Ready to Transplant
Plants Grow Starting Date Harden Off Date Notes

Scallions 2 weeks February 28 March 14 March 24
Beets 2 weeks February 28 March 14 March 24 For lettuce - Seed 1 week
Chard 2 weeks February 28 March 14 March 24 after scallions, beets & chard.
Lettuce 1 week March 7 March 14 March 24

Non-Frost Tolerant Plants

Tomatoes 6 weeks March 26 May 7 May 17 Start seedlings after trans-
planting spring crops outside.
Peppers 6 weeks March 26 May 7 May 17 For cucumbers - Seed 4 weeks
Cucumbers 2 weeks April 23 May 7 May 17 after tomatoes & peppers.

Sample Planting Schedule for seeding frost tolerant and non-frost tolerant plants. See pages 19-20 for blank Planting Schedules.

May 7

5

Seeding Your Garden Starter Tray

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lettuce

scallions

chard

chard

chard

chard

chard

chard

cucumber

cucumber

cucumber

cucumber

cucumber

cucumber

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

scallions

beets

beets

beets

beets

scallions

lettuce

scallions

cucumber

tomato

scallions

scallions

lettuce

scallions

scallions

scallions

lettuce

scallions

scallions

cucumber

tomato

scallions

scallions

lettuce

scallions

scallions

scallions

lettuce

lettuce

lettuce

lettuce

lettuce

lettuce

lettuce

scallions

scallions

cucumber

tomato

scallions

scallions

scallions

peppers

peppers

Once you have decided which seeds to plant and when to start them, the next step is to decide
where in the Tray to plant seeds, how many seeds to plant in each Grow Sponge and how deep
to plant
(page 23) to keep track of your

seeds. We recommend using a Blank Tray Layout (pages 21-22) and/or Seeding Log

choices and create a Seeding Plan.

outs and Seeding Logs available at www.aerogardensupport.com.)

Tray Layout

The Grow Sponges are all the same size and receive
the same amount of light, warmth and moisture.
Following are a few guidelines that will help you
decide where to plant each seed type. Use a blank
Tray Layout (pages 21-22 of this Guide, or online
at www.aerogardensupport.com) to work out and
record your Seeding Plan (sample shown below).

•

Use the outer Grow Sponges for seedlings with
large, spreading leaves (such as beans, cucumbers
and okra) to prevent them

from shading other seed-

lings in your Tray.

• For a staggered seeding of plants with the same

planting out date (e.g., all frost tolerant plants or
all non-frost tolerant plants) use the inner Grow

Sponges for the slow growing seeds (which get
seeded first) and the outer Grow Sponges for
the fast

growing seeds. This allows you to plant
the fast growing seeds without reaching over
and potentially damaging the seedlings that are
already growing.

• For a staggered planting of seeds with different

planting out dates (such as
scallion, chard, tomato,
example on bottom of page 5 of this Guide),
consider using every other Grow Sponge for
the planting of frost tolerant plants. Again, this
will ensure that leaves from the larger non-frost
tolerant seedlings get enough light.

(Additional blank Tray Lay-

the lettuce, beet,

pepper and cucumber

Seeding Plan

(AeroGarden 6 and all 7-Pod AeroGarden models)

Seeding Log

1 lettu ce
2 lettu ce
3 lettu ce
4 lettu ce
5 lettu ce
6 lettu ce
7 tomato

Sample Seeding Plan for frost tolerant and non-frost tolerant plants from Example 2 on page 5.
Blank Tray Layouts and Seeding Logs found on pages 21-24 of this Guide and also available at www.aerogardensupport.com.

Continued on next page

6

Seeding Your Garden Starter Tray (Continued)

1 5

4 9 14

3 8

7

13

12 17

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28 32

29 33 35

30 34 36

10 15

2 6 11 16

scallions

chard

chard

chard

chard

cucumber

cucumber

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

tomato

scallions

beets

beets

beets

scallions

scallions

scallions

lettuce

scallions

scallions

lettuce

scallions

tomato

scallions

lettuce

lettuce

scallions

scallions

scallions

peppers

lettuce

lettuce

Seeding Plan (Space•Saver 6 AeroGarden models)

Seeding Log

1 lettu ce
2 lettu ce
3 tomato
4 tomato
5 tomato
6 tomato
7 scallions

Sample Seeding Plan for frost tolerant and non-frost tolerant plants from Example 2 on page 5.
Blank Tray Layouts and Seeding Logs found on pages 21-24 of this Guide and also available at www.aerogardensupport.com.

Number of Seeds

As with an outdoor garden, it is important to plant extra seeds in each Grow Sponge to ensure
germination success. A good rule of thumb is to sow only a few extra seeds for large seeds and
fruiting plants. Increase amount of seeds as seed size gets smaller and for plants that grow in
bunches, such as chives. For small seeds, typically 6 seeds does the trick. The table below pro­vides recommendations of how many seeds to plant in each Grow Sponge.

Recommended Number of Seeds per Grow Sponge and Dibble Size

Seed Size Small Medium Large

Example

Number of Seeds
per Grow Sponge

Recommended
Dibble Size

lettuce, scallions,

chives, basil

Universal Dibble

1

/4” wide and 3/8” deep

(already in each

Grow Sponge)

6 4 2

beets, chard, tomatoes,

peppers, eggplant

Universal Dibble

1

/4” wide and 3/8” deep

(already in each

Grow Sponge)

beans, cucumbers, melon

Enlarge Dibble

to just larger than the

size of the seed

(see facing page)

7