Growing basil hydroponically - By now I've grown many types of basil, including sweet basil, genovese basil, thai basil, amethyst basil. These grow quite well hydroponically and with a grow light.
Succulents - I've also started growing many succulents. They are all relatively easy to take care of. They don't need to be watered frequently and prefer plenty of light, whether from sunlight or a grow light.
Pepper plants - Most of these hadn't fruited while I grew them indoors. However, after starting to grow them outdoors, they grew bigger and finally started growing flowers! Some of them have started growing peppers as well. I saw bees frequently flying out and about during the summer and going from flower to flower. In the fall, they are now growing peppers!
Growing basil hydroponically - The basil plant I'd been growing in a mason jar had steadily outgrown the jar. It had gotten so big that it'd drink all the hydroponic solution in the jar after just 7 days! Since I'd like this to be a passive system, I transferred the basil plant into a deep water culture system with an air pump and air stone where it continued to thrive.
Monsterra plant - About 8 months ago, I was given a monsterra plant (AKA swiss cheese plant) cutting from a friend. I left it to grow in a small wine glass where it had been growing very slowly and steadily. However, recently it started developing yellow spots on its leaves so I decided to transfer it into soil where it's now passively watered by a ceramic watering stake.
After some research online, the yellow spots may be due to the dry winter atmosphere in my apartment. However, it appears to be growing a little more quickly after being transferred into soil.
Pruning pepper plants - After trimming some of my pepper plants, they appear to be growing more quickly than before! They grew new stems from which more leaves have grown. They're bushier than they would've been had I not pruned them.
Carolina reapers - These have been growing slowly and steadily for the past few months. I moved a few into bigger pots and they're continuing to grow. I recently tried using Blumat watering stakes to automatically water a few of these and they appear to be doing better than when I manually water them.
Growing basil hydroponically - I'm using the Kratky method to grow a basil plant in a mason jar containing hydroponic solution. It's thriving and doing better than the original basil plant that's currently growing in soil.
Automatic watering systems - I've set up a couple different types of automatic watering systems: a timer-based water pump, passive ceramic watering stakes.
The ceramic watering stakes are connected to thin water tubes that draw water from a nearby water reservoir. These watering stakes are simpler to set up than the automatic watering pump and have been performing quite well for maintaining a constant moisture level for a few pepper plants.
Starting in June, I'm changing the format of my updates a bit to post a few small updates every few days. I'll also organize ongoing projects and purchases separate from the daily logs.
June 14 - I bought a larger shelf so I'll have more space to plant more plants. Also I'd like to be able to garden while standing up more. This current setup is low to the floor, which isn't the most convenient. The mojito mint cuttings I tried propagating have grown roots very quickly after I left them in water for a few days.
June 12 - The broccoli microgreens I started growing are doing quite well. I planted them in a 50/50 mix of organic potting soil and coconut coir and they're growing to a healthy size so far. The lentil microgreens I started growing are growing quite tall too. I'll need to figure out a good time to harvest them. I started also trying out growing plants hydroponically using the kratky method. At first I'm starting with some spinach seedlings and a basil cutting. Let's see how they do!
June 6 - I bought some broccoli seeds so I can try growing broccoli microgreens too. I also bought some hydroponic nutrients and net pots so I can try growing plants hydroponically in addition to growing them in various soil mediums.
June 3 - It's early June and I'm experimenting with growing more types of microgreens. I'm giving quinoa another chance. This time I soaked the seeds beforehand so the seeds have a better chance of geminating properly. I did the same thing with lentils and look forward to seeing how these lentil seedlings turn out.
Carolina Reaper pepper plants - I replanted a few of these into larger containers after picking up a tray of 4 seedlings for $2.50 at a local hardware store. They're looking green and healthy. Some have started turning a veiny purple. I need to research why that happens, but otherwise I think these are in great health. Carolina Reapers are officially the spiciest peppers in the world according to the Guinness World Record. I look forward to trying out the peppers someday!
Growing lentil microgreens - I soaked the seeds for about 24 hours and kept them in a damp environment until they started to germinate. Meanwhile, I rinsed them off multiple times a day to prevent them from fermenting. Now I've transplanted the germinating seeds onto a tray. Hopefully this turns out well!
In May, I started gardening with an LED grow light and have been experimenting with growing plants in different ways.
I grew a lot of microgreens in May - mainly amaranth and chia. I've experimented with different kinds of trays and growing mediums for microgreens. A purely hydroponic setup for amaranth greens isn't working out that well. So far I like a 50/50 mix of coconut coir and potting soil. I'll continue experimenting to find what's best.
I mostly tried growing various grocery store plants and microgreens from seeds.
Growing basil in water - I bought some refrigerated basil cuttings at a local grocery store and found that these cuttings could continuing growing in water if prepared properly. One rooted cutting has been transplanted into a small terra cotta pot by now. The rest are still growing in water, with their roots growing longer.
Growing garlic in water - These garlic greens can grow several inches in height. I'm surprised at how large they can grow in just water. The larger cloves also seem to grow larger than smaller garlic cloves.
Growing quinoa microgreens - This was a disaster. I didn't soak the seeds at all before putting them on a tray of soil. Some of them sprouted, but the tray got moldy very quickly and I had to scrap the entire thing. Next time, I'll try soaking them for at least 30 minutes and then sow them afterwards.
Growing leeks in soil - I transplanted the leeks growing in water into small terra cotta pots containing soil. I found that their roots quickly will crowd the bottoms of these small pots and then they appear to stop growing. So I moved them into larger 1-gallon grow bags. They seem to be growing more quickly again.
I bought a few plants this month from the farmer's market and hardware stores. The LED grow light really helps with providing more light throughout the day.
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper plants - These plants weren't doing so well when I got them in April. Their leaves were almost neon green and starting to turn yellow. Then I fertilized them and they came back to life. Their leaves slowly turned a lush green and new leaves are quickly growing. Now they appear to be doing quite well!
300W LED grow light - I bought one of these for the kitchen shelf and it's been great for growing microgreens. I set this light on a 12-18 hour timer.
Mojito mint plant - I bought a small mojito mint plant for $4.50 at the farmer's market. It's been growing bushy rather quickly. Probably the fastest-growing plant I have currently.
Air plants - I got 4 small air plants at a hardware store. They're relatively easy to take care of too. They don't need soil and they survive by extracting water out of their environment. They need watering or misting once in a while. Otherwise, they're content sitting around anywhere.
April was when I started out with gardening ideas. First, I made a closed terrarium for fun with moss from the local park. Then I started wondering what would happen if I left the leek roots in water instead of throwing them away. It turns out the leeks can grow for a few weeks in just water.
Growing leeks in water - While preparing some leeks for dinner one day, instead of throwing away the base of the leeks cut near their roots, I tried growing them in a plate of water instead. This turned out surprisingly well. There seems to be a limit to how large leeks can grow in just water, and it's important to change the water frequently to prevent it from going bad.
Mason jar closed terrarium - One of the first gardening projects I worked on recently was a closed terrarium in a large mason jar, containing rocks and moss and a few small plants from a local park. It also contains layers of charcoal and pebbles.
Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper plants - I bought a small set of 4 of these plants for $2.50 at a local hardware store. Their roots had reached the edges of their homes and they were looking somewhat unhealthy. I found out later that the spots on their leaves are a sign of some kind of bacterial disease. Most online guides suggest throwing the plants away and finding healthy ones, but I decided to try and raise these plants anyways to see how it'd turn out.
Panda plants - I got two of these. These are fluffy succulent plants that don't require constant watering, so they're relatively easy to take care of.