You choose such interesting plants to grow.

Oh, I know it’s not really paint, but that’s where it is usually stocked in the stores. I really like the way it looks (and would have posted this with pictures long ago if my account here worked right). Doesn’t work well with masking tape though, it bonds to the tape and pulls away from the edge when the tape is removed. I just made a collar out of paper to mask off the unpainted areas and it left a really nice soft edge.

Are you getting any lift at all? I’ve found it kind of spits a little bit, once every second or so that you’ve got the pump going, but that’s enough. Mine actually works better when the pump is turned down a little, about 1/2 to 1/3 of full force. Also, you’ve got to keep the reservoir bottle topped up, that’s important. It takes a little tinkering at first, don’t get discouraged…

I question the commitment to sharing knowledge if it is this disorganized/difficult.

meanwhile I can’t get a legitimate entry to post…

I wonder if it’s the rockwool? Somewhere I read that it has a different pH and may need some conditioning first? Is that crazy? I’m a huge fan of something called Bio-Rooters that are sold at Everybody’s Garden Supply here in Portland, so far I’ve had 100% success in germination using them, and you can just plop the sponge into the clay pebbles after they are big enough. Are you feeding the seeds while they are germinating? Maybe they just run out of gas after the first set of leaves. Wish I could be of more help.

Arrowhead bottles here in Oregon have the narrow waist similar to Poland Spring. Do you have those in MT? Otherwise, you can try punching holes in the straight sides of any bottle and then the net cup, and using a bamboo skewer to support the whole shebang.

What happens with yours? Do they die off after the first leaves? Do you start them separately and then move them into the system, or are you starting them directly? This has been one of my standbys, in fact my avatar is the first arugula that I grew. They do seem to thrive on a bit of abuse, my system clogs up a lot and sometimes things will get quite droopy but the rocket always comes back like a champ, maybe you are being too nice to it ;D

no, they’re spongy and won’t disintegrate and clog your system. I’m sure there are other brands out there as well.

http://www.everybodysgardencenter.com/april/shopexd.asp?id=776 price is higher than I remembered, $15.99 but the refills are only $10.99. I put the sponge plug into the net pot surrounded by hydroton and use a clear plastic container leftover from the olive bar at the supermarket to make a mini-greenhouse on my windowsill. There are nutrients and beneficial microbes sufficient for 10 days so you water them with plain water. I like them because once it’s sprouted you can just pop the whole shebang into the ’farm and there’s no shocking the tiny plant by washing the roots.
I came up with the separate sprouting system so I can replace the existing plants as they are harvested.

Definitely recommend starting from seed. You can get a tray and dome with 50 biorooters in a kit for about twelve dollars. The rooting plugs have enough nutrients and beneficial stuff to get the seedlings well established in ten days by watering with plain water, at which point you move them to the farm and start the nutrient solution. Then they go nuts! You can practically watch them grow in real time. Just make sure the seedlings are not directly under the drip and they will be quite happy.

Lettuce, arugula, basil, thyme, nasturtuims and a sungold tomato are all happy in my set up, spinach was a little spindly so I’m trying kale in its place. Frisee is doing great, almost too great, the roots are very dense and I’ve had to prune them to unblock the drainage.