Even on a small scale, you're probably starting to notice the ways that raising food has you developing practices that will change your life forever. You might feel closer to the natural cycles of the world as you watch the observe the lifecycle of your plants. Here are some daily touchpoints for getting and staying in touch with your Farmstand.
Plants thrive on just a little bit of attention; as the old saying goes, the farmer's shadow is the best fertilizer. Take a few quiet moments each day to see how your plant friends are feeling. If anything seems amiss, dig a little deeper to make sure your Farmstand's water is circulating, the power is working, and that the pump is not clogged. If all of the above is working but your plants still look a little less than healthy, it's possible they're not getting the nutrients they need. Not to worry, that's an easy fix - just check your pH and adjust if necessary.
Plant, Eat, Repeat!
At this point you should be harvesting a little (or a lot) each week, depending on your plant varieties. Remember to trust your senses and if something looks ready, it most likely is. Unsure? Re-visit our blog on harvesting. The fun part about growing your own food is that you get to decide when something's ready for you - harvest at the perfect moment for your palate and what you're cooking.
Remember to prune your larger plants and order seedlings to replace what you harvest. Empty ports allow for excess water evaporation. Keep an eye on the roots of some of these larger plants; an occasional light pruning of their roots ensures that they won't prevent water from reaching all of the plants on your Farmstand evenly. Overgrown plants can make maintenance a pain so occasional pruning will save you time and effort.
Once you've been growing for 3 months, you'll be ready to reset your Farmstand. This means:
taking out all your plants,
separating the levels and cleaning out any old roots that prevent even water flow
and cleaning old roots off the grow cups
Follow along with the video below for more details. Depending on how much root matter you have, and how dirty the outside of your Farmstand is, you can do a lighter reset, skipping the internal scrub (shown in the video).
We'd love to get your feedback by filling out this survey!
