Tower Garden Growing Guide
Discover how easy it is to grow nutrient-dense greens, vegetables, and herbs at home with Tower Garden by Juice Plus! This step-by-step guide walks you through starting seedlings in rockwool, transferring them to your vertical hydroponic garden, and maintaining your Tower Garden for vibrant, healthy produce. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned gardener, you’ll find everything you need to succeed with Tower Garden’s aeroponic system.
What is Rock Wool?
Rockwool is a lightweight, eco-friendly growing medium perfect for starting seedlings in your Tower Garden. Made from spun volcanic rock, rockwool cubes hold water and nutrients while providing plenty of oxygen to encourage rapid, healthy root growth. This makes it ideal for vertical hydroponic gardening, helping you grow nutrient-dense greens and vegetables at home with ease.
Why it matters: Rockwool ensures your seedlings thrive, setting the stage for a bountiful Tower Garden harvest.
Seed Starting Supplies
Your Tower Garden by Juice Plus includes a Seedling Starter Kit with rockwool cubes, vermiculite, a seedling tray, and seeds. For best results, consider adding: Grow Light: For indoor or cold-weather seedling growth. Small Fan: To mimic outdoor conditions. Outlet Timer: To automate light schedules. Heating Mat: To keep seedlings warm. Mineral Blend A and B: Included with your Tower Garden for nutrient-rich growth.
Explore Tower Garden by Juice Plus for accessories to simplify hydroponic gardening at home.
Best Grow Light for Seedlings
For healthy seedlings, choose full-spectrum or broad-spectrum LED or fluorescent grow lights. We recommend the Germinator by Tower Garden, a tabletop LED grow light with a built-in heating pad, creating the perfect environment for starting nutrient-dense greens and herbs indoors.
Why it matters: Proper lighting ensures your seedlings grow strong, ready to thrive in your vertical hydroponic garden.
Starting Seeds in Rockwool
Soak rockwool cubes in water for 30 minutes. Place seeds in the cube’s pre-cut holes (6–12 for small seeds like lettuce or herbs; 1–2 for larger seeds like tomatoes or zucchini). Fill cubes halfway with vermiculite for small seeds, or fully for larger seeds. Place cubes in the seedling tray and label each for easy identification. Add ¼ inch of water to the tray each morning to keep seeds moist.
Pro Tip: Consistent moisture is key to growing nutrient-dense greens at home with Tower Garden.
Light Schedule for Seedlings
Once sprouts appear, move seedlings off any heating mat and provide ample light. Outdoors: Place in full sun for 6–8 hours daily, shielding from strong winds. Indoors: Position a grow light 2–4 inches above seedlings for 14–16 hours daily (use an outlet timer for convenience). Keep rockwool cubes moist but not waterlogged to support healthy growth.
Why it matters: Proper light schedules help your seedlings develop into robust plants for your Tower Garden.
When to Fertilize Seedlings
After 2–3 weeks, when seedlings have true leaves and are 1–2 inches tall, begin fertilizing: Mix a diluted solution of Tower Garden Mineral Blend A and B (refer to image for exact amounts). Add ¼ cup of this solution to the seedling tray each morning instead of plain water. Continue until seedlings are ready to transplant.
Why it matters: Tower Garden’s Mineral Blend delivers essential nutrients for vibrant, nutrient-dense produce.
How to Thin Seedlings
Around the same time you start fertilizing, thin seedlings to reduce competition: For leafy greens and herbs, multiple plants per cube are fine. For larger plants (e.g., tomatoes), use sharp shears to cut weaker seedlings at the base, leaving the strongest one. This improves air circulation and nutrient access, ensuring healthier plants.
Pro Tip: Thinning helps your Tower Garden produce the freshest, most flavorful vegetables and fruits.
Harden Off Seedlings
If moving seedlings from indoors to an outdoor Tower Garden, gradually acclimate them over 7 days- Day 1–2: Place seedlings in filtered sunlight for 2–3 hours. Day 3–4: Increase to 4–5 hours in morning/late afternoon sun. Day 5–7: Expose to full sun for 6–8 hours daily. This process strengthens seedlings for their new environment.
Why it matters: Hardening off ensures your seedlings thrive in your vertical hydroponic garden.
Prepare Your Tower Garden
Set up your Tower Garden in a level, stable location (indoors or outdoors). Fill the reservoir with water and add Tower Garden Mineral Blend A and B at 50% strength for the first month. Test the pH (aim for 5.5–6.5) and adjust with pH+ or pH– as needed. Plug in the pump and lights (if indoors) to ensure they’re working.
Pro Tip: A well-prepared Tower Garden makes growing nutrient-dense greens at home simple and sustainable.
Transfer Seedlings to Your Tower Garden
When seedlings are 3 inches tall with roots protruding from the rockwool cube: Gently insert one seedling per growing port, ensuring the cube touches the bottom of the net pot. For indoor setups, position LED grow lights 2–4 inches above seedlings and set a timer for 14–16 hours of daily light.
Why it matters: Proper transplanting sets your Tower Garden up for a bountiful harvest of fresh produce.
Maintaining Your Tower Garden
Monitor your plants to ensure they stay moist and healthy: Keep the reservoir filled so the pump remains submerged. Add 20 ml of Tower Garden Mineral Blend A and B per gallon of water when refilling. Check pH weekly and after refilling, adjusting to 5.5–6.5 as needed. Inspect plants for pests or nutrient deficiencies and address promptly.
Pro Tip: Regular maintenance ensures your Tower Garden delivers nutrient-dense greens and vegetables year-round.
Harvesting Your Plants
Enjoy the fruits of your labor by harvesting your Tower Garden produce at peak freshness- Leafy Greens and Herbs: Snip leaves or stems as needed once plants are 6–8 inches tall. Regular harvesting encourages regrowth. Vegetables and Fruits: Pick when ripe (e.g., tomatoes when fully colored, zucchini at 6–8 inches long). Use clean scissors to avoid damaging plants.
Why it matters: Harvesting at the right time delivers the freshest, most nutrient-dense greens, vegetables, and fruits.
Discover Tower Garden Seed Packs for Every Grower
Ready to grow a variety of nutrient-dense greens, herbs, and flowers with your Tower Garden? Tower Garden’s new seed packs let you customize your vertical hydroponic garden for any season or taste!
Expand your Tower Garden with ten unique seed packs, available on the Tower Garden website. Unlike the small seed variety in the starter kit, these packs, purchased separately, offer endless options for your vertical hydroponic garden. The Indoor Growing Seed Pack includes spinach, jalapeños, mini snack cucumbers, micro tom tomatoes, sorrel, and Japanese bunching onions. Try the Salsa Seed Pack for cilantro, Anaheim and jalapeño peppers, Cherokee purple tomatoes, and Japanese bunching onions. The Growing Guru Seed Pack features Anaheim peppers, sugar baby watermelon, Cherokee purple tomatoes, eggplant, patty pan squash, red sweet peppers, and pink radicchio. For beauty, the Picture Perfect Tower Seed Pack offers butterhead and gourmet lettuce, chives, cilantro, dill, sorrel, and basil. Grow flowers with the Warm Weather Flower Seed Pack (starflower, chamomile, marigolds, nasturtiums, dwarf sunflowers, zinnias) or Cold Weather Flower Seed Pack (calendula, Johnny jump-up and King Henry violas, snapdragons, cauliflower). The Juicing Seed Pack has spinach, celery, parsley, quick snack cucumbers, baby kale, and rainbow chard, while the Wellness Seed Pack includes calendula, chamomile, holy basil, lemon balm, lavender, and hyssop officinalis. Add flavor with the Aromatic Seed Pack (dill, oregano, parsley, sage, rosemary) or Culinary Seed Pack (basil, chives, cilantro, lavender, winter thyme).
Start Your Tower Garden Journey Today
Ready to grow nutrient-dense greens, vegetables, and herbs at home with ease? Tower Garden by Juice Plus makes vertical hydroponic gardening simple, sustainable, and rewarding. Transform your home with fresh, flavorful produce today!