Quarterly Reset for Your Airgarden: Preparing for Spring

As the last month of winter in Australia comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to prepare your Airgarden for the upcoming spring season. Over the course of a growing season, it’s normal for your Airgarden to accumulate dirt and dust on the outside, develop large root systems inside, and gather debris, nutrients, and other sediment in the reservoir. These are all common occurrences in aeroponics.

To keep everything clean and running smoothly, we recommend a thorough cleaning of your Airgarden every three months (once a season). We refer to this process as a ‘reset’. Here’s what this process involves:

1. Remove all plants (eat plants that are ready for harvest, compost unhealthy plants, and set aside anything you plan to put back into the Airgarden).
2. Wash the outside of your Airgarden.
3. Disassemble and clean each section (including the grow cups, which are reusable!).
4. Remove water from the reservoir and rinse the inside.
5. Clean your Pump
6. Reassemble your Airgarden.
7. Add fresh water and nutrients.

Why It’s Important to Reset Your Airgarden

Large Root Systems
Plants develop extensive root systems inside the Airgarden as they mature. These can fall apart or dip into the reservoir, potentially clogging your pump and making it difficult to remove seedlings. Additionally, dense root systems can block or divert water from other seedlings, causing them to wilt and die.

Remove Old Water
Debris can accumulate at the bottom of your Airgarden’s reservoir throughout a season. This typically includes root debris, dirt, pieces of grow medium, and nutrient or pH down precipitate*. Replacing this with fresh water makes it easier to balance pH, allows plants to absorb nutrients more effectively, and removes conditions where algae and bacteria can flourish.

*This refers to dissolved nutrients that separate from the liquid solution and form solids. It typically resolves itself as the nutrients dissolve on their own.

Make Room for New Seedlings
Resetting your Airgarden gives you the opportunity to remove older seedlings that have passed their prime or are no longer suited to the current weather. Plants can bolt, become unhealthy, and attract pests or diseases when they reach the end of their lifecycle or are grown past their ideal season. Removing these plants during a reset helps growers enjoy their harvests and makes room for new seedlings!

Starting Fresh
If you’re dealing with a large pest infestation, fungal issue, or another problem affecting a large portion of your plants, consider resetting your Airgarden. These issues can be difficult to fix once they spread across most of your Airgarden. A reset is an effective way to remove the problem, ensuring new seedlings stay healthy.

It can be helpful to leave your Airgarden empty for a few days after a reset to ensure any pests or disease have completely gone.

How to Take Care of Plants During a Reset

You can keep the plants from your Airgarden and replant them once your reset is complete! Here’s what you need to do:

1. Remove the plants from your Airgarden (keeping them in their grow cups).
2. Place the plant’s grow medium and root system in a bowl or tub filled with water to keep them hydrated.
3. Put them in a shady or partially shaded area.

Plants may experience some shock when they are replanted after a reset. They might look slightly wilted, experience some browning on their leaves, or drop flowers. This happens because they are adjusting to the new environment but should pass after a few days to a week.