Our Tower Garden on patio two – in our home in Brambleton, Va.
We have been growing our own vegetables for TEN YEARS in the aeroponic TOWER GARDEN!
We were one of the first to do this in the country!
The system is completely run on WATER and AIR and mineral NUTRIENTS!
Because of the winter – we would start in May and grow through October – November!
Now – in N.C. close to the border of S.C. – we are right now – in December and still growing!
Memories of the past become future memories in the present!
Two more TOWER GARDENS in Patio ONE in Brambleton Va.
In Va., we had a total of FOUR TOWER GARDENS going at the same time!
These two were in the main patio – and we also had one with grow lights in the garage!
We had so much produced that we gave it away to the neighbors and family!
Memories of giving – memories of sharing.
The patio became an oasis for growing -plants and vegetables.
The main thing to grow was making sure the reservoir never ran out of water.
If we went away – I had a garden hose nearby and my neighbor would fill the reservoir every three days!
And whenever he wanted he would come over and harvest – he loved the cucumbers!
Memories of Dexter – my neighbor.
Indoor TOWER GARDENS with grow lights!
Today – we are down to one – we sold the others with the house – and now – in five months – as you can see – on the patio – starting our third harvest – having already grown cukes – tomatoes – herbs – now we are growing lettuce and herbs for the Winter growing season!
When we sold our house back in June 2020 – we had three of these – two regular units and one indoors one.
They looked just like these – The TOWER GARDENS – a self contained unit to grow veggies with out dirt!
And they grow with just water and tonic – two different tonics made up of minerals and nutrients of the Earth.
A pump is in the tank and a timer is set to pump up the wtaer at 15 minute intervals ( you can adjust the times)
You start from just seeds which are provoded and put them in spun lava rock
place them in the pods and start the timer!
That is it! And then – it produces veggies almost 1/3 the time faster than normal growing!
After 13 months – we are moved in and this is ours set up on the open patio.
What you see here took less than three weeks starting from seeds!
This picture shows the seeds sprouting in the spun lava which you place into the pods for the Tower Garden!
These are the spun lava rock with seeds already inserted into the pods on the Tower Garden – where water and tonic minerals from the bottom tank are pumped up the middle of the tower and drip down the the tower over where the roots from the seeds have formed.
oYou water them at different intervals – example water on for 15 minutes – off for 30 or 45 minutes!
All from a timer you can adjust as you grow!
The Towr Garden we have is a indoor – outdoor one that when outdoors – you just take the grow lights off!
Indoors you put them back on and they are controlled by a timer – everything you need from seeds to tonic –
to grow lights – pump – timer – lava rock and instructions for one growing season is there when you order it.
Seed sprouting out of the spun lava rock after placed in the pod and watert and tonic constantly going 24 / 7!
It costs just pennies a day to run – you just make sure water is in the tank and by instructions when to add more tonic minerals. EASY as that – almost effortless and no WEEDING!
They are like children – they become a labor of love!
Comparrisons – this is THREE WEEKS from seed to plants thriving!
We went away for one week – and this was left unattended – and you can see the growth in week FOUR!
At three weeks – from seeds to this and we are eating off it!
Four weeks and after we had been away – the timer and water pump continued – the sun did the rest!
The only thing I did was to fill the tank with water – as the plants grow and start to bear veggies – they as a normal
need water – it becomes necessary every thee days to put water in.
There is a float in the tank that tells you when to add water!
Every 2 to 4 tank fulls if refilling – you put in one cup of nutrients of the two tonic minerals!
Between weeks THREE and FOUR – we are eating lettuce for salads every night for dinner! We know there are no pesticides and is all natural – you need at least four hours of sun light – and just sit back and watch it grow. You can grow anything that is not grown on a tree or has to be in the ground.
Melons – cucumbers – radish – celery – peppers – tomatoe’s – everything! You do not have to have a GREEN THUMB – just keep the water in the tank and every week or two – reach into the tank and pull roots out so they do not shut the pump down, and that is really easy to to do and they smell so good!
For additional information on this growing system ( we have been growing almost ten years)
Contact us at
SSHERRYLYNN49@aol.com
or FITZTDF@aol.com
We both are part of The Juice Plus Company which has develped this for the open market.
Good Morning sip your coffee time goes by so fast !
It seems like yesterday it was Spring –
still some chill in the air –
Grass needed cut –
trees still bare-
and now it is Fall !
Our grand daughters graduation H.S. Cap Now she is two months into college and playing soccer going to classes
Yesterday it seemed she graduated –
This past weekend –
she came back home for the first time –
A young women – seeking her career –
and playing college soccer !
Spring our flowers we actually save these year to year pull them out end of October shake them off and put into bucket and hang up in the garageGeraniums over five years old saved year to year
My step father taught me that –
save them –
then clean up in Spring –
and replant them !
IT WORKS !
Tower Garden by Juice Plus Co. We grow almost anything that does not grow on a tree !
First of May – we get our Towers ready –
We grow all Winter in the garage with grow lights –
Then we clean that one up ( after using it to start plants )
celebrate Sherry’s birthday and watch the 4 th. of July fireworks !
Thank you for reading Papa’s World
livinglifedoingitmyway.blog
my email
fitztdf@aol.com
Our fast lives to be continued in next blog
The Summer continues – Spring – where did it go ?
NATIONALS WORLD SERIES !!! Sherry CERTIFIED HEALTH COACH for health and nutrition http://www.sf.juiceplus.com To join her business ssherrylynn49@aol.com
What do you do with your strawberry plants in the Fall from the TOWER GARDEN ?
Every year – and we have been growing in the Tower Garden ‘ s for seven years – we have had strawberry plants left over – so – instead of throwing them away – I just took them out and stuck them in the ground !
We have this area right beside the house where my back flow is . And now – each year – these plants come back and thrive there ! Last year – I picked 10 to 14 quarts of sweet strawberries – and they spread.
This area was dug up two years ago to install our irrigation system and you can see where they put in the back flow. So – in two years time – they have spread and filled the area back in again.
Three cousins – we promote #livinglifetotheplus to our families.
The concept of healthy eating – is that we GROW as much as we can – for ourselves. The two smaller ones – Cassidy and Taylor – will come over – and when the strawberries are nice and red and ripe – will sit out there and pick and eat them – teaching them you can eat from the Earth and not always from the store. Taylor asked me the other day ” ARE THE STRAWBERRIES READY YET PAPA ? “
As we enter the setting Sun of our years
Our wish – and the WHY we do all this – is to install for Generations to come the value of eating healthy – eliminating process foods – cutting back on sweets and dairy ( the Myth of dairy ) – Gluten – and eating more fruits and vegetables – passing this onto the grand kids of today and hoping that they in turn pass it onto their children.
We named our team – TEAM GENERATIONS
Life to us is changing habits – instilling new ones in the kids – and inhance memories of growing up with PAPA & MORMOR as the younger ones callus or Grandma and Grandpa as the older ones call us.
Memories are formed at young age – as in Taylor just saying the other day – she is 8 years old. Her and her parents and sister lived with us for one year while they awaited there new home being made ready. Sherry and I were having a conversation – about in the future moving South.
She spoke up from her homework ( we pick them up from school ) and said ” MORMOR & PAPA – you can’t move -I have too many memories here” ! And then went on to tell how she remembers her bedroom and how they shared it together – her mother and fathers room and the front room where they had their doll house. They were only two and one half when they lived here.
Last Summer – Outer Banks Beach
So memories play a big part of our lives – and grand kids even bigger. Instilling memories of us and health is the legacy we want to have – one that enriches their lives and that of their children. That memory has led to our motto #livinglifetotheplus and our own health and lifestyle. This in turn led to the concept of TEAM GENERATIONS and the impact that since we started has on hundreds of families just like us.
If you want to find out how – why and more – follow us on this blog – visit the web site http://www.sf.juiceplus.com – I hope this helps explain – and if you TOWER GARDEN – just remember -those STRAWBERRIES can and do survive the Winter – just plant them and watch them spread.
Finally – it would be warm all day – mid ’70’s – bright sunshine
Time to get outside after all the rain and cold days!
Even though we have had to stay inside from our walks
The rain has left the lawn thick and lush!
I have now mowed at least a half dozen times – seems like every 4 days
except when it rains and then I sneak it in between showers!
The side yard has really filled in – that has been my problem area
I also started two years ago – putting lime pellets down
in the fall time!
One of the outdoor Tower Gardens – the other is in the enclosed patio
It has been cold at night – high 30’s to mid 40’s –
yet with all the rain and peaks of sunshine – it is growing!
We decided this year LESS IS MORE in planting flowers!
99 % of the greens you see – flower and come up each year
except the green bushes !
So we decided to POT this year with flowers
with three or four in the flower beds
and the rest in the enclosed patio.
It takes me 60 minutes with a push lawn mower
trimming included and weed whacker
to mow the lawn
a few people tell me they no longer do this
but I enjoy it !
It is a form of exercise for me – almost 5000 steps!
And I get the feeling of something I have created
and see the results of all that I have planted in the 14 years!
All of this I have planted by hand and cultivated.
I only wish this bush would look like this all summer
but – after it blooms it loses it petals
and new leaves are formed along with getting larger.
The grass is so soft and spongy like
almost as if you are walking on a carpet.
I have a lawn company called Bio-Turf
for four years now –
and they do a terrific job.
Six different times they come to the house each year
and do all the spreading – plugging – and seeding and lime spreading
VERY HAPPY WITH THEM!
The pot to the right is all MINT and you can smell it as you walk up the bank the enclosed brick area is my strawberries and last year and this year my Potato’s
Our first rose of the year – with many more to come
they will bloom – go away and later in the summer bloom again
The three Swedish horses that Maddy – Ella and Sarah made for us
We walk – we eat healthy – but the mental part is also important !
Our roses out front
A healthy body also has to have a healthy mind – at least mine does !
So – when we moved into our house thirteen years ago –
I started digging up – replanting – moving – shrubs – putting in trees
( 3 Crepe Myrtles ) and numerous rose bushes – flowers that came back year after year.
Crepe Myrtle out front
I had to dig these trees on my hands and knees – being so many rocks ! With that being said – when they bloom a bright ruby red – I just love them – and it all was worth it !
Ninety five per cent comes back
Flowers and color do a lot for my mind and peaceful thoughts.
But – as you get older – weeding kills your back – at least mine !
So – this year – I bought the mulch from the boy scouts – and actually paid them to spread it around – 25 bags !
It was well worth it and half the cost of anyone else.
Flowers and flags
These roses will bloom off and on until Fall – most everything in the beds comes up each year.
Walking home – when coming in sight of the house- gives me a great calming thought – seems like any stress just goes away –
and that is for my mental being.
Front steps and door
Sherry always plants the planters around the house – in back -the patio and the front porch.
So – when people visit – the visual of flowers – the welcome mat – sitting on the front porch or in the enclosed patio – brings calm – that is why we do it .
The back patio and Tower Gardens
Each year – in the back – we plant flowers and the Tower Gardens –
which provide our vegetables daily.
In front of these are the other two Crepe Myrtles that I hand planted – all the trees and bushes here I also planted.
Yesterday’s harvest from our strawberry patch
We also grow our own strawberry’s – enough to provide us each morning for breakfast while they last.
Living a healthy lifestyle – to reduce stress – we plant – we grow and produce vibrant colors all Spring – Summer and Fall.
We actually grow even in Winter inside our garage.
For a stress relief – try flowers – smell them – watch them grow –
All through our years (37 ) of marriage – we have planted flowers and landscaping. In our home today – we await Spring with a eye to the beauty of FLOWER’S !
View of the back with our two Tower Gardens – bird bath and replanted Geranium’s from previous years. And to the left a portable pot of POTATO’S a first foe me.
Our first step every early Spring is preparing our two Tower Gardens for the growing season – April thru end of October. We also have one inside the garage with grow lights so we are eating fresh produce – November thru end of March – making our fresh produce growing year around.
Patio with flower ” Bicycle ” we purchase years ago at a garden show !
Yesterday – we went to Home Depot – to select different flowers and then potted them and placed in the patio. EXTRA BENEFIT unknown to us at check out – the man said – sign up for credit card today and receive $70.00 off your purchase – DEAL ! We payed $20.00 – rest was a credit and as soon as we got home – paid the credit card off !
One of two flower boxes on the walled in patio.
The flower boxes will be much bigger as the season progress’s. We try a different theme every year – Sherry picks the theme – my duty is ” It is not for me to question why – but for me to do or die ” !!
In a marriage – good motto to live by !
We found this flower pot holder in the trash years ago and reclaimed it – I painted it a couple days ago.
Always like sitting by flowers when sipping my coffee – the cushions we take in if it is going to rain.A stand alone pot holder which I repainted a couple days ago.
85 % of our plants that are in the beds – come back each year – so mostly – only a few do we purchase to plant in them – geraniums – we pull every year and put them in a bucket and hang from the ceiling – cleaning them up in the Spring and replant them – saving 90 % of them !
One of many flowering bushes we have that come out each year.
The twin bush that was shown before – on each end of the fence.
Front step on the porch.
This year we tried one more thing – Potato’s – we planted eight – five among our strawberry patch ( every year we pulled them in the Fall from the Tower Garden – and stuck them in the ground on the side of the house – 12 to 15 quarts last year ) and three more in a portable container – this is a first for me – not sure what to expect but they already are 16 inches high !
One of the beds out front with just the two planted flowers – rest come back every year along with our deep red – pink and light pink roses.
The beds in the front have a combination of colors Spring – Summer and Fall . Reds – pinks – yellows -purples – whites and many off shades. I also have planted Crepe Myrtles ( 3 of them ) that bloom late May and continue until late Fall – a deep ruby red !
All in all – Spring plantings are my favorite time of year -one that continues until the harsh cold of Fall and Winter.
Living life to the plus includes for me sights of Spring – Summer and Fall. I do not like the cold – ice and snow !
Eating healthy from our Tower Gardens ( even edible flowers) and enjoying nature in bloom – bringing a calm – for me lower blood pressure !
I 