My 1st attempt - Closet operation

Hey guys, i'm new... been lurkin quite awhile though. I got myself 2 Aerogarden elite 6+s.

I am currently trying to grow some mothers for a cloning operation. I got 3 Ice in one machine and 3 Hindu Kush in the other both 2 weeks in veg. Just lookin for 1 female of each to put into my Soil/Mothering chamber. Also got a 1 week old femanized Snow White in the 2nd machine just for the hell of it. I have a 1 week old fem Snow White in soil just to compare. The soil is actually developing about a half day faster than the aero. Everything is running at 18/6 timing. All my research for an answer to the 24 hr light debate goes nowhere. All I have in the soil mother chamber at the moment is 4-24" T5 24w Flourescents. 2 are 3k and 2 are 6500k. Everything is in the under construction phase at the moment so yeah I know I should be running 4 of the 6500ks right now. I am getting tons of CLFs this weekend as well as ventilation fans etc. I basically just wanted to get the operation underway with the growing so got those seeds in the pods ASAP while I continue to construct the chambers. Right now the machines are just out on my dresser.
Had 100% germination rate just from following the directions of the aero. Just plopped the seed on the plug and put the dome over it. All of em survived simply following the aerogarden instructions. Don't know how familiar you guys are with the 6 pod series. The plugs are longer and actually dip into the water, and I believe its just a single airstone that runs 24/7 regardless of what the lights are doing. There is also a 24 hour light option for the machine. I am following the fox farm hydro nute schedule exactly. The machine reservoir actually holds .85 gallons of water but I am feeding the machine according to the schedule as if it is a gallon. So technically they are getting a bit more then reccomended. I just flip the lid open and measure and pour the fox farm nutes right in each week. They are only 2 weeks 2 days old but that's been 3 feedings so far. No PPM meter or anything. Plants look good I think. Any probs with how i'm feeding them guys?
I see a water change coming up for the next feeding. So far just the grow big & big bloom from fox farms have been fed into the chamber. The big bloom is cloudy so a few mins after I put the tablespoon in, the entire reservoir is cloudy so apparently the one airstone is circulating enough. I saw no signs of over-feeding and have actually felt the opposite so I put one "small" aerogarden tablet in each machine yesterday. The plants don't seem dark green enough, so until I get a "nitrogen only" supplement, I am concerned the fox farms isn't enough. There are uneven plant sizes and since this is my first run idk whether they are gender, machine, or what differences. It's actually really just one of the HKs wayyy underdeveloped. I actually believe the tap root ran into the plastic and took longer to find its way out. Since there arent long roots yet I twisted each pod 1/2 turn 5 days ago and again today. Just for different light exposure. No fans blowing, or extra CLFs mounted yet (everything planned). So thin stems and growing angled I figured I would combat with the 1/2 turns. I actually see the tiny HK starting to grow today. Maybe the small tablet worked, or now since I actually see a root made it's way into the water. IDK.

I'm actually building 3 chambers in the closet. One chamber will run 3 different strain mothers in soil. Basically just 6500k lights as well as one clone tray. Figure i'll keep the clones in the chamber with the mothers. Put them in that aerogarden 66 plug seedling starter tray. I'll just keep the clones in the plug tray in like 1/2" of water instead of wasting 2 weeks of time waiting for the clones to root in the machine. When enough root, they'll go straight to the machines (for immediate flowering) which will each have their own chamber running at different growth intervals. I'm guessing 2-3 per grow pod opening. What do you guys think?
I'm gonna try and get some pics up now.
The closet is just divided right now and mylar lined. Got the one T5 fixture hanging with that one week old potted Snow white. Gonna keep working on it. I just need to have it completed for when I decide to flower these machines to put into their 12/12 chambers.

Here's both machines



Here's the 3 Ice... All at 2 weeks +2 days old from seed.


The nicest Ice



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The other machine. The tallest plant is actually the youngest. A week younger than the rest. It's the Snow White. The other 3 are Hindu Kush at 2 weeks +2days old. See the tiny HK?
but yeah the tall Snow White is only a week +2 days old. All the same exact treatment as the Ice yet all not as healthy looking

yeah plants have unique differences like that depending on the strain and genetics, according to my amateur research.

I wish you luck on this mission

Hopefully these plants will make you proud.

19th day since seed: [New pics].

Everything is going well so far. Finally getting some growth from the tiny HK that was far behind the other 2 HKs in the same machine. 2 HKs are comparable in size while the 3rd is still far behind but growing now. I'm noticing the new growth on the tops are starting to bend towards the light.
I still havent gotten any new bulbs or equipment. I need more light on these bad boys desperately. I might go out tonight and get some stuff.

The 3 Ice are looking great. Same as the other machine, 2 are comparable in size. Maybe it's a gender thing. Both machines are getting identical treatment so far.
I gave them a mid-week feed on saturday. Just 1 tsp each machine with Foxfarm "grow big". I'm looking for more nitrogen. It seemed to help em. That's half the recommended dose of grow big that the hydro feeding schedule has me giving them weekly. This wednesday they get a reservoir flush with their feeding. That will be the 3 week mark, the 4th full feeding, and the 1st flush. Other than that I have been adding water daily because now they are actually drinking it up. That clouds up and stirs the reservoir daily with everything sitting on the bottom.

The soil Snow White is a darker green than the machine one. It is also a little more developed and healthy looking. The machine one is taller though because the lowest light height on the machine is too high. I keep the light just inches from the soil one. The type of soil is Miracle Grow moisture control or something like that. I shouldve decided on something better but oh well. Not organic. I do nothing with that plant but add water. The soil has plenty, if not too much crap in it already. It says it has 90 days worth of plant food already in it. Both Snow whites are exactly 1 week younger than all the others. They will be 2 weeks old on Wed.

I plan on possibly spacing the pods out different on wednesday when I flush if I can easily. Definitely the tiny one will move out. I also plan on topping the taller plants to stunt them and allow the smaller plants to catch up while they split. Should work out nicely. Limited space and will have to flower at week 4 im thinking. I will need to have my closet completed in a week. Havent done anything in there yet lol. Waiting on my fans to come. Gotta get a humidifier. Lights... etc.

Edit: I like the way Ice is growing. Compact and nice. Definitely a good choice for indoor and the machine so far. I'm not liking the look of the Hindu Kush and Snow white in the 2nd machine. Too lanky and what not. The SW in the soil is growing much nicer. I'm sure once I clone the HK and soil her all 3 will make nice soil mothers. The SWs are feminized that's why one is going in the soil already. Once I add lights to everything, they should all perk up.

Heres some updated pics taken today. I wish my camera was a little better with a macro feature. Next update I'll have better quality pics.