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Seedling rules

Growers can use almost any type of seedling in their Towers.

Other options for seedlings are using clones (for example, mint clones grow much faster than from seed) or bare root seedlings which are perfect for growing strawberries. Some growers have tried planting ZipGrow™ Towers with seeds, but this method hasn’t had great germination rates.

For media We prefer polymer bound plugs or Growfoam® plugs because they’re easy to plant and move around, and won’t clog your lines. While the type of plug and the crops you grow are variable, there are a few rules that you should always follow!

• • Wait for the seedlings to mature.
    We know it’s ridiculously hard to curb your excitement and wait to plant, but you can do it. Seedlings with true leaves are old enough to transplant. The true leaves will have different characteristics than the embryonic leaves, which are rounded and small.

• • Use only the healthiest seedlings.
    If a seedling looks sick or weak, don’t use it. It could be diseased or too weak to survive – this means you could end up with bald spots in your towers where the seedlings have died. Use only the healthiest seedlings. (If you’re having trouble with leggy seedlings, here’s why.)
    

• • If you’re doing aquaponics, don’t use perlite or rock wool.
    Fish gulls are very sensitive to abrasive materials. Both perlite and rock wool particles wreak havoc to fish gills, causing discomfort and stress and potentially killing the fish. 

Once you have some nice seedlings to use, it’s time to actually plant the ZipGrow Tower. 

Steps to plant a ZipGrow™ Tower

Got all your materials ready? Time to plant!

Step 1: Place the wicking strip 1/2 inch from the face of the Tower.

The wicking strip keeps roots of delicate seedlings moist while they grow root systems. Set the wicking strip 1/2 inch back from the front of the media (away from the crown of the plant). From the front of the Tower, you shouldn’t be able to see the wicking strip. This is important! If you wick water all the way to the crown of the plant, it could cause disease problems.

As the roots grow out and into the media, they will be able to wick water from the back of the tower all by themselves.

When you pull the old plants out of the Tower at the end of their lifecycle, some of the root mass (not the root ball) will stay behind. Those leftover roots will serve as a natural wicking strip for future crops. 

Leaving a 1-inch flap at the top of the tower can help catch water from the dripper above.

Step 2: Plant seedlings at a slight angle

Folding the Matrix Media™, sandwich the seedlings between the media. Place the bottom of the plug in contact with the wicking strip, but the crown of the plant flush with the front of the media.

Plant the seedlings at a slight upward angle. This way when water hits the plug, it will divert to the back of the tower rather than the front.

Plant spacing will largely depend on the crop you’re growing. Check the seedling packet to see the recommended spacing. (With common crops like lettuce, you’ll shoot for 6-8 inches or about 8 plants per 5′ ZipGrow Tower.)

You may want to download our free guide “Best Crops for Hydroponics” as this covers the basics for popular crops on planting, pH range, light hours, ideal temperature range and harvesting time.

Step 3: Pull the media

There are a couple ways to do this, depending mostly on whether you’re a one-man or a two-man team.

One-man team: Place the seedlings all in the media first, then sandwich the media and slide it into the tower.

Two-man team: Fold the unplanted media and line it up with the tower opening. As one person pulls, the other person wedges seedlings in the media.

Experiment and find which method you prefer! You can get very fast at this with a little practice.

Repeat this process for the next media insert (for a 5′ tower) and you’ve successfully planted your ZipGrow tower!

We hope this helps you better understand just how quick and easy it is to plant a ZipGrow Tower.