Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your First Tower Garden Flex
🌿 Step-by-Step: Setting Up Your First Tower Garden Flex
Welcome to the world of vertical gardening! 🎉 Whether you're brand new to aeroponics or just unboxing your Tower Garden Flex, this guide will walk you through every step to get your garden growing fast. Let’s turn that box of parts into a food-growing machine! 💪🌱
🧰 What You’ll Need
Before we dive in, here’s what to grab:
- Your Tower Garden Flex (obviously 😄)
- A flat surface near a water source
- Access to power for the pump
- Your seedling starter kit (or seedlings)
- A helper (optional but fun!)
🛠 Step 1: Unbox and Inventory
Lay out all your parts. Make sure you’ve got:
- Reservoir base & lid
- Tower sections (5)
- Shower cap & lid
- Pump and timer
- Swivel Hose
- Access port lid
- Support rods, wingnuts and washers
- Germination tray
- Rockwool cubes
- Starter seed packs
- Vermiculite
- Net pots
- Mineral blend
- pH Kit
- Measuring cup
📝 Pro tip: Use our Living Towers Assembly Guide with photos for extra help!
🧩 Step 2: Build the Base
- Place the reservoir base on a flat, level surface—indoor or outdoor.
- Use a level to make sure your base is even (this helps water flow properly!).
- Set the pump near the edge inside the reservoir (not in the center).
- Connect the blue tubing to the bottom of the reservoir lid, where the threaded fitting is located.
- Tighten it finger tight—snug, but not too tight.
- Connect the other end of the blue tubing to the pump.
🧵 Pump cord setup:
- If your reservoir has a hole for the pump cord, feed the plug through the hole.
- If your reservoir has a notch cut out, place the cord in the notch when you close the lid.
- Tie a loop (or small knot) in the pump cord just before it exits the reservoir—this helps stop water from running down the cord and reaching your electrical outlet. Safety first! ⚠️⚡💦
☀️ Sunlight Tip:
Make sure your Tower Garden is located in a spot that receives at least 5 hours of direct sunlight per day.
If you plan to grow fruiting crops (like tomatoes, cucumbers, or strawberries), aim for 8+ hours of sun for the best results!
💡 Make sure the cord can reach your timer and outlet!
🏗 Step 3: Build the Tower
- First, install the support rods by inserting them into the holes marked A on the reservoir lid.
- Secure each rod using a washer and wingnut as shown below 👇
Now let’s stack it up! ⬆️
- Take the next growing pot and feed the support rods through the holes marked B.
- Gently push down on the center tube to ensure a snug fit.
- For the remaining three growing pots, repeat the process — alternating the support rods through holes A and B as you stack.
- Add the shower cap and push down in the center to ensure a snug fit. Secure with the wingnuts and put the shower cap lid on to finish.
- Finally, insert the net pots by pinching them slightly and placing them into the openings on the tower. This helps them slide in easily and stay snug.
✨ Ta-da! Your tower is built, secure, and ready to grow!
💧 Step 4: Fill with Water & Nutrients
Fill the reservoir with 20 gallons of water.
- If your reservoir base has a notch cut out for the cord, there is a small molded fill line near the notch that marks the 20-gallon level.
- If your reservoir doesn’t have a visible line, a good rule of thumb is to fill the water to about 3 inches below the pump cord hole.
🚱 Important water tips:
- Do not use softened water—it contains salts that can harm your plants.
- It’s best to use filtered tap water to remove chlorine and chloramine, which can stress plants.
- RO (reverse osmosis) water is also fine, but it’s not necessary unless your water is particularly hard or problematic.
🚿 Now it's time for nutrients—but just a little to start!
- Since you're starting with seedlings, they don't need full-strength nutrients.
- Add half-strength Tower Tonic:
➡️ 10ml of Tower Tonic A and 10ml of Tower Tonic B per gallon of water.
➡️ For a full 20 gallons, that’s 200ml of A and 200ml of B.
- Mix well to ensure nutrients are evenly distributed.
- Use your pH test kit to check the water, and adjust if needed (ideal range: 5.5–6.5).
⏱ Step 5: Set Up the Timer
Keeping your pump on the right watering cycle is key to happy, healthy plants! Here's how to set up your timer depending on which model you have:
🔌 Digital Timer (Towers 2019 & Newer)
This timer comes pre-programmed, so setup is super easy!
- Plug the pump into the timer, and then plug the timer into your outlet.
- Press the gray mode button on top to toggle between:
-
Ifor indoor growing -
Ofor outdoor growing
-
That’s it! The timer will automatically run the pump:
- Indoors: 3 minutes ON / 45 minutes OFF
- Outdoors: 3 minutes ON / 12 minutes OFF
⏲️ Analog Timer (Towers Pre-2019)
This older-style timer has a dial with small pins that you push in or out to set the watering cycle.
Each pin represents 15 minutes.
✔️ For Outdoor Growing:
-
Push every other pin OUT (starting with the first pin at the top of the hour).
- This will cycle the pump 15 minutes ON / 15 minutes OFF throughout the day.
✔️ For Indoor Growing:
- Push every 4th pin OUT.
- This creates a cycle of 15 minutes ON / 45 minutes OFF.
💡 Make sure the timer is in a location where it won’t get wet! You can now plug the pump into the timer and the timer into the outlet.
🌱 Step 6: Add Your Seedlings
- Insert your seedlings (in rockwool cubes) into the net pots that are already placed in your tower.
- Make sure the rockwool touches the bottom of the net pot so it can absorb the water that drips down through the tower.
🌄 Plant like a pyramid!
Place your larger, taller plants (like tomatoes or chard) toward the bottom of the tower and smaller plants (like lettuces or many herbs) near the top.
This pyramid-style layout ensures that all your plants receive adequate sunlight or grow light and aren’t shading each other as they grow.
🪴 Beginner-friendly crops:
Lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, basil, and bok choy are great for your first grow!
💚 Watch for growth in just days—your Tower Garden is officially alive!
🌟 Final Tips from Living Towers
✅ Check water levels weekly and add water and minerals as needed
✅ Clean your pump 4 weeks
✅ Don’t be afraid to experiment — Tower Gardens are super forgiving!
✅ Oh… and feel free to talk to your plants (they love it 😄)
Happy growing! 🌿💦 You've just taken the first step to growing your own food with less space, less water, and way more fun.