Seedling FAQs

Yes. Our seedlings are grown in 1.5-inch rockwool cubes and are shipped ready to transplant into your Tower Garden, another compatible hydroponic or aeroponic growing system, or a traditional soil garden.

If you're new to Tower Garden, our Get Started Guide walks you through setup, water, nutrients, lighting, planting, and more.

Yes. Our seedlings can be used in many hydroponic and aeroponic systems that accommodate a 1.5-inch rockwool cube.

If you're using another system, follow the manufacturer's recommendations for irrigation, water, and nutrient concentration.

Absolutely. Plant the entire rockwool cube in the soil so the rockwool is completely covered, while keeping the plant itself above the soil line.

Water thoroughly after planting and keep the soil consistently moist while the seedling becomes established.

That depends on which Tower Garden model you have and whether you've added any extensions.

• Tower Garden FLEX: 20 regular growing ports
• Tower Garden HOME: 16 regular growing ports and 16 baby greens growing ports
• Regular Extension: adds 8 regular growing ports
• Baby Greens Extension: adds 32 baby greens growing ports
• Combo Extension: adds 4 regular growing ports and 16 baby greens growing ports

Keep in mind that you don't always need to fill every growing port. Larger crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peppers need considerably more room and can quickly overcrowd a Tower if too many are planted at once.

For help choosing the right mix of crops for your growing ports, visit our Seeds & Seedlings Guide.

Start with your growing environment, season, available light, and what you actually enjoy eating. Plant size matters too. A Tower full of tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and other large crops will become crowded very quickly.

Our Seeds & Seedlings Guide will help you choose crops based on plant size, growing conditions, and how you plan to use your Tower.

No. Your seedlings arrive ready to plant.

Some crops naturally grow well with more than one plant in a rockwool cube. We seed each variety appropriately and thin seedlings when necessary before shipping.

Different crops germinate and grow at different speeds, and sometimes demand is greater than the number of seedlings we have ready to ship.

If a variety is unavailable, use the Notify Me When Available option on the product page and we'll email you when more are ready.

Yes. We use non-GMO seeds and choose organic seed whenever possible.

No. Living Towers is not a Certified Organic grower.

We do not use synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides on our seedlings. Products used for pest and disease management are approved for use in organic gardening.

Open the box immediately and remove the seedlings from their shipping trays. They've spent several days traveling in a dark box, so getting them into the correct growing environment quickly is important.

Inspect your seedlings, water the rockwool thoroughly, and place them in appropriate light on the day they arrive.

Our Caring for Your Seedlings Guide walks you through exactly what to do on delivery day, including light, water, nutrients, pH, and transplanting.

Usually, yes. Seedlings can become lighter in color while traveling because they've spent several days inside a box without light.

The oldest seed leaves may also be yellow or brown. Once planted and receiving the proper light, water, and nutrients, healthy new growth should develop.

If seedlings arrive severely wilted, damaged, or completely brown, please contact us within 48 hours of delivery.

Seed leaves, also called cotyledons, are the first leaves produced when a seed germinates. They often look completely different from the mature leaves of the plant.

Once the plant develops its true leaves, the seed leaves have done their job. They naturally turn yellow or brown, dry up, and eventually fall off.

This is normal and doesn't mean your seedling is dying.

Please contact us within 48 hours of delivery and include clear photos showing the affected seedlings standing upright.

Don't leave the seedlings lying in their shipping trays while waiting for a response. Follow our care instructions and get them into the correct growing environment as soon as possible.

We include one plant marker for each crop variety in your order. Occasionally tags can move during shipping.

If you're unsure which plant is which, send us a clear photo along with your order number and we'll be happy to help identify them.

Whenever possible, yes. The sooner seedlings are moved from their shipping trays into the correct growing environment, the sooner they can recover from shipping and begin establishing themselves.

If you can't plant them immediately, they can be held temporarily with proper light and water.

Place them somewhere with plenty of appropriate light and keep the rockwool moist. Don't leave the rockwool completely submerged in water.

Outdoors, morning sun with some protection from intense afternoon heat can be helpful during very hot weather.

Indoors, use a proper grow light rather than relying on household lighting or a window.

We don't recommend relying on a window as the primary light source. Even a bright window may not provide enough light intensity or enough hours of consistent light.

Seedlings that don't receive sufficient light begin stretching toward it, producing long, thin, weak growth known as legginess.

If you're keeping seedlings indoors, use a proper grow light positioned close enough to provide strong, consistent light.

Shipping is already stressful for seedlings, so avoid moving them directly from a dark shipping box into extreme afternoon heat.

Give them plenty of light while allowing them to acclimate. During very hot weather, morning sun with protection from the strongest afternoon heat is a good starting point.

Keep the rockwool moist and don't allow newly delivered seedlings to dry out.

Yes, but they'll still need adequate light. If outdoor temperatures are suitable during the day, seedlings can spend time outside and be moved to a protected location when temperatures become too cold.

If they need to remain indoors for an extended period, place them under a grow light rather than relying on normal household lighting or a window.

Think of your Tower Garden like a pyramid. Place smaller plants toward the top, medium-sized plants through the middle, and the largest or vining crops toward the bottom.

This helps prevent larger plants from shading smaller crops and gives sprawling plants room to grow.

Our Caring for Your Seedlings Guide includes a complete crop-by-crop planting order to help you decide where each seedling should go.

If you're filling an empty Tower Garden with new seedlings, begin with half-strength Tower Garden Mineral Blend: 10 mL of Part A and 10 mL of Part B per gallon of water.

If you're adding a few seedlings to an established Tower Garden, continue using the nutrient strength appropriate for the existing plants and current conditions.

If you're using another hydroponic system or different nutrients, use approximately half the regular dose or the manufacturer's recommended seedling dose.

It depends on your water source. Well water may be suitable depending on its mineral content. Municipal water should be filtered to remove chlorine or chloramine before using it with your seedlings or Tower Garden.

Never use sodium-softened water in your Tower Garden.

Our Water Guide explains the different water sources, filtration, chlorine, chloramine, pH, and common water problems in more detail.

Both are disinfectants commonly added to municipal drinking water. Chlorine can dissipate over time, while chloramine is much more persistent and requires appropriate filtration.

Treatment methods vary by municipality, so check your local water quality report if you're unsure what your water provider uses.

Yes — with adequate grow lighting. Leafy greens and herbs are particularly well suited to indoor Tower Garden growing.

Fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and strawberries generally require stronger lighting and can be more challenging indoors.

Tower Garden plants grown entirely indoors should generally receive 14–16 hours of grow light each day, followed by a period of complete darkness overnight.

Light intensity and distance from the plants are just as important as the number of hours the lights are on.

It's usually algae. Algae grows when moisture, nutrients, and light meet on the surface of the rockwool.

A small amount is common in hydroponic growing and doesn't mean your seedling is diseased or contaminated. Keeping unnecessary light off the rockwool can help reduce algae growth.

No. Our strawberry plants are transplanted into rockwool and may be secured with a rubber band while they establish roots. You can leave the rubber band in place when planting them.

A newly transplanted seedling may take a little time to establish itself. If it isn't producing healthy new growth, check the basics first:

• Light: Is it receiving enough?
• Water: Is the rockwool getting wet during the irrigation cycle?
• Nutrients: Are they mixed at the appropriate strength?
• pH: Is the reservoir within the recommended range?
• Water source: Are you avoiding softened or unfiltered municipal water?
• Temperature: Is the crop suitable for the current conditions?

If you're not sure where the problem is coming from, our Get Started Hub walks through the basics and links to the appropriate in-depth guides.

This is called legginess, and insufficient light is the most common cause.

Seedlings stretch toward a light source when the light isn't strong enough or is too far away. Once severe leggy growth develops, it cannot be reversed, so correcting the lighting quickly is important.

Some temporary wilting can happen after shipping or transplanting, particularly during hot weather.

Check that the rockwool is receiving water, the reservoir contains the correct nutrient strength, the pH is in range, and the plant hasn't been moved suddenly into extreme heat or intense afternoon sun.

If several plants begin struggling at the same time, look closely at the growing environment. A shared issue such as water, nutrients, light, or temperature is more likely than several individual seedlings developing separate problems.

Absolutely. Start seeds in rockwool and provide strong light as soon as they germinate. Once seedlings develop true leaves and a healthy root system, they're ready to move into the Tower Garden.

Our Seeds & Seedlings Guide covers choosing crops, starting seeds, buying seedlings, and links to our more detailed seed-starting resources.