Edible Flowers on Aeroponic Towers

by | May 16, 2018

When growing edible flowers using an aeroponic tower, we advise against buying an ‘edible flowers mix’.

In fact, some edible flowers are perennials (hyssop, violet, chicory…), and although most of them are annuals (hollyhock, calendula, chrysanthemum, safflower….) some are also biennials (English daisy, sweet william…). In other terms, not all seeds will sprout at the same time and the roots of some flowers may overwhelm the growth of others.

Edible flowers are better grown as a single crop: Only one type of edible flower should be planted per cube of rock wool.

Chrysanthemum will grow really long stems and produce a generous foliage and this is why we recommend to plant them in the 2 top planting sections of your tower (the same applies to mauve flowers).

However, when planting nasturtiums, expect them to create a ‘cascading bush’ and this is why you shouldn’t plant anything (aside from more nasturtiums) in the lower growing section.

We like to plant chrysanthemum since they act as a natural mosquito/insect repellent in a vegetable garden, but we do not advise to grow them on aeroponic towers due to the overwhelming size of their roots. Such oversized roots clog the tower sections very quickly and lead to abnormal water consumption; Ongoing weekly root management is a must; The same applies to most other edible flowers…

When growing sunflowers, only plant dwarf sunflowers because when growing the regular type, the diameter of the stems can get much bigger than the planting hole/cavity and damage your tower. Nevertheless, we loved our experience when growing sunflowers on our towers (we even published a video on our website comparing planting sunflower seeds in the soil vs. using an aeroponic tower…. Although the results on the towers were spectacular, we will not repeat the experience!)

At Agrotonomy, even though we love to enhance our plant-based food creations with edible flowers, we recommend to buy them organically or grow them in the soil and to strategize aeroponic tower gardening more efficiently with other crops (unless a tower is being used for ornamental purpose!).

Marigold Flowers

If you are you looking to attract beneficial insects and essential pollinators to your Tower Garden®, then you should definitely consider planting these edible flowers: cosmoses, marigolds, nasturtiums, chrysanthemums, and zinnias.

Sunflowers

Yes! It is possible to grow aeroponic sunflowers on a Tower Garden®! These sunflowers grew massively, measuring more than 13 feet (4 meters) tall! Sunflowers grow quickly and you can expect to have flowers within 8 weeks. The power of the tower! This is a testament to the durability and strength of the Tower Garden® which is able to sustain such an impressively enormous plant which has a considerable weight.