Why Can I Only Plant 3 Veggie Seed Pods?

Taller vegetable seed pod kits make excellent candidates for the AeroGarden, but they need a little more space. Find out why. (And some tips and tricks too!)

Why Do Some AeroGarden Seed Pods Need to be Spaced Out?

Overcrowding can hinder healthy plant growth for larger produce like peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants which need plenty of room to develop healthy flowers and fruits. Additionally, as the leaves of these plants grow larger and take up more space in the AeroGarden, the shadow they cast can severely hinder the growth of directly adjacent plants. Therefore, we recommend limiting only one of these larger plants to one bounty-sized AeroGarden at a time to prevent growth hindrance.

The Importance of Spacers

It is critical to place Plant Spacers in the open holes of your AeroGarden's grow deck so that your existing plants' roots don't overtake them. Taller plant varieties build far more extensive root structures in taking longer to reach maturity, which is why they can expand outside onto the grow deck if no spacers are placed to block them. Spacers also prevent excessive algae growth from open light exposure, and reduce water contamination from floating debris and impurities.

Keep your garden clean and maximize your plants' growth by keeping the empty holes covered!

Which Seed Pod Kits Need More Growing Space?

The current line of AeroGarden Seed Pod Kits that require greater spacing include pepper, eggplant, and larger tomato varieties. Veggie seed pod kits that comes with just three seed pods and ten or more plant spacers require extra growing space to develop properly.

Hot pepper varieties like the Ghost Pepper Seed Pod Kit, Cayenne Pepper Seed Pod Kit, and Anaheim Pepper Seed Pod Kit all can grow over 24 inches and expand pretty elaborately.

In the same way, sweeter pepper pods like the Banana Pepper, and Shishito varieties will also need spacing buffers to flourish.

While small cherry tomatoes won't need as much elbow room, the mega cherry tomato and fairy tale eggplants do require extra spacing to thrive.

Which Garden Units Can Support Larger Seed Pods?

Because of the sheer height and elaborate root systems of larger plant varieties, these seed pods should only be used in the Harvest XL model, Bounty models, or Farm models.

These varieties are not conducive for growth in smaller gardens like the Sprout or conventional Harvest models.

Recommended Tools

Trellis Attachments

Trellis attachments are highly recommended for growing large veggie varieties to give additional structure and support to the plant as it expands.

Be the Bee Pollinator

Growing large plants indoors comes with the inevitable downside of lacking natural pollination normally provided by bees, butterflies, and other outdoor pollinators. Since pollination can contribute significantly to the healthy flourishing and fruit yield of the plant, take matters into your own hands with the electric Be the Bee Pollinator to help increase the yield of your vegetable plants.

A Hot Take

Resident AeroGarden research specialist (and AeroGarden Tiktok Mad Scientist) Justin Clifford reports that the spicy peppers are his favorite of the tall vegetable varieties.

"Hot peppers are very fun to grow and give a spicy kick that some people tend to enjoy. Think of the youtube series Hot Ones"

-AeroGarden Senior Research Development Specialist (Mad Scientist)