GenrealRed Eye: I hope you're talking about setting up an aeroponics system, not an Aerogarden because with 4 to 5 plants that would be a plan for disaster. I grow my meds with an Aerogarden, the patented self contained active hydroponic growing system with a tiny reservoir that only holds 112 ounces. If you try to grow more than two plants in my Aerogarden it's usually more work than it's worth.
There are available resources on aeroponics that I've seen but they're few and far between. You might try some of the other forums on the net and then compare their techniques and advice. A good book on hydroponics should give you the principles. Cervante's book is good for both dirt and hydro. The only real difference between hydro and aero is that in aero there's no growing medium involved and the roots are suspended in air and sprayed with nutes. And there in lies the problem.
Aero like hydro is very unforgiving, but even more so. Soil is a great buffer. When you screw up growing in dirt by doing something like not watering or over feeding it usually takes a few days to kill your plants and you can usually save them but in hydro it can be disastrous in hours. It's even worse with aero. Take a weekend off and have your pump go south while you're gone and you're done.
Also you don't have the root stability that you have in soil so plan on doing some serious plant training or trellising. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some incredible things done with plants using aeroponics by NASA but you have to be on top of it all the time or you can lose a crop in the blink of an eye.
Stealth Hydroponics has a rather unique system that I'm looking at and it's one you could easily DIY. It's a combination of both aero and active hydro. It's a spray aeroponics system fed by a submerged pump feeding your babies growing in net baskets of growing medium. They're sprayed with nutes from nozzles until their roots reach the nutrient level. They have an additional irrigation tube feeding them in the net baskets as well. Then I think it becomes oxygenated hydro from there but I'm guessing most of your plants would be ready to harvest by then. The nutrient level appears to be purposely pretty low compared to a bubble tub. Take a look at their web site and see what you think. I'm hoping their system will be a little more forgiving if we screw up after the roots reach the nutes. It's really a bitch to come home from fishing and find all your ladies dead.
