You have different options for starting over:

  1. Sow new seeds. Note: make sure the new plants get enough light
  2. Use cuttings from other plants
  3. Transplant store-bought plants to avoid waiting for new ones to grow

Also, see how to start over in some of the pots. 

 

Option 1: Sow new seeds

You can plant in used soil, but often it contains nutrients and roots, and has an incorrect pH balance that can affect germination and growth. Try it out, but we recommend new soil for the best possible germination. You can buy new coconut soil here.

Step by step:

  1. Empty the pots and wash the pots and base plate
  2. Add new coconut soil to the pots (you can buy coconut soil here) and sow seeds
  3. Reset your Auk by pressing the light button for 30 seconds, and put on your plant chip to start it up again. If you don't have the plant chip, you can set it to phase 1 by pressing the 1-button for about 5 seconds. It may take a little longer before it waters for the first time if you just switch to phase 1.

Your Auk will perform the first watering 30 minutes after resetting.

 

Option 2: Use cuttings

You can also kickstart your growth using cuttings, see a video here.  Cuttings are simply cut-off parts of another plant. Many cuttings can be put straight into the soil.

Tips for successful cuttings:

  • Remove large leaves; try to have only small leaves on the cuttings
  • Make sure the plant is placed deep into the soil. Try to have one or more sets of leaf nodes (the point on the stem where the leaves grow out) covered in soil, but remove the leaves from those exact nodes - that's where new roots grow!
  • Make sure there is plenty of moisture. You can add some extra water around the cuttings as well.
  • Turn off the light for the first few days. Cuttings risk drying out if they get a lot of light in the beginning (they use some time to make new roots)

The key to successful cuttings is that the plants manage to develop roots. Some plants easily grow roots, but not all do, so you have to try a bit. Don't be afraid to experiment! If the cuttings die when you put them straight into the soil, you can try putting them in a glass of water until you see they have developed a few centimetres of roots.

 

Option 3: Transplant other plants, e.g. store-bought plants

You can also transplant other plants into your Auk:

  1. Take the store-bought plants out of their pots. Tip: cut open the plastic and try to protect the roots as much as possible; it's the roots that absorb nutrients and water
  2. Put them in an Auk pot. It can be a bit tricky to fit them in, but you can either squeeze them together or "twist them up"
  3. Add some coconut soil (available here) if there is empty space in the pot. When doing this, the soil gets in contact with the water in the base plate, which is essential for water uptake.
  4. Set your Auk to phase 5

 

In the beginning, store-bought plants will typically "fall over" from the shock of repotting, but then they will recover :)

An Auk with store-bought plants transplanted. Store-bought plants are often made to grow fast, so they are not always as strong. But it usually works well!

 

Good luck with your new crops :)