AeroGarden / Seedling support (stackable)

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What IS an AeroGarden?

If you don't know about AeroGarden, you can check it out here: https://aerogarden.com/home/   It's basically a small indoor home hydroponic garden where you use seed pods and is extremely low maintenance. You add water and/or plant food once or twice a month as directed by the machine (glowing lights on my model). You can grow a bunch of stuff from herbs to vegetables to fruits to house plants.

 

What are the advantages of this model versus other similar ones?

1. Stackable. Simple pin/hole combination allows you to leave a support on if you wish and simply add another support on top (or two!). Each section is about 80mm high. This works good for climbing fruit and vegetables seedlings.
2. Removable Option. If your needs may require you to remove the support altogether, use the “split” variant. It can also be stacked but allows for easier removal. Between the built-in gap and the natural flex of thin plastic, you should be able to get the support off without damaging the plant. Still, be careful as seedlings are often delicate.
3. Minimal Filament Usage. Only uses about 18 grams of plastic each - including (tree/organic) supports!

Which Variation should I choose?

I would start out with the “split” version as it gives you the most flexibility of being able to more easily remove the support if your particular plant outgrows the support. The solid (non-split) version is sturdier if you really need to support more weight.

 

Tolerance Test Piece

 

Because tolerances for holes can vary, I've included a quick test fit piece (first plate) you can print in a few minutes to check the fit. If it is too tight or too loose, you can adjust the “X-Y hole compensation” / “X-Y Size compensation” (or equivalent) setting in your slicer.  See the photo for where that is in Bambu Studio. You want it tight “enough” without having it be too difficult to remove when that is needed. If the default (0mm) is too tight, try 0.1mm. If too loose, try -0.1mm.

Can you use this model without an AeroGarden?

Sure! Although originally designed with diameter is made to just fit over the AeroGarden seed pods, they have holes in the bottom so you could also use a stake to fasten it to a pot or just shove it into the soil a bit.

Printing Notes

Any filament is fine - I used mostly PLA but did a few in PETG. 0.24 layer height works fine (and is what the profile uses), but 0.28 may be good as well to print them slightly faster.

 

Suggest printing a few at the same time once you are satisfied with the hole fit.