I want take some time to profile a plant system called the Aerogarden. I bought my first aerogarden (a 7 pod one) about 3 years ago because even though my dad has a whole garden bed full of herbs, I thought it would be neat to be able to grow my own herbs in the kitchen, year-round. According to the Aerogarden website, the AeroGarden uses high yield aeroponic technology and built in grow lights to create a self watering, self feeding, fully automated indoor garden that grows plants faster and healthier than plants grown in soil. If a seed pod doesn’t grow, you can just e-mail the Aerogarden customer service and they’ll send you a new pod, free of charge.
When I moved to NYC, I left my 7 pod aerogarden with my dad and bought a small, bright yellow 3-pod aerogarden. I had plenty of room for it despite my brother saying that I wouldn’t. Not only is it really nice to be able to make pasta and top it with fresh basil or buy smoked salmon, put it on a bagel, and trim off a stem of dill as a garnish, it’s also nice to look at something ‘green’ in a city where all you see in concrete.
Yes, the aerogarden is a bit of an investment. On the Aerogarden website the 7-pod gardens are about $130 and the 3 pod gardens are about $70. Seed kits range from $13 (for 3-pod seed kits) to $20 (for custom seed kits) and grow lights cost about $25 for a pair of 2 lights (1 is used for the 3 pod, 2 are used for the 7 pod aerogardens). But, I recommend shopping around for aerogardens. I bought my 3 pod aerogarden on QVC for a lot less, and they currently have the 3 pod aerogarden at a clearance price of $45. Also, the Aerogarden frequently has sales, free shipping discounts, and seed kit discounts. The herbs will last about 4-5 months at which point you will need to order a new seed kit and replace the grow lights. The aerogarden will need to be watered about every 3-4 days and every other week a nutrient packet will need to be added (these come included with the seeds). You can also buy kits to grow salad greens, peppers, or tomatoes as well!
I recommend the Aerogarden if you cook with a lot of herbs, live in a place where there isn’t a lot of greenery or you are unable to grow herbs (NYC), or if you’re interested in learning how to garden. I’ve really enjoyed having herbs right at my finger tips when I cook and my dad has as well. It’s nice not spending $3 on a little box of herbs and only using a few sprigs and throwing the rest out!
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