AeroGarden

[JAZ]

We grew tomatoes in the Aerogarden at work, and had lots of fruit. The plants do have to be hand-pollinated (which it says in the directions), but that's just a matter of gently shaking the plants once a day or so when they get flowers.

[LittleIsland]

And soon you'll be able to grow strawberries in it! That in itself is enough to make me salivate for one. But I wonder if the berries will be wonderful and intense and sweet.

[Zknet]

And soon you'll be able to grow strawberries in it!  That in itself is enough to make me salivate for one.  But I wonder if the berries will be wonderful and intense and sweet.

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They actually already released their strawberry kit earlier this year. Unfortunately, they didn't work out for many people (myself included), so they went back to the drawing board.

Hopefully, their next attempt will work out better.

PS: I should note that their customer service was great and supplied us with a substitution herb kit for free after having problems with the strawberries.

[MelissaH]

Ours is currently on hiatus for the summer, when we can easily get most of the fresh herbs we want from our next-door neighbor's garden. (With her permission, of course! ) The only things she doesn't grow that we use in large amounts are cilantro and parsley, but those are both easily available elsewhere. She grows basil, but once it gets to be in season, that's in wide supply at the farmer's market.

We're currently trying to decide what we want to start this fall, once the garden's supply is gone. Last year, we were able to get fresh sage well into November!

We probably could have gotten more out of our Aerogarden, but ran out of the nutrient tablets. Next time, I would order another batch along with the seeds, so we can get through spring.

MelissaH

[phaelon56]

I've got one in my apartment at school.  Everyone wonders what it is.

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I can guess what they hope it is....

[hummingbirdkiss]

a grow light and a pot with dirt/package of seeds.

I start.grow plants in my house in very cute pots..on a table that looks pretty... with an inexpensive grow light

.. or simple hydroponics system? fun to do I did it with my kids ..to grow lettuce and tomatoes...and it took up very little space ...seems so much cheaper than this?

not trying to insult ..just curious about why this is better ..seems so limiting to have to buy expensive "Pods" to grow things indoors...

thanks

[saluki]

For anyone who has been using the Aerogarden--I'd like to ask which of the seed kits did you enjoy the most?

Also, since the seed catalogs are coming and I find the master gardeners kit outrageously expensive--Do any of you know how to make a makeshift gardener's kit that could be used with the aerogarden? Also what kind of nutrient could be used with it

and where could it be obtained?

Thanks

PS: Sorry about the size--didn't know it would be this huge.

Edited January 21, 2008 by saluki (log)

[DCP]

For anyone who has been using the Aerogarden--I'd like to ask which of the seed kits did you enjoy the most?

Also, since the seed catalogs are coming and I find the master gardeners kit outrageously expensive--Do any of you know how to make a makeshift gardener's kit that could be used with the aerogarden?  Also what kind of nutrient could be used with it

and where could it be obtained?

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I've thoroughly enjoyed the Salad Greens kit. It's quite fast-growing.

As far as growing your own seeds, you can disassemble the pods from an existing seed kit - not sure if that is more in your desired price range, but it's an option. There are some photos from a seed pod take-apart here. There's some commentary on that site about using liquid plant food/epsom salt as well, which I know nothing about personally. Finally, AeroGarden Reviews may help give you an idea of what works and what doesn't when using your own seeds.

Best of luck, and please report back with your findings!

[MikeHartnett]

So, I’m really interested in buying an Aerogarden. Here’s my problem though: I’ve bought herb plants, etc., in the past, and they produced a few measly leaves, then became essentially useless for a few weeks until enough grew back to use in one more dish.. Will an Aerogarden produce enough of these herbs to use on a regular basis?

[MikeHartnett]

bump- Anyone?

[Susan in FL]

I can't speak from my own experience, but everyone who has told me about theirs says yes it does produce enough to use on a regular basis. I bought my son's fiancee in San Diego one for Christmas, but haven't had a chance to get a recent report. I'll try to remember to post here, after I do.

[annecros]

Hubby and I are sort of having a back and forth on this one. I want one to grow salad greens and such because of my climate and the pests and diseases that run rampant in Florida.

But, he argues that he can rig a grow box much cheaper. We also have an old aquarium that he is thinking he can set up as a hydro grow. For lighting he is thinking mini twist compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) the warm white and the daylight providing the light in the blue and red spectra that are conducive to photosynthesis. PVC, a submersible pump, and sprayer heads.

I guess he is going to win this one.

[Allura]

Just a quick bit of info: The AeroGarden is today's "Goldbox deal of the day" at Amazon, so it's $99 instead of the usual $199.

(I still can't get one; my cat would eat it all. )

[Susan in FL]

That's a good deal. I wish I had an extra hundred right now to get one. It's been too hot here for herbs to grow well outside. In follow up to what I mentioned upthread, my son's fiancee is very happy with hers. I saw it when I visited her in the spring, and it looked great.

[Special K]

(I still can't get one; my cat would eat it all.  )

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Oh. Good point. I think you just saved me a hundred bucks!

[SueJen]

I've had one for a while and have tried the salad greens, mixed herbs, and international basil. The salad greens grew very well, but I wasn't impressed with the salad. The lettuce was too wimpy. The mixed herbs didn't grow well, some never sprouted. But the international basil is fantastic! I'm on my third basil kit.

[KitchenQueen]

I've been looking at these for a long time. I decided I wanted to get the Pro-200 model on special at $219.00 including trellis goodies, Master gardener kit, herb seeds, other perks included.

I had read how the original is very prone to leaking and pump problems. Why not go whole hog?

I started to order it online one Saturday a few weeks ago, but the special was not listed online, and the catalog offering it was on my desk at work.

So I Googled Aerogarden Pro-200.

Then I freaked.

I found numerous sites where owners said the bulbs had stated smoking like crazy and they had to yank the cord to stop a possible fire.

The posters said Aerogarden admitted there was a problem with the bulbs in the 200 model and they were working to correct it.

And if I buy something that has to be on 24/7 while I'm at work, and my house burns down?

"Working to correct the problem" doesn't quite cut it.

I REALLY wanted one, but now I'm terrified to buy it. Freh herbs sounded so good.

Anyone else have any info?

For now, I'm not touching one no matter how good it sounds.

[IndyRob]

Well, 18 months later I guess they've got the problems sorted. I got one for Christmas this year have have been exploring the online Aerogarden world and have not heard of any fire hazards.

I'm pretty pleased so far. I got mine Christmas Eve and spent 15 minutes Christmas morning setting it up, and already my Basil is about 7" tall. All of the pods have sprouted and are growing and my only problem has been a rogue Purple Basil plant cohabiting with the chives. But I think I'll let it fight with them for domination since I feel that I'm unlikely to get a sufficient yield of chives through a half inch hole. And chives are the one thing I've been able to grow easily in a pot.

As to the economics, yeah, it can be pretty pricey. But then again, I've paid around $3.50 for a single bunch of basil when it's in season. So this could add up too - and is limited to the season.

I've been looking at homebrew hydroponic systems and think they could be done with much less money. But the beauty of an Aerogarden is that you'd be happy to put one on your kitchen counter top (if you have the counter space). Along with a 15 minute initial setup with no scrounging for suitable parts, I think that justifies the up front costs (although I highly recommend the Christmas present route ).

For the ongoing costs, you've got bulbs, seed pods, nutrients and power.

The light bulbs appear to be proprietary and can't be replaced without significant modification. But contrary to the official recommendations, the conventional wisdom seems to be that you can use the bulbs beyond their recommended life.

It appears that many people are having good success with making their seed pods using their own seeds and standard hydroponic materials. Likewise, general purpose hydroponic nutrients seem to work well.

I saw a post where someone estimated the electricity cost of running their Aerogarden at $8/mo. But then again, I saw another poster (with multiple AGs) claim that his electric bill actually went down because he wasn't his regular incandescent lamps as much. Yeah, the lamps are pretty bright and in herb mode will only give you 5 hours of darkness per day.

If you want more info a good web forum is at http://www.aerogardengrowers.com. It's a good independent site with many multi-unit Aerogarden owners.