I am sure you’ve heard of the Aerogarden.  Last Christmas (2007), they were everywhere.  This year I received one for Christmas.  I think my husband was hoping that I would grow herbs without any “dirt” in the kitchen. 

We set up the Aerogarden with the kit of seeds which is included – an herb garden.  Everything worked completely according to plan.  By the way – there is a small amount of growing medium (soil) in the little seed pods.  Each of my herbs, basil, dill, thyme, chives, and oregano, sprouted just when the directions said they would.  Here’s a pic after 3 1/2 weeks.  They are all doing well.  We have had to use some dill, basil and chives just to keep them from growing into the lights. 

Aerogarden at 4 weeks

I use fresh herbs in my cooking quite a bit.  This is so much better than running to the grocery store and picking up some anemic looking bunches of herbs.   The kids are really interested in the daily growth.  They have even checked out the seed catalogs so that they can pick out the plants they want to grow outside – interest sparked by the aerogarden.  My older son is even looking into growing larger plants hydroponically and aeroponically for a school project just based on the interest sparked by the aerogarden.

I  am looking forward to growing tomatoes in the aerogarden.  One of the toughest things about a New England winter is the absence of decent tomatoes.  A Tomato kit is just one of the many different kits available for the aerogarden.  And – you can even get a kit to plant your own seeds or purchase a mix-and-match kit directly from aerogarden where you can choose which seeds you want in your kit.