Aerogarden

I was tending to my Aerogarden today and I though I'd blog about my experience with it. I got it about 4 months ago, I know because I ran out of my first 3 month seed kit a month ago and I keep neglecting to do anything about it. I love the garden, but I simply don't have time for all the maintenance. The Aerogarden has the advantage of being able to be neglected for 2 weeks at a time. Then the light starts blinking and it needs water and food tablets. Once that 5 minute task is done, it is good for another 2 weeks. The problem is that every 3 months you have to throw the plants out and shell out another $20 to keep it going. You also loose a month to regrowing each time you renew it. And you are limited to one type of plant (you can't grow basil, tomatoes, lettuce and flowers all at once). My last garden started out as half lettuce and half herbs, and the lettuce suffered because of it. I ended up cutting the lettuce off at the stem and forgetting about those holes for the next few months. Now I'm on to tomatoes.

So who do I recommend the Aerogarden for? I think if you can afford to shell out the money for it without feeling like you gave up something else (that doesn't describe me), and you like the novelty of having a small fresh garden indoors, then you should get an Aerogarden.

Incidentally, if you have an Aerogarden, try putting potted plants (perhaps more herbs or flowers) next to it. Those plants will greatly benefit from the added light. Add some fertalizer to those plants from time to time, and don't forget to water them. I got a few aqua-globes (at Bed, Bath and Beyond I paid $8 for two after their standard coupon) to water these other plants and now I just water everything once a week.

The final touch to my strange garden is out on my back porce. I got an upside down hanging tomato plant (the hanging pot was from Target for $10 and the plant was also from Target for $2). I water that once a week too. However, I have been neglecting my weekly watering the past few weeks and this plant is looking sad. I'm going to try to keep on a better schedule going forward and see if I can boost it back to life!