Latest AeroGarden Update!

AeroGarden at about 8 weeks!

Time to harvest!

Like so much else in my life that doesn't demand immediate attention, the poor little AeroGarden has been a bit neglected. I forgot that you are supposed to raise the lamp hood. Oops. The basil, as it often does, is going crazy, but the lettuce is growing even faster! As you see, several parts of both the lettuce and the basil had to kind of lay out to the sides since I forgot to raise the hood, but the center is nice and perky and happy!  The poor thyme in the back... well, it barely stands a chance with all the other growth!

All of the plants are super healthy - even if they look a bit droopy around the outside at the moment - but things are really growing. In fact, compare the picture above with the one below, and you can see how fast the lettuce has grown in just a week!

I'm thrilled about the lettuce because it's always been hard for me to grow lettuce here in The Deep South, and this lettuce puts any I've tried to grow outside to shame.  I'm thinking that I'll replant this AeroGarden with more lettuce y'all!

So it's harvest time.  Tonight, I'll cut off those outside lettuce leaves and add them in with some romaine for our salads!  I'm also going to clip down the outside leaves of the basil tonight, chop it up and place it into ice cube trays. I'll cover the chopped basil with water, freeze it, then bag the cubes. That way I can grab a cube to add to the skillet when I'm cooking and the water evaporates off, leaving behind the basil for seasoning. When the basil outside goes crazy, I usually harvest it and make a pesto and if I don't use it, freeze it the same way.

I received this AeroGarden as a gift, and while we had a minor set back {no fault of the AeroGarden but rather a little feline scoundrel}, which actually resulted in me throwing in a few lettuce seeds to begin with, I have to say that I absolutely adore the AeroGarden product.

Course I still have my raised bed, square foot gardens going outside, but I spend a lot of time fussing over them, watching over them, chasing wildlife away from them, fixing squirrel damage, fighting bugs and disease and wilt and heat and watering, and none of that happens with an AeroGarden.

Every couple of weeks you add a little nutrient and water, remember to trim up, harvest and use the plants whether they are vegetables or flowers, and once your plants are finished with their growing cycle, clean the unit up, replant and make sure you have a replacement grow lamp bulb on hand.  The care booklet does say that you should replace the grow bulb after about 6 months, but according to what I've read, most folks seem to just let it go until it needs to be replaced. I say just make sure you have a bulb handy if you go that route! The AeroGarden really is pretty much maintenance free.

Now granted, the up-front costs of these units can be a bit scary, I admit that, and with all of the options and accessories and different kinds of units and seed pods you can buy, you could spend a small fortune on growing AeroGardens. Yet... when I think about what most people spend on soil, soil amendments, plants, fertilizer, pesticides, bug spray and all that, all in all maybe it's worth the cost. I do know it's fun. And it's a great way to educate kids on how things grow. I mean, c'mon... how stinkin' cute is this y'all?!

AeroGarden Lady Bug

And... it'll sure be a nice way to have salad-makings growing right inside your house in the middle of a snowstorm, or for us, the middle of a major heat wave. Pretty cool.

I've got my eye on the AeroGarden Starter Tray for seed starting now.

While I had great success with my little Jiffy for the tomato seeds, and indeed I do think that it's because it was parked right next to the AeroGarden to be honest, the larger Jiffy tray didn't do nearly as well.  I planted it with the smaller tiny seeds for flowers and herbs and a few peppers, but because it was a lot larger, it didn't really have the benefit of the grow light.  Some things sprouted, many did not and I was a little disappointed. I'm so impressed with the Aerogarden that I can't help but want this starter kit now! Will keep y'all posted on that one.

Nothing to disclose here! My AeroGarden was free, but it was a gift from my sister, and the good folks at AeroGarden don't even know who I am. I just simply want to share a neat product that I am falling in love with.

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