My AeroGarden

Every time I've seen an ad for this little hydroponic wonder, I have wanted one for my very own. How many times in the middle of Winter I've wished for easy access to fresh herbs to cook with (translation: NOT having to drive to the market and hope they are there...) For my birthday last month, my wish came true. My parents surprised me with my own little AeroGarden. It is really, really easy to maintain so far. You simply assemble the unit (not difficult) carefully pop in the grow-lights, put the seed pods in their little holes, add water; add nutrient tablets which are provided with each growing kit and plug it in. You keep the little pods covered with the provided clear covers until they sprout. I'm growing the kitchen herb kit; Italian Basil, Purple Basil, Parsley, Chives, Dill, Mint and Thyme. Thyme seeds were substituted for Cilantro in my kit. I planted the garden on August 12, and you can see in the photo what they look like now. Each pod tells you in how many days you can expect the seeds to sprout. The light from the garden is VERY bright. You can set it to turn on and off in case the garden light is close enough to disturb your sleep. We usually leave a night-light on, but now we don't need it because the grow-lights are more than enough. I am tempted to get another one (in white or silver) because I'm thinking about growing either the cherry tomatoes or strawberries. I've read both positive and negative reviews from people who have tried them so I'm trying to resist until I see how successful I am with my first attempt. The parsley is growing the slowest. The only real problem we've had is that the cats like to eat the chives! I think I will need to plant some catnip in a little pot and put it next to the AeroGarden so hopefully they will choose that instead. Skittles loves to hang out under the warm grow-lights. Batgirl has come to kiss him goodnight.-CS ^..^