The Better Homemaking Network

I started using the Aerogarden when the company first came into being. I love them so much that I buy something new every couple of years, and now have three Aerogardens that enable me to always have something fresh from the garden all year long. When I got my first Aerogarden, there was nothing available on the web about experiences people were having with them. I was especially interested in others’ ideas when the Master Gardener Kitcame out, where you can use your own seeds. I’ve never had much of a green thumb, but have had great results using the Aerogarden, and with the garden starter tray I even tried my hand at a vegetable garden. This will document the progress of an AeroGarden Extra Elitewith larger vegetable plants, an AeroGarden Classicwith herbs, and a garden starter tray with easy-to-grow vegetables.

The first thing to do with any project is to set out all of the supplies you will need. In cooking this is to be sure you have all of the ingredients required; I’ve found this to be equally as important in any other activity.

Here I have my three Aerogardens (one is off to the side that will house the garden starter tray), the plastic baskets, domes, and grow sponges (available in the Master Gardener kit) placed to be sure I have the correct amount, plant spacers that came in a tomato kit from Aerogrow, the garden starter tray, grow nutrients, and seeds.  Not pictured I have also prepared planning sheets for all three gardens, a sheet pan with water to rehydrate the pods in the garden starter tray, an emery board to file the cilantro seeds (it helps with germination), and needle-nose pliers to deepen the starter tray grow pods for larger seeds.  I ended up missing the little iron-on circles to place over the grow sponges; this helps curb algae growth.  I needed to get these planted, so I went ahead without them; I will be sure to order a supply to have for the next planting.

FOR BEGINNERS:  I would suggest purchasing a seed kit already prepared by Aerogrow.  The herbs seem to be the easiest to grow and best to start with.  I’d suggest the tomatoes or salsa kit as a second planting to get some experience in the higher-maintenance plants.  In order to make things easier when you are ready to plant on your own, SAVE THE DOMES, PLASTIC BASKETS, AND SPACERS that came with your seeds once you clean out your garden.  It is fairly easy to pull the old plants out of the baskets and save them for future use.  In fact, I like these better than the two-piece baskets that come with the Master Gardener kit.  I found a source for the grow sponges here.  Another important note:  SAVE SOME SEEDS from your mature tomatoes and/or peppers from the Aerogarden kit.  (I’ll explain how to do this in a future post.)  Trust me; it is easier to use what they have already developed for the Aerogarden than trying to find plants that are of appropriate size!  You’ll see more of what I mean as you watch my Elite garden grow – my cucumber plant isn’t exactly perfect for the garden, but I’m experimenting.  Finally, before planting your own seeds, you will want to read through the instruction manuals that came with your herbs and tomato kits, as well as the Master Gardener manual, which is available online if you have not purchased the kit previously.  As I mentioned before, I consider it more cost effective to save the baskets from the pre-planted kits, and purchase grow sponges, circles, and nutrients seperately.

On with the preparation! Next I laid out my seed packets by each garden, deciding what I wanted to grow.  I then placed them according to height, placing the taller plants in the back, and arranged them how I thought they would look and grow best.  (For the starter tray I placed the faster germinating seeds in the center.)  I then filled out a planning sheet for each garden, complete with germination time and days to harvest.  After the planning was done, I planted the seeds inside the grow sponges.  This is usually done with some non-toxic school glue to stick them to the sponges, but since I did not have the iron-on circles for the tops, I tried it without, mainly because I couldn’t find my glue.  The glue definitely makes it much easier!   Then I prepared the garden starter tray by deepening the hole in the pods with some needle-nose pliers (tweezers will work, too).  I had quite a job, since ALL of the seeds for my garden this year are quite large!  I also had a toddler helping me, which made things a little bit harder, but ultimately more interesting!

Here are the prepared gardens:

I then placed starter nutrients in my vegetable and herb gardens. No nutrients go into the starter tray the first week; the pods already have food inside them. I filled them all with water before placing them into the shelves; you may experiment to find what is easiest for you. I’m a little too short to water my top garden without just spilling it all over the place!

In the interest of completeness, although there isn’t much to see, here are the freshly planted gardens.

My vegetable garden, with baby cucumbers (back left), eggplant (back right), and marble peppers (center):

My herb garden, with cilantro, dill, sweet basil, par-cel, chrysanthemum, mitsuba, and Italian parsley:

My garden starter tray, two columns each cantaloupe, butternut, pumpkin, spaghetti squash, zucchini, cucumber:

And here they are in my shelf:

If you have been motivated to start your own Aerogarden, please let me know. I would love to follow your progress, and answer any questions you may have! In addition, please take advantage of the wonderful customer service over at Aerogrow. They have always been very helpful in providing insights to help things along.

Look for a weekly update each Friday to see how the garden fares!

Here is a complete list of supplies you will need for starting your own Aerogardens. (Mouse over for links.)

Vegetable Gardening

AeroGarden Extra Elite (Tall AeroGarden)
Vegetable Starter Kit (Salsa Garden Seed Kit (7-Pod)or Cherry Tomato Seed Kit (7-Pod) or one is included with the Aerogarden Extra)
Trellis Coil 4-Pack (Only two coils come with the Aerogarden Extra)

Herb Gardening

AeroGarden PRO100 (or any of the Aerogardens)
Any Herb Starter Kit (Gourmet Herb Seed Kit (7-Pod) or one is included with a regular Aerogarden)

Seed Starting

Any regular Aerogarden: Free Garden Starter Tray With Purchase of an AeroGrarden 6 or 7
Garden Starter Tray (order early!  I mean, REALLY early, like for next year.) OR
Garden Starter Tray Refill Pack (The tray itself is reusable)
Seeds (you get to pick whatever you want to grow outside!)

Instead of Aerogarden seed kits

Your own seeds, and the following:
Master Gardener Deluxe 3-Season Kit (7-Pod)
- OR -
Domes, baskets, and spacers you have saved from previous Aerogarden seed kits
Extended Season Nutrients (for Vegetables) or Extended Season Nutrients (for Herbs)
Aeroponic Garden Compatible Foam Inserts
Non-toxic glue

Other recommended items

3-Shelf Wall Garden
Herb Appeal Collection
Norpro Triple Herb Scissors
Grow Bulbs if yours are over a year old