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(More customer reviews)This is a remarkable device, one that is a boon to apartment dwellers with no patch of garden, or to anyone who wants an indoor garden that's nearly foolproof.I have to say, I have probably a "black thumb." I can grow aloe plants really well, pothos (ubiquitous viney house plant) and I once had a good crop of morning glories but normally, my gardening efforts are pretty sad. I don't trust myself to keep an outdoor herb garden growing.
But I like to cook with fresh herbs, and I got really tired of trying to find chervil, let alone keeping basil and mint from going all black and soft in the fridge. After reading a lot of discussion about the Aerogrow and seeing a tempting sale, I decided to spring for one and try it out.The device is a rounded vessel that holds a pump and water, and a light attached at the top. The surface of the lower vessel has a stainless steel plate with seven wells. You put plastic seed pods in these wells, cover with plastic "bio-domes" and add tablets of nutrient and let 'er rip. The pump feeds the foam in the plug where seeds are embedded. The light encourages the seedlings. Within weeks, you have a crop of various herbs or lettuce or flowers.The "razor blade" of this device is the seed pod. It is a specially designed unit, like a small plastic frame rather like a thimble. It holds foam plastic, split in two. Inside the split, the manufacturer places some seeds and puts a paper collar with the name of the herb on top. The collar serves also to support the plant as it grows taller. The other "razor blade" is the grow bulb, which needs replacing after some months because lights grow dimmer as they are used. Eventually, the grow light is too weak to do its job and you need a replacement. I say "razor blade" because these disposables are unique to the unit and you must purchase them from retailers who sell Aerogarden products. There are master gardener kits with special pods you can use to insert your own seeds--probably a great idea for gardeners who need to get a real jump on the growing season, such as folks in New England where the season can be as short as 60 days.I tried three kits so far: first, I used the gourmet herb kit. This had two types of basil (purple and green), mint, parsley, cilantro, dill and chives. I got a great crop of basil. Enough to share some baggies of this essential herb with my assistant at work. I got a bumper crop of dill, plenty of chives for breakfasts of omelets, and eventually, some viney mint that seems to be of the apple mint variety. Not enough to do tabbouleh salad, but enough to use in drinks and garnish fruits. Only the cilantro failed to grow. No seed even showed a sprout. I called the support number, and very polite folks immediately sent me a replacement and noted they felt it would take more than four weeks to sprout cilantro. Now, some of the herbs are slow to grow (parsley is notoriously slow) but neither pod ever showed a ghost of cilantro. I assume that the seeds supplied to the company might have been mistakenly irradiated food-grade spice seeds and not fresh crop growing seeds. In any case, I got absolutely nowhere with cilantro, a shame, as that is a very tender herb that doesn't keep well. The parsley grew too slowly to be of any real use, as well. But it did grow.I eventually depotted the herbs into a kitchen flower pot (cutting off the plastic frame and leaving on the foam, into which the roots had really made a home.) Then I tried the lettuce. It sprouted in three days and in a month, I had enough to make some light salads and yes, share a bag with the assistant. But it seemed a waste to let the Aerogarden grow something as mundane as lettuce, and I prefer mache (cornsalad, feldsalat) or arugula to leaf lettuce, so I harvested the rest of the crop and started the French Herb kit. This is chervil, sorrel, parsley, chives, Marseilles basil, sage and savory. Everything sprouted immediately except the parsley and chervil, notable slow-pokes of the herb world. I sure like having fresh herbs to hand on the kitchen counter. I can even see the attraction of having three or these mounted on an optional wall rack, but that is quite a luxury. However, a determined gourmet or gardener in a harsh climate or restrictive living setting could satisfy their green thumb with such an arrangement. The customer support is fast and friendly. I have heard stories of failed pumps but mine is quite reliable, and I did have a light give up the ghost way early, and this was cheerfully replaced by customer service. The unit is attractive, easy to use (hey, my black thumb has yet to deter the Aerogarden) and it is a lot of fun to watch the plants grow taller and taller. I'd say this is a great idea for kids as well as cooks who like fresh herbs. As to the other kits, there are a number of them and more are being made available. I can purchase them at my local farmstand-garden shop and that's quite handy. Of course they are also available online.The kits so far that I know of are the French Herb, Gourmet Herb and Lettuce I mentioned and:
Japanese Herb--two colors of shiso, mitsuba, chives, shungiku and cress
South of the Border: Epazote, cilantro, oregano, thyme, parsley, basil
Year Round Gourmet Herb (extra herbs like savory, sage, lemon basil, and the ones in the regular gourmet kit)
Holiday Herb (parsley, sage, oregano, thyme)
International Basil
Italian Herb
Cascading Petunia
Cherry Tomato
Salsa Garden
Beans
Snow Peas
Chili Peppers
More greens (arugula, mesclun, baby greens, chef pack, romaine)And I assume more packs are in the works. All come with nutrient tablets and complete instructions. I give this two (greenish) thumbs up.
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AeroGarden 2101-00S Classic 7-Pod with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit, SilverEnjoy fresh greens at every meal no matter what the season. With AeroGrow's AeroGarden garden kit, it's easy to cultivate lettuce, cherry tomatoes, herbs, chili peppers, edible flowers, and more in an energy-efficient, organic-based environment right in the kitchen. This compact chef's tool includes everything the indoor farmer needs: a preseeded bio-dome grow pod, two daylight-spectrum bulbs, nutrients, and a helpful tending and harvesting guide complete with recipes. Just follow the simple instructions to set up, and the growing process starts immediately, with germination occurring within 24 hours and a mature plant that is ready five times faster than if grown in soil. The AeroGarden system monitors itself to create ideal growing conditions for each plant and alerts you when it's time to add more water and nutrients. No dirt or natural light is needed, so even low-light spaces are suitable. Plug kits for many kinds of plants are available from AeroGrow.
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