AeroGardens

[machshefa]

Oh wise and wonderful f-list.

I know that some of you use AeroGardens to grow veggies and herbs (ordinary_magic , annietalbot , I think... anybody else?) 

I'm doing a lot more cooking (and really enjoying it), and am increasingly mindful of the quality of my ingredients.  I'd love an aerogarden to grow tomatoes and herbs, and possibly peppers if there's enough room.  I do NOT have a green thumb.  An outdoor garden is not possible both b/c of my propensity to kill them and because of the climate I live in.  Also, my yard doesn't get enough light.

I'm looking at aerogardenstore.com and they have lots of options both for the machinery as well as the accessories and seed sets.  I'm a bit confused about it all and not sure what makes the most sense.  If this works, I'm likely to use it a lot, so I'm willing to invest in something bigger that will hold more.  I have a family, so the veggies and herbs will get used.  I figure that what I'll save in buying fresh herbs and tomatoes will ultimately pay for the stuff, but even if not, the health benefits are worth it (not to mention taste!)

So, for those of you who have used aerogardens, which kind (brand, size, style) do you recommend?  What's really necessary in order to get started and not be constantly going, "ARGH, I need X, Y, Z, and can only get it if I order it."?

Advice is most welcome.  Thank you!

:D

Comments

[sc010f.livejournal.com]

I don't aero garden, but as one who is owned by cats, I have terrible luck with houseplants.

Anything green indoors = snack to be barfed up later.

So when you do you garden, be sure to find a place out of kitteh's reach!

And if you find a place, let me know! ;)

purchase a farm share to get all sorts of veggies?

[mollyssister.livejournal.com]

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[averygoodun.livejournal.com]

If it's small enough, you could put it in a bird cage... you'd have to finagle it so that you could just lift it off, and whether that would mean just cutting off the base with wire clippers or figuring out a locking system.

But I'm sure Annie has more experience there, too.

[hogwarts-91.livejournal.com]

My sister is ADDICTED to AeroGardens. Seriously, she has 8-10 of them. And since she also has 7 kitties, she built several shallow shelves along her walls to discourage errant grazing (and subsequent puking). :-)

Personally, I think they're ideal for herbs and salad greens. Deb's tomatoes did well (especially the cherry tomatoes), but I wasn't impressed with the taste. Maybe it's just being from New Jersey, the home of drool-worthy tomatoes, but it also might be UV lamps versus real sun and warmth. They were okay, but they certainly didn't taste any better or different than store-bought. Her salad greens, on the other hand, produced the perfect amount of leaves to provide daily salads, and they tasted quite nice.

I emailed Deb when I saw your post, and this was her reply:

To grow full sized veggies, I'd recommend she purchase this model, the AeroGarden Pro200 (currently sold out at the site):
http://www.aerogardenstore.com/promotion/index.php?promoName=catalog&pageName=product_aerogardens&viewProduct=2420-00D

or this model, the AeroGarden Deluxe (currently on sale for $150):
http://www.aerogardenstore.com/promotion/index.php?promoName=catalog&pageName=product_aerogardens&viewProduct=2411-01B


Good luck!

[pokeystar.livejournal.com]

I had not heard of aerogradens, so I clicked on the link, saw the words "grow light" and thought, I bet they ship a lot of those to California, for the "tomatoes"

~snickers~

[machshefa.livejournal.com]

ROTFL.

You know, I'd bet you're right.

*snrt

I just want TOMATOES. Honest.

Well, and basil, and sage, and rosemary and, and, and... :D