Thursday, May 8, 2008

Not in this lifetime!



"Not in this lifetime!" That is what I said when I found out that AeroGarden wanted twenty bucks plus shipping for seven seeds.
My wife wanted the AeroGarden, as she said she always wanted to try hydroponics. We were among the first to order one and when it arrived it came with a seed kit of salad greens. The salad greens we grew looked nothing like the ads on TV showed them. After a few weeks we wanted something else, like herbs, but I was not about to pay twenty dollars for a few seeds. That is what got me started in hydroponics. We found a hydroponic dealer locally and I bought some rockwool cubes and a small supply of nutrients. Using my own seeds, I found the results were as good as AeroGarden's. After getting hooked on growing , the next logical step was to scale up the project so I added a large grow light, and the rest is history.
Now, the only use I put the AeroGarden to is starting seeds that take a long time to germinate, like parsley or cilantro.
If you happen to own an AeroGarden and want to grow your own seeds just cut a rockwool cube to fit LOOSELY in the small cup. And yes, you can reuse the cups, so don't throw them away.
We found that the AeroGarden is OK for herbs like basil, but growing salad greens or tomatoes with the AeroGarden is not, from my point of view, the way to go.

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