Me and my Aerogarden – Eat, Drink, and Be Snarky

I was forced to buy an Aerogarden. When it came right down to it, I really didn’t have a choice.

I had been flirting with the idea for quite a while as the infomercials always fascinated me. I wanted one, but there were some concerns. It looked like it was really big, and my place does not have the largest of kitchens. Also, the Aerogarden is a tad pricey. However, the promise of fresh herbs whenever I wanted them with a modicum of effort continued to entice me. I settled for lusting after the hydroponic indoor garden for over a year before it happened.

One evening, my roommate was browsing Amazon and for some reason stumbled upon the Aerogarden page, where the contraption was on sale, more than half off the list price for one day only. I started to salivate as I thought about it. This was the chance that I had been waiting for… wasn’t it? It was such a great deal, I had no choice. I couldn’t say no. I had to buy it, and I had to act now! So buy it I did.

It was such a promising beginning, but I have to be truthful and tell you that my Aerogarden and I have had a very rocky relationship. My greatest fears were indeed realized; the thing is massive. I literally took weeks to decide where to put it. I considered all options: the basement, my bedroom, maybe even the bathroom (so it would be close to water for refilling). Eventually my common sense prevailed and I found a reasonably convenient spot in my kitchen.

After finding a spot for the beast it was time to test it out with my first seed kit: herbs! It was simple to set up: screw in a couple of the lightbulbs (or “grow bulbs” as the Aerogarden people like to call them), poke the seed containers into the base, fill it with water, add some of the nutrients, and plug it in. It was that magical beginning of the relationship. My Aerogarden and I were in love. Everything looked great, all of our flaws were hidden and everything was fresh and new.

Sadly, the honeymoon didn’t last. Within a couple weeks it was clear that my thyme wasn’t going to cut it. Indeed, within three weeks the thyme was just about dead, with only three or four brown little saplings springing up. The basil took off, though, as did the parsley and chives. The chives eventually showed their true colors too and ended up going the way of the thyme.

To be fair, I think part of the problem may have been me. Like in any relationship, one side is never completely to blame. See, I tend to keep my house pretty cool in the winter (alright, I keep it frigid). I think that perhaps the cold temperatures killed some of the herbs. There were other problems, though, and those were all the Aerogarden’s, not mine. I swear.

In all the “official” pictures of the Aerogarden, the herbs are all bushy and full with leaves. That didn’t happen to mine. Instead, the herbs tended to shoot up, straight up, with a few leaves poking out of the thick stems. This wouldn’t have necessarily been a problem, save for the fact that there were a couple grow bulbs that were blocking the upward growth. What ended up happening was the herbs would grow into the lights and then cook as they hit the bulbs. Drat! Just like that, the relationship soured, frustration bubbled over, and I ripped the herbs right out of the Aerogarden.

It turned out to be a fun experiment, and I think I’ll try it again when the weather gets a little warmer, but I’m not very hopeful. Have you made the same impulsive purchase that I did? Do you and your Aerogarden get along better than mine and I do?

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Feb 19, 2009 @ 12:06 EST5EDT