Revisiting the Aerogarden

[Barbee]

I have been looking at the Aerogarden as a gift for my sister. They like cherry tomatoes and I think they would enjoy one of these. IF they work.
So I remember last year a thread about some of you buying an Aerogarden, but I can't remember if the vote was yay or nay for them.

So if you have an Aerogarden, please chime in with your two cents here. Is it worth buying? Are the replacement bulbs expensive? How long do they last? Speak up and don't be shy.

[Dukerdawg]

Hi Barbee, I got one last year for Christmas and grew cherry tomatoes. It worked fine. However, it probably only produced about a dozen or so 'maters and the flavor was bland, as I think most hydronically grown food tastes. The bulbs supposedly last 6 months and I'm not sure about the cost to replace since I haven't got to that point yet. I'm thinking of growing herbs in mine this winter instead of the tomatoes.

Duane

[Barbee]

Good info Duane.
Maybe I should look at the herb garden for her since they do quite a bit of BBQ marinades. Or even the greens.
OK guys, keep the reviews coming!

[ContainerTed]

Against my advice and better judgement, the wife bought one. She got one of the herb setups with it. Well, it did grow some herbs. The Basil was fantastic. The Mint was good. The Parslely did great. The Dill was okay. The Cilantro didn't germinate. The Chives germinated one seed and then died.

The bulbs are still working, but, like Duane, I don't know what the real life span on them is. If it is short, then I will have a problem with the replacement cost at ~$10 each. The other problem I have is with the little nutrient tablets. They cost more than a couple pounds of the herbs would cost.

So, I'm not a fan of this device and place it in the same category with the Topsy Turvey Planter - curious, perhaps convenient to some extent, but expensive to use and questionable productivity and ROI (Return On Investment).

Ted

[Barbee]

Thanks for the honesty Ted. 10.00 does seem pricey for replaccement bulbs. How many bulbs are in the thing?

[RJ_Hythloday]

I've been interested in the prepara power plant pro. It's cheaper, and lets you use your own seeds. It also has the original misting type system, aerogarden switched to a bubbler.

[ContainerTed]

Barbee, the one we have is a six hole and it uses 2 bulbs. What I thought was possibly a better idea, was to have a good clean setup with perlite and some mix to grow herbs in the kitchen. So, when this puppy goes down, I'll rebuild it to a solid growing medium configuration.

The water (plus nutrients) calcify on the case and the water level MUST be checked daily. Ours uses a bubble stone airifier to create the flow of the nutrient water. This stone can find it way to a position against the case and produce a chattering noise from the vibration of the pump.

Also, since there is usually just the two of us, we don't close the bedroom door at night. The pump runs 24/7. The lights on this noisy, brightly lit device are on 17 hours and off for 7 and this cannot be changed. This means that the bright light is on well past my bedtime and I don't sleep well in a house that is not dark. If you have similar habits, this will make selecting a location for your aerogarden a bit more problematic. Check thru the different models of this thing for one that might have some of these features with adjustable settings. And lastly, the time the lights come on can only be set by unpluging the thing and plugging it back in. This means that a loss of power to the house will require a reset of the light's on/off schedule. This was a real pain in the posterior.

Ted

[cdbva]

I love mine, but I went into it knowing that it was rather overpriced. I wanted fresh basil in the winter. I even calculated what I was spending on grocery-store basil ($3 a pop), and realized that it would almost pay for itself in two years.

Almost. But -- the basil is much, much better than what the store offers. The Genovese basil is just as good as what I plant outside, and grows like mad.

Light bulbs are supposed to be replaced every 6 months. It must be fed with nutrients every two weeks. There are recipes for the nutrients online that I haven't looked into yet.

I add water every 3-4 days. My first parsley didn't come up (if you call them, they'll replace no-grows, I've heard). The thyme did well, but I never used it. I've just restocked with more parsley, which has come up, and will try some cilantro soon.

So it's not perfect. But when the garden is all frozen, it sure is cheering to have herbs growing inside -- a little oasis of vegetable hope. It's a toy, I guess. But after all, toys are appropriate for birthdays and Christmas. My mother-in-law always instructs us to use the gifts she sends on something frivolous, and once I brought myself to do that, I realized she was pretty smart.

Christine

P.S. Ted, does yours have a Lights on/off button? I discovered mine only recently. At bedtime I turn it off; the plants miss half an hour of light, but they'll get over it.

[ContainerTed]

Yes, Christine. ours has the lights on/off button, but I'm too lazy (LOL) to fool with it. Besides, I didn't want the thing in the first place. But, it IS the wife's "kitchen toy" and I have to admit that I really did like the basil.

To tell the truth, I had promised to build her an indoor herb growing setup and was a bit tardy getting it done - well, maybe a whole lot tardy.

Y'all hush now. She's kept me around for 46 years. So I must not be all bad.

Ted :>)

[Barbee]

The Aerogarden (3 plug one) is on special, buy 1 at 79. and get the 2nd 1 for 49. So if I get this for my sister I'd have a spare one.
So it sounds like the tomatoes are no better than store boughts. Herbs do good, though. Has anyone tried the greens in them?

RJ, I will google the prepara power plant pro. LoL, betcha can't say that 3 times fast!

[pete]

My friend has one and the tomatoes got too tall and sprawled all over. He only got a few ripe ones and the flavor was average. The herbs did well except only 2 little chives germinated. For fresh basil it does very,very well!!
It is noisy and a pain to clean between crops--root all over the place inside the water chamber.

Pete

[cdbva]

Prepara Power Plant Pro. Prepara Prower Prant Plo. Pepara Plower proplaproo.... It's hard to get past the second time, actually.

I'd also like to hear if it's good with greens. How do they taste? That, too, would more or less pay for itself if it worked well. Arugula, ooh baby.

A couple of other things. Mine isn't noisy, although from what I've read, noise is often a problem. But their customer service is friendly, helpful and not hard to reach. My air stone was making funny noises and they told me how to fix it, what I could replace it with and where I could find one most cheaply. I was able to fix it. There are tips for problems with growing on site; they seem familiar with lots of problems and solutions.

And you can grow your own seeds either with empty cones you buy from AG, or in your old ones. I've used a couple of my own -- the thyme, which died when we went on vacation (forgot to ask the cat sitter to add water, duh!), and the mint, whose seeds I shook out because who wants mint? (As if I didn't have it sprouting everywhere and intimidating everything but the oregano and lavender.)

Christine

[bigbubbacain]

Tuesday Morning stores have been selling the 7 hole machine for around $79.