Setting up the AeroGarden Hydroponics Station

Upon receiving my AeroGarden, I was very eager to get started. I removed the pieces carefully from the box, and set about assembling it. There are only a few parts to put together, and although there is a simple instruction manual which really should be used, I found it easy to put the entire kit together without reading the instruction in less than 3 minutes. The kit includes an attractive base with a water reservoir, an aeration pump, dual fluorescent plant lights, an electronic LED reminder that not only reminds you when to add water and nutrients, but also turns the grow lights on and off automatically to get the most production out of your plants.

Planting In the AeroGarden

The AeroGarden Kit comes with small plastic trays that you insert into the holes in the top of the water reservoir. These trays contain a growing medium to support your plants and they are pre-planted with seeds. The first seed kit that comes with the AeroGarden is an herb garden. It contains mint, chives, oregano, basil, thyme, and dill. All you do is drop the pellets labeled “starting nutrients” into the water through the small access door and then slide each of the seed trays into the six holes in the water reservoir’s cover. Small clear plastic covers help keep the seeds warm and provide a humid atmosphere for the tiny young plants once they germinate.

Growing and Harvesting Your Plants

The AeroGarden comes with a beautifully detailed growing guide with a separate section for each plant contained in the initial kit. This booklet tells you how to plant, care for and harvest each plant to maximize your yield and keep the plant thriving. Even expert gardeners will learn a thing or two, or at least refresh some long-forgotten information, by reading this guide throroughly. Once the plants get close to the clear plastic covers, the covers are removed. In just one month, my plants have grown 8” tall. Every couple of weeks or so one of the LED lights will come on and tell me it’s time to add 2 more nutrient pellets to the water reservoir. The kit comes with enough pellets to last for the lifetime of the plants (about five months).

Other Available Seed Kits

You can also buy additional seed kits for the AeroGarden. In addition to the Herb garden Kit, they offer an amazing variety of garden plants that can be grown indoors hydroponically using the aerogarden kit. Among the offerings are cherry tomatoes, chili pepper, green beans, salad greens, snow peas, an wide variety of herbs. There’s even combination kits like the salsa garden kit which provides all the fresh ingredients you need to make your own garden fresh salsa.