Do you love cooking with fresh herbs, but struggle to keep them alive in your garden? Or do you live in a place with harsh weather conditions that make it difficult to grow herbs outdoors year-round? Fortunately, with the help of an Aerogarden system, you can grow herbs indoors all year round with ease.
An Aerogarden is a hydroponic indoor gardening system that allows you to grow herbs, vegetables, and other plants without soil and with minimal effort. In this blog post, we will share tips and tricks for successfully growing an indoor herb garden with an Aerogarden, so you can enjoy fresh herbs in your cooking anytime you want.
Benefits of Growing Herbs Indoors
Have you seen how much fresh herbs cost these days? Next time you are in the grocery store, check out the produce aisle. There you will see a little tiny box of what they call "fresh herbs". Most of the time they will be wilted maybe slightly brown and not very tasty.
This little box of herbs is around $2.00 in most stores for just a few sprigs of herbs.
Cost Savings
One of the benefits of growing herbs indoors is the cost savings you will have. Growing your own herbs means you have an abundance of them right at your fingertips. You can use them fresh or even dry them to save for later use.
Fresh Herbs Anytime You Want Them
Another benefit of growing your own herbs is how fresh the herbs will be when you grow them yourself. As mentioned above, buying herbs from the store although they say fresh on the package, most are really not that fresh. They add chemicals to allow the herbs to stay fresh for longer periods of time.
By growing herbs indoors, you have fresh herbs growing at your fingertips anytime you want them.
Grow Any Variety You Want
Another benefit of growing your own herbs indoors is you are able to try new and interesting herbs that you may not see in the store near you. This gives you the added benefit of creating unique and interesting dishes that may have a slightly different appeal to them.
Grow Herbs Indoors Year Round
You can reap all of these benefits and do it year-round with ease by using an Aerogarden Hydroponic Growing System. The really cool thing about the Aerogarden is how easy it is to use. You do not have to have a green thumb to be able to grow fresh herbs or even veggies in one of these units. It basically does all of the hard work for you. You do not need soil, sun, or even skill to be able to grow herbs indoors in one of these units. You can grow herbs indoors like a pro with Aerogarden!
How The Aerogarden Works
The Aerogarden is a self-contained hydroponic growing system. What this means is that the herbs or veggies are grown in water. There is no soil or potting mix.
You do not have to worry about watering plants or drainage holes in a container to grow herbs indoors in one of these systems. You will have the best herbs you have tasted without using herbicides or pesticides and the best part is they grow super fast. Everything you need to be successful is included in this kit, let me explain.
The Aerogarden is Self-Contained
The Aerogarden self-contained system will turn a water circulation pump on every so often to circulate water in the tank. The water is pumped up into the top of the system and flows through the seed pods.
The Aerogarden also has a grow light that is set on a timer. It comes on and goes off automatically for a set number of hours each day. It also has an indicator light that will come on about every two weeks to tell you when it is time to add more fertilizer and a low water indicator light that comes on to let you know when to add more water.
At first, the water will last a long time but once the growth starts and the roots start growing in the tank, it will come on more frequently. The timers all start the moment you plug in your Aerogarden hydroponic system. All of this is done automatically for you.
Setting Up the Aerogarden
The Aerogarden is first assembled and then the reservoir is filled up with fresh water. Once the water has been added, you add a cap full of the liquid fertilizer. Once that has been done, you place your Seed Pods
Seed Pods
The seed pods are designed to fit into the holes you see on the Aerogarden. The seed pods are made from a plastic frame that has a growing medium inside of the frame. Inside the medium contains a few seeds of the plant that you ordered from Aerogarden. If you ordered a kit, you get enough pods to fill up the holes in the system for the first time as well as enough fertilizer to grow with.
How To Select Seed Pods
As you may know, different plants grow to different heights and at different speeds, etc. Listed on top of the seed pods will be varying heights. What this does is allows you to place the seed pods that grow the tallest in the back holes, the ones that grow a medium length in the middle holes, and the ones that are shorter in the front holes.
This allows each variety to be able to get light. Place the seed pods in the correct holes and add a clear dome that is included. The dome holds moisture and heat which allows the seed to sprout. Most seeds will germinate within 7 to 14 days.
Growing Light
The Aerogarden has a grow light that mimics the sun's rays. There are multiple positions that the light can go in from the lowest to the highest position. Starting out, you will put the grow light in the lowest position, and as the herb plants grow, you will continue to move it higher until you reach the highest setting.
There is no need to worry about how many hours of direct sunlight your favorite herb plants are getting. There is no need to place this unit near a sunny windowsill as the unit provides all the light to grow your favorite herbs. All of this is done automatically for you.
Timer On Growing Light
One note about the light, the light comes on as soon as you plug it into the electric outlet. That is when the timer starts. If you want the light to be on during certain times like let's say during the day and not at night, you can reset the timer by holding the light button for a few seconds. At this point, the light will come on at that same time every day that you reset it and stay on for 15 hours.
Now that you have your Aerogarden assembled, filled with water, seeds pods in place with the domes on top, and you have then plugged it in, that is all you do. Set back and relax. There is nothing to do until Aerogarden tells you it is time to add more fertilizer or water. Your herbs or veggies will be ready to harvest in as soon as four to six weeks. This truly is the best way to grow herbs indoors!
Maintenance
The maintenance on the Aerogarden hydroponic system is pretty simple as well. The only ongoing maintenance you will need to do is empty and replace the water once a month. Once you do this you will need to replace the fertilizer. Other than this, the only other time you do maintenance is once you change out your plants.
Changing Out Plants and Disassembly
Typically herbs will last anywhere from three to six months in this system. Once it is time to start new ones, this is when I will do maintenance on my system.
At this point, I pull all the seed pods out and toss them away. I disassemble my Aerogarden and give it a good wash inside and out with warm soapy water. Make sure not to submerge the outside portion of your unit as well as the lights etc. This could harm them.
Washing the inside of the water reservoir gets rid of algae that may develop or bad bacteria etc. This means that when you start back with your new seed pods, you will have a fresh start like it was new again.
Recipes To Use Fresh Herbs
Now that you have your Aerogarden System set up and you can grow herbs indoors, check out these awesome recipes in which you can use your fresh herbs in!
- Marinated Cucumbers Onion & Vinegar Recipe
- Spaghetti Pasta Salad
- Homemade Crispy Dill Pickles
- Bacon Herb-Roasted Summer Squash
Conclusion
In Conclusion, growing herbs indoors with an Aerogarden is a great way to enjoy fresh herbs all year round with minimal effort. With the right setup and care, you can grow a variety of herbs in your Aerogarden and have them on hand whenever you need them for cooking, baking, or other applications.
By following the tips and advice outlined in this blog post, you can ensure that your indoor herb garden thrives and provides you with fresh, flavorful herbs that elevate your culinary creations. So, get your Aerogarden set up and start growing your own herbs today - you won't regret it!
FAQ's
How long does it take seeds to sprout?
It typically takes anywhere from 7 days to 14 days to sprout.
How long does it take to begin to harvest?
While you can start to harvest from herbs once they start sprouting enough sprigs to survive, it generally takes anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks to be able to get anything worthwhile.
Where can I buy more seed pods from?
You can order directly from Aerogardens website or you can order from Amazon.
Can I make my own seed pods?
Yes. Many people will save the frames that come with their first Aerogarden and then replace the medium with rock wool. You can then place what seeds you want in the rock wool and then place them in the seed pod holes. There are a good many YouTube videos explaining this process. Of course, if you do not want to fool with that, you can always purchase more here: seed pods from Amazon.
Is an Aerogarden hydroponic system worth the money?
In my opinion, yes, I believe it is. Based on the ease of use, having fresh herbs ready anytime you want, and being able to grow herbs year around, I think it is a great value. There are homemade DIY gardens you can make if you are not worried about their look of them. For the ease of use and the style, I think the Aerogarden is 100% worth it though.
How long do the plants last?
Most herb plants will produce for 3 to 6 months.
Thanks for stopping by Southern Food Junkie. We hope you enjoyed learning about the Aerogarden and how to grow herbs indoors. We truly belive it doesn't get easier than this.
-Ronnie | Let's Get Food Junked
Leave a Reply