Last Christmas Bryan's sister gave me an unusual and really fun gift for Christmas: an AeroGarden. It's a plug-in indoor all-in-one system that allows you to grow herbs anywhere in your home with virtually no effort at all. No sunlight needed! I plopped in the seed pods in January, and within 6 weeks, I started getting endless amounts of basil, chives, and parsley.
The plants did really well, and survived until early October. 9 months is pretty impressive, especially considering what a black thumb I have with most plants.
One struggle I had with the original system was the nature of the herbs that came in the basic pack. I don't use that much parsley or chives in my daily cooking. The basil I used the most, but the others were difficult to use up, and I found myself pruning the plants without eating them way too often.
Earlier this month, I was contacted by AeroGarden to consider trying out their Gourmet Seed Pack (and also hosting a giveaway!). I was intrigued by the gourmet seed pack, which includes the three basic herbs I had grown before, but also included Thai basil, cilantro (Bryan's favorite!), dill, and mint.
I knew Bryan would have no problems eating the cilantro. I thought the Thai basil would be really useful for making Vietnamese spring rolls or maybe pho? My first stint with the AeroGarden went really well, and it would be pretty amazing to have cilantro on hand all the time, so I agreed to try it out again.
This contraption is super easy to set up. After connecting a few pieces together, place the seed pods that you want to grow into the holes. I picked Genovese basil, Thai basil, and cilantro.
Add water.
Place the little plastic domes on top, and turn it on!
There is a fluorescent light that shines on the plants. You can control when it turns on by plugging it in at the time you want it to turn on. It will automatically shine for 12 hours and then shut off for 12 hours.
It's still early, but I just checked after 4 days, and the Thai basil is already sprouting! Aren't they super cute? I can't wait until they get big enough to harvest!
Giveaway!
I am giving away one Prize Pack which includes:
- 1 AeroGarden product with seed pods
- herb infuser
- a gardening cookbook
- berry bowl
- a cutting board with a prep station
To participate in this Giveaway, please comment below letting me know your favorite herb to grow indoors and how you would use it all year around. Giveaway ends December 19, 2014 December 18th, 2014 at midnight EST.
Disclaimer: this post was sponsored by Miracle Gro, owner of AeroGardens. Miracle-Gro also supplied me with my own AeroGarden 3, the gourmet seed kit, and they are providing the prize pack for the Giveaway. All opinions are my own.
[…] been just a little over a month since I set up my Aerogarden to grow sweet basil, Thai basil, and cilantro. I’m happy to report that they are all coming […]