Easy Winter Gardening with AeroGarden

AeroGarden Outdoor Garden Starter Tray Jump-starts your Summer Garden

Jump-start your outdoor garden

Chris, an AeroGarden Customer Service agent, took this photo of his 8′x16′ garden plot in a Boulder, Colorado community garden.

Look carefully at the picture. This was taken on June 10, 2011, just three weeks after the frost free date. Notice how much bigger these plants are in comparison to neighboring gardens.

Why does Chris’s garden look so much better? Chris used the AeroGarden accessory -Garden Starter System during March and April, transplanted right after the frost free date.

The advantages of using the Garden Starter accessory

• You get a jump-start of the growing season, allowing for a longer harvest.
• Seedlings started this way aren’t set back by transplant shock.
• Longer growing season and a bigger harvest

The only thing you need to do before planting

The only thing you must do is spend about a week setting the plants outside to harden them off.

How Does the AeroGarden “Garden Starter Tray” Work?

AeroGarden Outdoor Garden Starter Tray

As you can see from the picture on the right, you remove the AeroGarden top section, and replace with the garden starter tray. Instead of the normal 6 or 7 grow pods, you now have over 60 pods to start growing your own garden seedlings. The kit comes with both tray and replacement grow pods.

If you are quick, you may be able to get the garden starter tray free with the purchase of an Aerogarden, or you can simply purchase the Garden Starter Kit from AeroGarden Accessories. Click on the picture to go straight to the accessories page.

If you have children, this is a wonderful way to get them interested in gardening. If you are a beginner gardener, this system will save you both time and money. And it is a lot of fun!

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Norway Spruce seeds growing in AeroGarden

Facts About The Norway Spruce

Widely considered the largest, hardiest, and most adaptable spruce on the planet, the Norway Spruce thrives in almost all conditions in North America. Fast growing – up to 3 feet a year once established, it reaches heights of more than 100 feet. It is a great border tree for privacy screens, wonderful as wind-breaks, and also as a stand-alone show piece tree for landscaping.

What does this have to do with the AeroGarden?

Did you know there is an AeroGarden Norway Spruce Seed Kit?  This would make an absolute fun project for kids.  The Norway Spruce seeds sprout easily, and the baby trees can stay in the AeroGarden for up to a year.  They easily transplant to pots, and then outdoors.

Transplanting to the outdoors

The biggest transplant damage comes from letting the roots dry, so it is probably a good idea to transplant to a container first.  If it is very hot when you transplant, keep your container trees in the shade, and make sure they get watered regularly.

When transplanting your Norway Spruces into the ground, be sure to dig a hole that is twice the size of your root ball, and remember to keep the root ball moist.

If you are doing a late summer or fall transplant – be sure to plant your Norway Spruce Trees at least 6 weeks before your first frost. This will give the trees a chance to adjust to their new environment.

Be sure and check for before Christmas AeroGarden – Special Offers

If you do a lot of Italian cooking, you know there is no substitute for fresh basil. Genovese Basil grows wonderfully in the AeroGarden, and can be used for both cooking and making basil pesto.

The challenge with the original AeroGarden herb seed kits is there was only one basil plant. There was not enough to make pesto until the plant really matured. Now AeroGrow makes an entire seed kit with just Genovese Basil.

Want to get an idea of how fast it grows, and how much of a harvest you can achieve over and over, month after month? Watch the video, and think of how many ways you could put this to use.

Right now AeroGrow is running a number of holiday specials. If you have been thinking about trying an AeroGarden, adding another model to your current collection, or giving an AeroGarden as a gift, check out AeroGarden – Special Offers

Many of you own AeroGardens because you use regular cooking herbs on a daily basis, and love growing your own herb garden. If that is as far as you want to go, you can skip this post.

For those of you who have an extended interest in the medicinal qualities of herbs, and would like to develop you own skills with herbs, I stumbled across a really unique opportunity that won’t be open for much longer.

Instead of pouring over herb books, how would you like to develop your intuitive nature concerning the use of herbs?

Kiva Rose is a well known herbal blogger and co-founder of the Traditions in Western Herbalism Conference. She has developed a personal system for getting really acquainted with herbs, without a lot of books. For the first time ever, she will be sharing her wisdom and techniques in an eight module, video based webinar course. I just found out about this class, and wanted to spread the word, as the doors will be closing on November 7.

Kiva Rose has a unique approach to really understanding herbs. She will help you enhance your sensory ability, lining up simple patterns to learn about the plants you have already positively identified.

It sounds like a lot of fun, a wonderful new learning experience, and a great way to tune into natural remedies.

Who knows? Something growing in the field behind your house could be “just what the doctor ordered!”

You can get more details on Kiva Rose, her unique approach to studying herbs, and an overview of her course, Herb Energetics with Kiva Rose here

Which AeroGarden 7 pod unit best fits your needs?

All AeroGarden models grow plants almost twice as fast as plants growing in soil. All models use organic nutrients.

The basic difference between the 6 pod and 7 pod units is the pumping system. The 6 pod uses an air pump, and is being phased out this year, while the 7 pod uses a quiet water pump.

There are two basic models in the 7 pod. Which one is best for you?

The AeroGarden Classic

The AeroGrow Classic is the most purchased 7 pod AeroGarden. This high-output garden produces an abundance of fresh herbs, flowers, vegetables, and salad greens indoors, year-round as long as they don’t grow over 12 inches. If you never plan on growing tomatoes, green beans, or peppers indoors, the the Classic is a perfect choice for you.

The Classic comes with a 12 inch extendible lamp arm, two grow lights, and seed packet: everything you need to get growing, right out of the box. Order your AeroGarden Classic

AeroGarden Extra (Tall AeroGarden)

The AeroGarden Extra is the most advanced, versatile and full-featured AeroGarden. With 3 grow bulbs, it delivers twice the amount of light. The 24 inch extendible lamp arm has twice the arm height over other AeroGarden models, and also has a 24-hour light cycle.

What does this mean for you?

Better end results! If you are looking for the largest yields and healthiest, fullest plants, or if you think you will only want one AeroGarden, then this is the model to choose. The Extra also includes a trellis, which used to be a separate $20.00 accessory.

When you factor in the free trellis, and the fact that the Classic used to sell for what the Extra now costs, this is a great value. Order the AeroGarden Extra here.

What Customers Are Saying

My husband bought me this for Christmas. The herbs that came with the kit have since been re-potted so that I could start my own seeds using the Master Gardener kit. (The only disappointment was the parsley seeds, which failed to sprout. I replaced them with my own seeds, which sprouted fine. The lettuce that I planted 3 weeks ago is now big enough that I need to start harvesting! By IceFire from Southwestern PA – Verified Reviewer

I bought this for my partner and he enjoyed it quite a bit. I on the other hand saw all the potential the Aerogarden had in store. Your imagination is only limited by yourself. The first thing he planted were the cherry tomatoes. We had tomatoes everyday. Next I planted lettuce varieties. We had enough lettuce for 2 large salads every other day! This year, I’ve decided to use this “wizard” to start my own impatiens. Can’t wait for them to start showing up! My next purchase will be the seed starter kit. Thanks to all involved in the development and marketing of this excellent product! By Houston-Jim from Houston – Verified Reviewer