A couple of weeks ago I showed you the AeroGarden 3SL with Gourmet Herb 3 Pod Seed Kit from Walmart that I had set up. What a neat little unit. It costs just $49.97, holds three pods and takes up almost no space at all.
The Miracle-Gro® AeroGarden® 3SL is a soil-free indoor garden-all of the plant growth is done in water with a special liquid fertilizer for nutrition. The plants are supposed to grow up to twice as fast as plants grown in soil. It also includes a special grow light (which is adjustable as the plants grow) which means you can place the Aerogarden anywhere–you don’t have to worry about it getting any natural sun. And when I say anywhere, I mean anywhere! The garden is only 11″x5″–I’ve had mine set right on the busiest part of my kitchen counter–right between the stove and sink–and I’ve barely even noticed that it’s there! The free Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit is included with the garden included Basil, Dill, and Parsley. (you can buy seed kits for cherry tomatoes, chili peppers, romaine lettuce, petunias and more as well)
The AeroGarden 3SL with Gourmet Herb 3 Pod Seed Kit includes everything you need to get started–the garden, your preplanted seed pods, the fertilizer. All I had to do was fill it with water (to the fill line–seriously, it would be hard to mess this up), follow the directions on the liquid fertilizer for how much to pour in the water, pop the seed pods in, cover them with the little reusable domes, and plug it in. Done. Took me about 5 minutes.
Then you just let it grow. The light is on a timer and goes on and off on it’s own. There is a indicator that comes on in two weeks to remind you to add more fertilizer. The only thing you have to DO is to remove the little dome lids once the plants are big enough to almost touch it. Even the black thumbed among us can handle this garden.
I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about the growth in the Aerogarden at first. For a few days nothing happened–but I was prepared for that. I know from my experience with vegetable gardening that seeds take a while to germinate (that’s the term for when the plant actually pops open the seed and sends out the baby plant and roots). I found it very helpful that the seed pods in the Aerogarden included the germination time (sprouts in 6-21 days) as well as the expected height of the plant right on each pod. So I knew that I didn’t need to really be looking for my Genovese Basil for at least 6 days.
As things sprouted it was quite exciting. Buddy took to checking every morning to see if anything happened and was very enthusiastic the day we noticed the basil popping up. Then came the dill. I admit I was very concerned about the parsley and was worrying that I had received a bum pod when it finally sprouted about 2 weeks in. Success!
Now I know that 3 little pods doesn’t seem like much–after all I’m the lady who has 3-4 gardens going in the backyard (yes, on 1/2 an acre). But here is the thing–it’s December. In Upstate New York. Nothing is growing outside. NOTHING. I have really really terrible windows–ok, actually they are beautiful windows but inconveniently most of them are under porches or placed poorly to catch natural sunlight for even attempting to grow anything.
The chance to grow something fresh inside is wonderful–and herbs are a PERFECT choice for that–a few fresh herbs can just add so much to a meal–dried herbs (even my own home dried herbs) really don’t hold a candle to the fresh stuff. Being able to snip some parsley onto boiled potatoes, mince fresh basil and add it to a salad or spaghetti sauce, or clip some dill onto some fish. . . well it’s priceless. And most herbs are what gardeners like to refer to as “cut and come again”–if you cut it down part way it will just encourage the plant to grow more. So I should have fresh herbs all winter!
I do think this is an excellent gift for a foodie, someone who loves to garden, or someone who treasures fresh food. It’s also such fun for kids to watch the plants growing. At $49.97 the AeroGarden 3SL with Gourmet Herb 3 Pod Seed Kit is affordable enough to buy as a nice gift for that special someone.
Here are the specifics on this fun, indoor, soilless garden:
Get your Aerogarden 3SL at your Walmart store or online and get growing today! It’s a perfect gift for someone with a green thumb, or even someone who just wishes they had one.
Don’t take my word for it! See other moms’ experiences with their 3SL. They share their before and after photos in these links:
- Green Your Decor
- Modern Mami
- Classy Mommy
- Well-Connected Mom
- Hoosier Homemade
- Domestic Diva
- Growing Up Blackxican
- Lynnae McCoy
- Unsophisticook
****This is a sponsored post****
Disclosure: As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I’ve received product samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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