A local friend was getting rid of her aerogarden, so I decided to give it a try. I’ve really just gardened outdoors for the last several years but I just wasn’t very into it this summer—maybe because my tomatoes were disappointing.
But I had this new toy and I figured I should give it a try. And it seemed like it would be relatively little work.
The hard part, initially, was figuring out what to try in it. The aerogarden has six spots, and I have a lot of seeds that would theoretically work in it. And then i realized that I could also start seeds outside of it and use the grow light that I use when I start tomato seeds in early spring. So that’s what I ended up doing.
I used little gem lettuce seeds in all six spots of the aerogarden. I also found some jiffy peat pellets in my basement and used those to start some catnip, thyme, rosemary, cameo basil (a compact variety) and Kapoor tulsi.
So far, 4 of the 6 pods have lettuce seedlings, which i will thin once they get bigger, and the thyme is starting to sprout.
I may be able to start eating the lettuce in December. The herbs will probably have to wait a good while longer, except maybe the basil.
In a way. this feels like going back to my gardening roots. I started out growing herbs and lettuce in containers on sunny windowsills in my apartment about 15 years ago. I’m now using grow lights and an aerogarden, so it’s gotten a bit fancier, but… similar in a way.
As for the outdoor garden, we’ll see. I may try growing low maintenance ornamentals or wildlife plants—although I do still need to figure out a tomato solution.
Plant Goblin 
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