It’s been one month since setting up my AeroGarden indoor herb garden, and so far, so good!

All seven of the seed pods sprouted within eight days of “planting” and almost all of them are rapidly growing into happy, healthy herbs. In fact, most of them are already at the size that I can harvest small amounts to add to meals.

Watering the AeroGarden

The AeroGarden’s lighted display panel provides timely growing tips, like when to add nutrients and water, and how and when to prune plants. So far, I have added nutrients three times and watered once, but I will have to start adding water more regularly as the plant’s roots are growing like crazy. The cilantro, mint, and parsley are three to four inches tall, while the two basil plants (Thai and Genovese) are around five inches tall. The basil plants would be more than six inches tall if I hadn’t snipped off the top sets of leaves (and eaten them, of course).

Thinning Plants

So far, only one growing tip came too late. On day 19, I thinned the plants to one per pod just two hours before the AeroGarden told me not to thin the plants. Oops. Timing is everything.

The only other “oops” moment also came when I thinned the plants. While choosing which plants to thin out, I failed to notice that a basil seed had snuck into the chives pod and had grown into a nice little plant faster than the chives were growing. So, without thinking, I cut back the two spindly chive plants and let the bigger basil plant grow. Later, when the basil was bigger and a couple more chives appeared, I noticed my mistake and cut back the extra basil plant.

It was a delicious addition to my salad and the remaining chives are starting to make an appearance now.

Slow Growing Dill

The jury is still out on the dill as well. The leaves look healthy, but the stem has been weak from the start and is growing in a sort of flopped over state. That being said, the mint, parsley, cilantro, and two basil plants are growing extremely well and I haven’t counted out the chives or dill yet.

So, after one month with my AeroGarden, I would recommend it to anyone who 1) likes cooking with fresh herbs, 2) would like to grow some of their own produce in winter months, 3) doesn’t have access to a suitable outdoor garden space, and/or 4) enjoys gardening and trying new things.

However, be prepared to answer a lot of questions from your friends, as the AeroGarden is a real conversation starter!