AeroGrow's AeroGarden looks like a godsend for gardeners without gardens and people who want to grow herbs and salads right through the winter. The AeroGarden is 16" long, 15 1/2" wide and between 15 1/2" and 21" tall depending on how you set it up. It's available in 3 colors - black, white and silver, and can sit right on your kitchen counter or desk.

The AeroGarden is designed to be foolproof. It is computer-controlled, so once you unpack it all you have to do is pop in your seeds, select the right plant type and add nutrients and water when it tells you to. The daylight spectrum bulb is turned on and off automatically depending on the plant type, making sure that the plants get just the right amount of light.

The plants grow 'aeroponically', meaning there's no dirt to make a mess and no weeds can grow. The plant roots are provided with just the right amount of air, water and nutrients by the system and grow faster than plants in dirt.

The unit uses less power than a 60 watt light bulb and for salads and herbs you only need to invest 2 minutes of your time a week! The AeroGarden can be left unattended for up to 2 weeks, so you don't have to worry about it during vacations.

For novice gardeners, the AeroGarden is guaranteed to be foolproof. The seed pods have a guaranteed 100% germination rate, and the system itself takes care of everything else - alerting you when it needs more water of nutrient tablets.

The list of seed pods available is constantly growing, and currently stands at a selection of herbs, salads, chillies and tomatoes. If you want to grow ornamental plants then you can choose from petunias and mini roses.

If you're short on time or space, or you don't have a greenhouse and you want to grow food during the winter months then the AeroGarden may well be for you. The only problem I can see is the price tag - at around $150 for the AeroGarden itself and an initial seed pod pack, and $20 a pop for the replacement seed packs (complete with the required nutrients), running an AeroGarden is considerably more expensive than gardening in the dirt and currently out of my price range. It sure is pretty though!

Learn more about this author, Emma Cooper.
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