A Dragon in Sheep’s Clothing

I stumbled across the AeroGrow AeroGarden Garden Kit while searching books at Amazon.com today. I decided to read more after spotting something about “self-watering” or some such lazy feature. It really looks interesting, though.

I have to confess a bit of a Star Trek reaction while I read the description. ….”preseeded bio-dome grow pod”….”Microprocessor automatically adjusts nutrient delivery, light cycles, and water flow for specific plant types for healthier growth”….”nutrient tablets”….

Consider this from the description:

Q: How much time do I need to spend taking care of my AeroGarden?
A: Approximately 5 minutes a month. You will need to occasionally add water, drop in two nutrient tablets, and provide minimal tending to your plants. Most of your time will be spent harvesting and enjoying delicious, fresh food.

Sounds kinda “Garden of the Future,” eh? World’s Fair circa 1960. Makes me look around for our personal jet-packs and meal tablets.

In all seriousness, my initial response to the garden also was tempered by:

1. the question of whether you can use your own seeds or are locked into using the special pods and nutrients provided by the manufacturer (all you hydroponics people, stop laughing); and
2. not being terribly enthused by salad greens and herbs. And it’s a bit pricey just to grow patchouli, ya know? (On a side note, patchouli grows to be 2-3 feet tall. Guess we should have repotted the sprouts we had years ago!)

But I was quickly corrected on the first point when I read one of the customer forums at Amazon which asked that exact question. Turns out you can use your own (hydroponic) seeds and replace the sponge material with rockwool cubes.

The second isn’t really something I can fix. One customer review said she had to eat salads twice a day to keep up with the lettuce in her AeroGarden. Erm. I know I wouldn’t do that. But someone else mentioned growing their own strawberries. Hmmm…

P.S. Another thing about patchouli… they say that patchouli “is used with camphor to give India ink its characteristic odor.” Makes me give a second thought to as to why I find some ballpoint inks to smell so appealing. Maybe there’s a common element somewhere?

Edit: Maybe I should look into growing my own patchouli if the scent ever goes out of fashion. According to How Stuff Works, “All attempts to make a synthetic patchouli have failed utterly.” Ack!