The AeroGarden

Well as much as the company claims the AeroGarden is “space age” technology it actually uses some long standing technologies and ideas. As I mentioned earlier the AeroGarden is essentially a customized hydroponics kit. It looks far better and takes up less space then pretty much any other kit on the market.

Instead of using organic compounds in soil to break down fertilizers into plant food the hydroponics use fertilizer in it’s purest form that can be absorbed from water thus negating the need for plants to be potted or any soil to be used at all.

There is some debate as to whether hydroponics are actually considered organic and both sides make very convincing arguments however test have shown that hydroponics fertilizers are in many cases purer then those used in even the strictest organic farms. But this review is not the place to engage in debate, there are many studies and articles to be found online to help you make you own judgments.

A number of benefits of using AeroGarden’s hydroponics are:

-Plants grow more than twice as fast.

-Automated lighting control using energy efficient bulbs.

-Automated watering.

-No dirt, mess or gardening experience required.

Bio-Dome Seed Kits

The seed kits available for the garden are designed to provide near rainforest like conditions for the seeds in a self contained “pod”. These kits are where the magic happens and they operate on a “plug and play” design you can simply mix and match the “pods” from various seed kits to give you the type of harvest you’re looking for.

Inside the “pod” is a pre-seeded grow sponge that helps to balance the water and air levels during germination. Each “pod” is also designed to maintain the right humidity level for each plant.

Nutrient Tablets

Perhaps the easiest way to describe the nutrient tablets to call them fertilizer, depending on your seed kit every week or so you will have to insert some tablets into the AeroGarden.

The tablets contain not only the nutrients but they also work to ensure the pH balance of your tap water is perfect for the plants to grow. What’s in the tablets? Well that one is a bit of a company secret, however I can tell you they contain some elements of seaweed.

Glow Bulbs

In order to provide the type of light required to grow plants, the AeroGarden uses a full spectrum light bulb to simulate sunlight. My first concern was how much electricity the bulbs would be using but rest assured the bulbs are energy efficient bulbs that don’t use much more energy then other light bulbs around your house.