AeroGrow AeroGarden - Pro 100 Stainless Unit - w/Gourmet Herb Kit Review

The AeroGrow AeroGarden Pro 100 with Gourmet Herb Kit is a nice addition to my green thumb and cooking repertroie. I purchased the unit about four weeks ago from Amazon.com and have been impressed with the rapid growth of the herbs. My AeroGarden has seven slots for the pre-seeded Seed Pods which include italian basil, thyme (substituted for cilantro), mint, dill, parsley, chives and purple basil.

Assemblying the AeroGarden was super simple. The instructions advise you through the seven steps from unpacking to moving it to its permanent position. I had no problem putting it together or understanding the limitations of the garden. I was advised to keep it on a sturdy water tolerant surface, in a space that allows a 22" clearancre, near an electrical outlet and in an environment that ranges from 60-75° F. I am fortunate to have a small attached green space in my home so I put the unit there. I diligently followed all the directions for planting the garden including placing the small bio dome over each seed pod. I also am using distilled water instead of tap water since we have extremely hard water in our area. I recorded the planting date, turned the unit on and waited for the first sprouts.

Everything was going along smoothly until I noticed the thyme and the mint looking limp and unhealthy. I am not sure what happened but both of these seed pods were not getting the appropriate water from the base and eventually withered away. All of the other herbs however, have taken off and are still growing rapidly. I need to add water at least once a week and sometimes more often. When I add the weekly water dose I also add two of the small fertilizer tablets that come with the seed kit.

I set my timer light to come on around 3 PM. They stay on for 16 hours per day. I am pretty energy concious so I did not want my unit to be on in the middle of the day when most of the electricity is being used. The set up for the automatic steps are very easy to manage. I am able to set the type of plants I am growing like, tomatoes/peppers, salad greens, herbs/basil, flowers or strawberries. I also did not have difficulty personalizing the timer to my needs. Once everything is set up the garden does its own thing. I made sure I put a reminder on my computer date book to remember to add water and nutrients every Wednesday.

Once the plants started to grow, I needed to remove the small bio-domes. If they aren't removed the plants will curl into themselves and may have a hard time surviving. I have had to raise my lamp arm to the highest setting since both the basil and the dill have grown beyond the shorter settings. I have not had the unit long enough to deal with  cleaning and storing it so I don't know if these are going to be difficult tasks or not. But since the setup was so effortless I figure the cleaning won't be so bad.

I plan on putting the plants in the garden after Mother's Day and starting a new batch the week after that. I am hopeful the thyme and the mint will take this time otherwise I may contact the company for a partial refund. I haven't tried any of the other kits but may think about the French Herb kit for the holidays and the salad greens in the fall. I am still debating whether I want to try the Strawberry Patch Plant Kit, but may give it a try.

I am happy with the herbs I am growing and have used them almost daily in my cooking. It is very nice to be able to have fresh herbs at my fingertips. Overall I am happy with the AeroGarden and would recommend it to friends and family.

Concerns: While the unit is on, you can hear the water trickling through the base. I am happy my unit is in a space that is away from the kitchen otherwise the dripping noise might become annoying. Also, If you are not quick enough to move the light source away from the plants as they grow, they might become burned from the heat. This happened to my Italian basil plant and I had to do some quick pruning to help it. I also understand the bulbs will need to be replaced when I start the unit up again. Apparently the bulbs have a lifespan of six months before the full-spectrum fluorescent bulbs start to lose the intensity of the full spectrum of light. I have not found a source for replacing the bulbs except on line so I will probably order the bulbs shortly.

Bottom Line: The AeroGrow AeroGarden is a good unit for gardeners and non-gardeners alike. The company gives a 100% success guarantee. The herbs are fresh and completely natural. They don't require anything else except the water, nutrients and an occasional pruning. However, if you use the herbs daily as I do, the pruning is happening naturally. Once you register the machine, AeroGarden will place you on their email list if you want and you will be offered deals as a customer. One new item I learned about the other day is the introduction of a seed starter for the outside garden. You will need the special tray they offer and the seed pods, but it might be an easy and effective way to get quality plants from your own machine that can be planted in the spring garden.