Today I harvested some yellow slicing tomatoes called "Dwarf Awesome". I didn't realize they were yellow flesh when I ordered the seeds. These are OK but still not as flavorful as soil-grown tomatoes.
The Fairy Tale eggplants are growing fast. Chard at Day 21... A Dwarf Awesome yellow tomato and a pickling (5") cucumber.
More exciting updates! Here's this morning's harvest. Chard, banana peppers, one pickling cucumber, and assorted tomatoes. 4 oz jar of dried sage grown in an Aerogarden then dehydrated. Today I am dehydrating dill. And a pic of the Fairy Tale Eggplant plant. I have found about a dozen small eggplants hidden in the large leaves. Yesterday I terminated the "Dwarf Awesome" slicing tomato plant and added it to the mulch pile, cleaned the AG, and started 6 pods of broccolini seeds. I am anxious to see how these will do in hydroponics.
Never heard of this until now. So I can grow veggies inside in the winter? I looked on Amazon. Which one is best to start with?
Jan, it depends on what you'd like to grow. Most people start with one of the Harvest models; they are relatively small and do a good job with herbs, lettuces, and dwarf varieties of cherry tomatoes. The Harvest models are limited by the height of the light hood and the lower wattage grow lights but they have a smaller footprint and don't take up much space. If you want to try larger stuff, a Bounty model is the best choice. You can grow pepper plants, larger determinate tomatoes, etc. The Bounty models have 30-50 watt lights, larger water tanks and a taller maximum light hood height to accommodate taller plants. Then there are the Farm models that are really large (floor models instead of countertop) and have high-wattage lights. They have large water tanks and can easily handle full-sized garden plants. I wouldn't start with a Farm, though. They are pricey and not the best for a beginner IMO. There are tons of knock off units on Amazon; I have purchased 3 of those to test but none compare with the "OG," Aerogarden. You can check out the Aerogarden website for tons of information, and there's a guy on youtube who grows all kinds of stuff in AGs. His channel is called Aerogarden Experiments. He reviews different brands of gardens, too.
Yes, I gently shake the branches that have blooms, or turn an oscillating fan on them. I also have a "Be the Bee" pollinator which is basically an electric toothbrush that will "vibrate" the blossoms. I prefer to grow self-pollinating varieties of things like cucumbers, because if they have male and female flowers and the pollen has to be manually transferred with a small paintbrush or q-tip.
There are a lot of sales going on right now; check the Aerogarden website before you buy. I'll be waiting to hear what you choose.
I got the Harvest XL with the cherry tomatoes, it's on sale for $90 and then for only $25 I got the Sprout with herbs and $10 off for giving them my email. What is this pollinating business? Is that explained in the directions?
Oh, that's an excellent choice. The XL can accommodate larger and smaller plants, plus it comes with a trellis to help hold up "sprawlers." And the little Sprout is perfect for herbs. If the plant is a variety that needs pollinating, once it sets blooms you will need to check daily and give the branches a little shake, or you can get a cheap kid's electric toothbrush and gently vibrate the back of the flower. I have one of these... https://aerogarden.com/gifts/gifts-under-$50/970116-0100.html I like to use that method because you can actually see the pollen release. I sometimes use an oscillating fan to help get the pollen moving. The only plants that need help with pollination are the ones that set fruit, like tomatoes or peppers. All the herbs, lettuces, etc. don't need that. Both the garden itself and each box of seed pods come with instructions, plus there are tons of instructions and videos on the Aerogarden website and Youtube. There is also an Aerogarden forum and a group on Reddit. Plus @Yvonne Smith and I can help answer your questions.