If you love to cook…and you’re anything like me, you would agree that there is no substitute for fresh herbs! Just like the delicious aroma and robust flavor of freshly minced garlic, freshly chopped herbs can make all the difference. That being said…you can imagine what I was spending on herbs at the grocery store. HyVee typically runs their herbs at 2 for $5….and at Fareway, you can often get out the door for $1.88…but even that quickly adds up at our house.
Looking for a solution to my “herb-spending”, Ryan found an AeroGarden on slickdeals.net for $60 last January and immediately sent me the link. I ordered ‘er up and away we went! 🙂 You aren’t going to believe the harvest we’ve reaped. Wait and see…I have Basil coming outta my ears! (Well…not quite…but you get the idea.)
The instructions that accompany the unit are really very easy. Essentially, attach the top of the garden to the base, install the lamps, plot out your seeds, add water & nutrients (enclosed), plug in, and set lamp timer.
I chose the garden that accomodates 6 plants. The most commonly used herb in our kitchen is Basil…so I chose 2 Basil plants along with Cilantro, Oregano, Parsley, and Mint. I would have loved Rosemary…but it wasn’t an option online….so I have that one potted outside. I’ll save my outdoor herbs for another post!
The Basil was the first to pop up. There is something SO rewarding about watching the seedlings sprout!
Check it out…they are all sprouting!
And just a week or two later…we are off to the races! The Basil is out of control…and even we can’t keep up with it.
With that, our first clippings. I used a handful here and there for our favorite Caprese Salad…but wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of the clippings…certainly I didn’t want them to go to waste.
I decided that I would keep my clippings in a bowl of water, near the AeroGarden Lamp, and see how long I could preserve them. To my surprise, they held up well!
A few more weeks later…and you can see the crop continues to grow. And quite honestly, I decided I needed to come up with something a little more aesthetically pleasing than that boring dish of clippings sitting on the counter…
That dilemma led me to this cute little vase. It was perfect! It has a small opening at the top…just big enough for the stems of my clippings…and yet small enough to stay on the kitchen counter near the AeroGarden lamp. What I didn’t know…is that I was in for yet another surprise…
The vase was so perfect…that I left my clippings in the vase for just over a week…and viola! The clippings (3) grew roots!!
I understand that this is NOT rocket-science…but it certainly wasn’t planned. Now…not only do I have plenty of herbs growing in my AeroGarden, but also have “new” plants to pot in soil!
I am loving my AeroGarden…and can’t wait to clip some more basil, root it, and re-plant it over and over again. If you are in need of a little basil…you know where to find me! 🙂
Indulge. In Life. In Love. In Food.
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