Learning About Vertical Gardening

I've been wanting to try my hand at growing plants for a few years now. Although I have access to a garden outdoors, it seems only flowers are allowed to be planted there. I want to grow something a little bit beyond just aesthetically pleasing. I feel like it might force looking at growing something from another perspective (what I grow has to taste good, in addition to looking healthy). The Aerogarden is a good jumping off point, as it's easy to get started with the included pods for learning purposes. Later on, I'll be able to plant my own seeds into fresh pods (I'm thinking small tomato, cucumber, and pepper varieties, as well as strawberries).

What I'm growing:

• (2) Genovese Basil

• (1) Thai Basil

• (1) Thyme

• (1) Dill

• (1) Italian Parsley

• (1) Curly Parsley

• (1) Chives

• (1) Mint

I "planted" the pods before going to sleep last night and have the lights set to run for 15 hours starting at 8am each day. When I woke up today at 9am, you could already see the basil germinating pretty well. I'll have to look into what mechanisms cause certain plants to germinate and grow quicker.

Germinating Genovese (note the white fuzz)

There's a little bit of condensation on some of the caps. Some of the pods didn't have the green label perfectly centered, so it wasn't possible to fully lock the caps. Time will tell if this causes any issues.

To be honest I can't quite remember if the Aerogarden will remind me when to add more plant food (I have the Bounty Basic, for what it's worth). Either way and just in case, I'll be setting calendar reminders for looking after my plants (something about that makes me smirk).

This blog will keep me accountable and can hopefully serve as a decent archive for others that might be starting out.