AeroGarden Official Blog

Check out the AeroGarden on the TV show “The Doctors” this Friday, December 18th on CBS.  Check you local listings for times.

We have added a Boulder class!!   See details below.

AeroGrow is announcing September 1st as National Indoor Gardening Day to celebrate the transition between the summer, outdoor gardening season and the winter, indoor gardening season. AeroGrow is co-sponsoring this day with the National Gardening Association. The day involves offering free 1 hour classes in 5 cities across the U.S. about how to both bring your outdoor garden indoors, how to continue growing fresh produce indoors, and how to start your outdoor garden indoors in the spring. Classes are taught by experienced AeroGrow employees who know a thing or two about indoor gardening. And, we are going to be giving away 3 AeroGardens at each class – including our new, full-sized VeggiePro.

Class locations and details are as follows:
City     Location     Time
Anchorage, AK     Consortium Library     6:00p - 7:00p
Burlington, VT     Gardener’s Supply Company     6:30p - 7:30p
Chicago, IL     Chicago Center for Green Technology     6:00p - 7:00p
Denver, CO     Denver Botanic Gardens     6:30p - 7:30p
Philadelphia, PA     Bartram’s Garden     5:30p - 6:30p
Boulder, CO     AeroGrow International, Inc.
Corporate Headquarters     12:00p - 1:00p

All classes are offered on Tuesday, September 1st 2009 and are FREE. No pre-registration is required.

If you cannot attend any of these classes, a video of the class will be made available on September 2nd at www.aerogrow.com.

For more information contact:
Sara Sisenwein
Marketing Manager
AeroGrow International, Inc.
sara@aerogrow.com
(303) 953-6227

We are announcing that September 1st has become the official National Indoor Gardening Day.  We developed the day to celebrate the transition between the summer, outdoor gardening season and the winter, indoor gardening season.  We are co-sponsoring this day with the National Gardening Association.

The day involves offering free 1 hour classes in 5 cities across the U.S. about how to both bring your outdoor garden indoors, how to continue growing fresh produce indoors, and how to start your outdoor garden indoors in the spring.  Classes are taught by our experienced employees who know and thing or two about indoor gardening.  And, we are going to be giving away 3 AeroGardens at each class - including our new VeggiePro which is our new product designed to grow full-sized vegetables.

Class locations and details are as follows:
City                                  Location                                                                 Time
Anchorage, AK          Consortium Library                                           6p-7p
Burlington, VT            Gardener’s Supply Company                         630p-730p
Chicago, IL                   Chicago Center for Green Technology      6p-7p
Denver, CO                   Denver Botanic Gardens                                 630p-730p
Philadelphia, PA        Bartram’s Garden                                               530p-630p

All classes are offered on Tuesday, September 1st 2009 and are FREE.  No pre-registration is required.

If you cannot attend any of these classes, a video of the class will be made available on September 2nd at www.aerogrow.com.

For more information shoot me an e-mail
sara@aerogrow.com

AeroGarden on Big Brother 11

It was just announced that Big Brother 11 will return this summer to CBS.  CBS has been releasing pictures of the house, one of which includes the AeroGarden and its prominent display in the kitchen.  Check it out…

Keeping with the theme of “Going Green,” this season the residents of the Big Brother house will have an AeroGarden to enjoy. The 7-Pod AeroGarden is prominently displayed in the kitchen, which also includes other environmentally friendly items such as compost machines and recycling bins. The housemates will be able to include fresh herbs in their cooking while they are confined inside the house for the duration of the season for the first time.

Another Growing Mom winner sent us a picture of her growing herb garden.  Below is the winning submission and picture.  We hope all you Mom’s and Dad’s that won AeroGardens are enjoying them.

Hi Aero Gardeners,
What a lovely idea to gift the moms!  I hope my mother can be one of the recipients.  My mom, Frankie is 94 1/2 years old and she lives with my 95 year old Dad in an Assisted Living facility here in Santa Fe, NM.  They are both remarkable people, full of sparkle and joie de vivre.  If you met my mom you would never guess her age!  The sad thing is that my mother grew up on a farm in Connecticut and growing things is in her blood.  My parents have always lived in homes with gardens into which she could pour her love and skills, until last year when on April 7th
2008 my Dad fell and broke his hip.  Amazingly, he recovered, but slowly, and is now wheelchair bound.  That forced the unhappy move to Assisted Living, where there is no place to garden.  Sure, we can bring my Mom cut flowers, or a potted plant, but it is just not the same as her getting to grow her own garden from scratch.  As an avid AeroGrow fan, I know this would be the perfect solution.  She would have the joy of seeing flowers grow from seeds, or vegetables, or herbs, and with only the most minimal of demands, she could garden again.  The aerogarden is perfect for the physical and mental limitations of a 94 1/2 year old gardener because it is so fool proof.  Lights go on and tell you just what to do when.  And it will take up only a tiny bit of space in her small room.  I hope you will consider my mom as a person who would really love and appreciate her own aerogarden.  Please feel free to contact me if there is anything else you would like to know.  I am attaching a picture of my Mom and Dad on their 65th anniversary so that you can see for yourselves how delightful they are.
Thank you for your consideration,
Michele Hermann Santa Fe, NM

Send us your pictures and they may get posted on the blog.

Tip of the week:  Pruning Tomatoes That Have Grown Up Into the Lights

When tomatoes are grown outdoors, there is usually no need to prune them, and so it may be an unfamiliar process to many gardeners. Tomatoes grown in the AeroGarden, however, must be pruned regularly to keep them small and compact. It may be helpful to think of “bonsai”, the Japanese art of pruning to shape plants into robust miniatures.

It is entirely possible to reclaim tall, leggy tomatoes, but they will take a bit longer to produce fruit than if pruned enough when small.

In the News…

Recent article in Wall Street Journal talks about planter gardening made simple.  New products are hitting the market to make gardening easy and fun for brown thumbs.  More novices are now starting to garden as these new tools are making it easier to reap the rewards of gardening.

http://tinyurl.com/nzx8dc

Once the outdoor growing season has ended, but you still want to garden, bring your garden indoors and into your AeroGarden. This way you can enjoy herbs, vegetables or flowers all year round with great success.

Father’s Day Update
After receiving over 300 entries for the Growing Dad’s giveaway, we have picked 100 lucky Dad’s.  It was tough to just pick 100.  There are so many deserving Dads’ out there. We hope the lucky Dad’s enjoy their gardens!  Please take pictures and write us back to let us know how your Dad is enjoying his new AeroGarden.  Your response could be posted on our blog.

Here are a couple of the Growing Dad’s entries that won an AeroGarden for their Dad.

Dear AeroGrow,
My dad deserves an AreoGarden because he has recently learned that he loves cooking.  He never misses a cooking show and loves to entertain the rest of us by preparing fresh, gourmet meals for us.  It is so exciting to see (and get to taste) his new passion.  Mom has always ruled the kitchen, but even she is enjoying the time off and getting to eat food that she didn’t have to make.   Fresh grown herbs are something he insists on, and being able to grow them in his own kitchen would be amazing!  He has been so many things in his life where he has served others, a coach, scoutmaster and mentor - to his own kids and countless others. I would love to see him win this as a thank you for his lifes work as well as a bonus for his new passion.

Susan Robison
Layton, UT

Dear AeroGrow,
I would like to nominate my dad, Capt. Ed Darwin, to win an AeroGarden.  He does indeed love to cook with fresh herbs, and he prepares incredibly healthy and delicious meals for our family.  For example, he just made fingerling potatoes in olive oil with fresh rosemary for Mother’s Day brunch– YUM!  My dad had a cardiac-related scare a few years back, and he and Mom vowed to keep him (and the rest of the family) eating healthier options from that point on.  But thanks to their herb garden, we haven’t had to sacrifice taste.  I know Dad would love an AeroGarden, and he certainly deserves one for his dedication to healthy cooking and healthy living in general.

Thank you!

Melissa Darwin
Baltimore, Maryland

Tip of the Week:  Is your basil taking over your herb garden
Basil is a very fast grower and tends to want to get all the attention.  For this reason it’s necessary to prune basil early in its growth. If it is not pruned early and often, it is easy for it to take over and not let the other herbs get the light they so deserve and need.  So give your other herbs some room, prune down the basil by a third of its height. Don’t worry it will grow back.  Then lower the lights as much as you can without burning the top of the basil leave.  The lower lights will now be able to stimulate the other herbs to grow and catch up to that basil.

This past Mother’s Day we gave away 100 AeroGardens with Gourmet Herb seed kits for Mother’s Day.  We thought we would share one of the winners and their entry for their mom to win an AeroGarden.  Looks like all the herbs are flourishing…

To whom it may concern:
I just wanted everybody to know that my mom deserves an aerogarden.  She is the best mother anyone could have.  She’s my best friend and I wish I could afford to do more for her.  My mom just got laid off from her job of 15 years and she never saw it coming.  She’s a recipe developer so I know for a fact she would love an aerogarden.  She’s always admiring mine and I wish I could get her one.  Please consider my mom for this contest.  She deserves it!!!
Thank you,
Kristen Stuebner

We hope all the Mom’s that won an AeroGarden this Mother’s Day are enjoying their AeroGardens.

Tip of the Week:  How to Do a Rinse-and-Refill

A Rinse-and-Refill is called for in situations where the nutrient concentration in the Bowl may have become too strong. This may occur if the source water used has a higher than average dissolved mineral content, or if the Seed Kit being grown has been growing a long time. Symptoms of a too-high nutrient concentration are yellowing leaves or browning and death of leaf edges.

The easiest way to do a Rinse-and-Refill is as follows:
1) Unplug the AeroGarden.
2) Remove the Bowl from the Base.
3) Pour or siphon all the water/nutrient solution out of the Bowl as follows:

If your plants are still small and without much root mass, you can generally just lift the Bowl off the Base, open the view door at the front, and carefully pour all the water out into a sink.

If your plants have grown larger and have a lot of root mass, lifting the Grow Surface with all the mature plants in it may be impractical, and it is easier to siphon the water out of the Bowl down into a sink or a bucket. Small plastic siphons are available at most hardware stores.

Note: Do not use the water from the Bowl on houseplants - the solution may be too concentrated for them.

4) Replace the Grow Surface into the Bowl (if you removed it).
5) Fill the Bowl with fresh water up to the “Fill to Here” mark.
6) Drop in two new nutrient tablets.

7) Replace the Bowl back into the Base. (Whenever you do this, make sure to lower the Bowl down onto the Base so that you do not damage the Pump contacts on the front of the Lamp Arm.)

8 ) Plug the AeroGarden back in.
9) Briefly press the Reset button. (This will reset the nutrient timer to be in synch with your new feeding date).

Tip 1: Thinning out

When you plant your Garden Starter Tray we recommend planting multiple seeds in each BioCell to ensure germination.  This often results in more than one plant growing in a BioCell.  So to ensure success, it’s important to thin out the BioCell down to one plant so the seedling can thrive.

Once the seedlings have reached 1-2 inches tall, use a scissors and gently snip the smallest plants at the base of the stem, leaving only one healthy plant in the BioCell.  This process of thinning out ensures that the remaining plant in each BioCell has enough room to grow and gets ample amounts of nutrients, light and water to remain healthy and thrive.

Tip 2: Give me some room…

There are some plants that can act like the bully.  For example, green beans and cucumbers tend to take up more room, and can bully your basil.  If you’re noticing overgrowth of certain seedlings and seeing that other seedlings are suffering, it’s best to take those bully seedlings out of the garden starter tray and replant into pots.  This starts the big seedlings on their way outdoors, and gives all your seedlings a better chance at prospering.

Tip 3: Hardening off

Once your soil is prepared and your seedlings are grown it’s time to harden off and transplant your seedlings to your outdoor garden.

Hardening off seedling eases their transition from the AeroGarden into the outdoors, where they will be exposed to sunlight, temperature variations and wind. It entails slowly increasing the amount of time your seedlings spend outside while still in the comfort of the AeroGarden.  Hardening off is easy with the AeroGarden and the Garden Starter Tray – just lift the bowl out of the base and take the entire thing outside.  Allow 1-2 weeks for hardening off.

For a hardening off schedule click the link below and scroll down to page 14 of the Garden Starter Tray guide.

http://tinyurl.com/b4qgkb

Recently we launched our Growing KidsTM school enrichment donation program.  Our mission is to help educate and enrich the lives of children and teachers by promoting the love of gardening, encouraging healthy eating habits and connecting with the community through the use of AeroGardens.

We started this pilot program here in Boulder, CO where we partnered with two elementary schools and donated each of their classrooms with an AeroGarden and salad greens seed kits.  It was our hope that the schools use the AeroGardens to enrich/enhance the study of life sciences in the classroom.

So far the program has been extremely successful.  All grade levels are using the AeroGarden in interesting ways.

• Kindergarten is using it to start the discussion on seed and their growth.  Also comes in handy during snack time
• First Graders are using it to draw and use descriptive words to explain the changes occurring with the AeroGarden
• Fifth graders and learning about the evolution of plants and trying to get the salad to return to seed.

Here are some pictures of AeroGardens in the classroom.

We are very excited about this program as the schools can’t wait till the fall as they plan to grow cherry tomatoes, peppers and herbs.

Well it looks like we will be making 100 Mom’s very happy with our Growing Mom’s Giveaway.  So why not give away another 100 AeroGardens to 100 lucky Dad’s for Father’s Day.  We are officially announcing the kick-off of our Growing Dad’s Giveaway where we will be giving away 100 free AeroGardens in time for Father’s Day.

This giveaway is a continuation of our Recession Gardening Campaign, which encourages people to save money by growing their own herbs and vegetables at home.

The AeroGarden provides many advantages.

• Starting an indoor garden gives a sense of pride and accomplishment by growing your own herbs and vegetables.
• Time to reconnect with your Dad.  Set time aside every day with your Dad to check the progress and harvest together.
• If your Dad is anything like mine, the AeroGarden will get him to take a break from watching The Weather Channel.

To enter the Father’s Day Giveaway, send an email to dads@aerogrow.com explaining why your Dad deserves an AeroGarden. Or go to www.aerogrow.com and click on Growing Dad’s Giveaway. Entries must be submitted by May 29, 2009. One hundred lucky Dads will receive AeroGardens in time for Father’s Day, 2009.

So hurry up and enter!