The Basil seed kits produce a delicious crop for your aerogarden. As with all our seed kits, they grow at about double the speed of a ‘traditional’ garden without the mess, weeds or soil. The Basil kit contains basil from many of our European Cousins, with 7 different varieties of basil: Lemon, Napolitano, Thai and Marseilles (funnily enough from France) Genovese (Italian) and Globe and Red Rubin. These exotic new varieties of basil  mean you can take your cooking to new heights, allowing the addition of fascinating new flavours. We have found that yield is continual, and you can begin harvesting from 3 weeks for up to 4-6 months.

PETUNIAS

A seed kit the females in our office have been waiting for! The Cascading Petunia Seed Kit allows you to brighten up the home or office as Autumn approaches. The seed kit contains a multi-coloured array of Petunias which we feel sure will delight and entertain. With the approach of the change of seasons and dark winter evenings, it brings a bit of colour indoors all year long.

The seed kit contains seed pods and plant nutrients for a full season of multi-coloured petunias. Flowers bloom in just 30 days from planting, and continue to bloom for between four to six months.

This youtube clip sums up the beauty of the petunias -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoSqVU6FwDs

Ours have only been growing for a couple of weeks, but are coming along nicely, as you can see from these photos. Check back in the near future to see how they are getting along…

When can I begin harvesting from my aerogarden?
That depends on the seed kit you are using. We have noticed that you can begin harvesting lettuces and basils 3 weeks after planting your garden and then enjoy continuous harvests for months. Other herbs will take about 5 weeks to be ready to begin harvesting. Fruiting plants will take longer to harvest: about 10 - 12 weeks for cherry tomatoes and chili peppers.

Can I mix Seed Kits?
Yes you can, although we don’t generally recommend this unless you are an experienced aerogardener. This because…

1. Plants grow at different rates and have different leaf sizes, some faster growing plants in mixed kits could over- shadow and block the light from slower growing plants. Experienced gardeners will know how to avoid this issue.
2. Our nutrients have been specially designed for the group of plants in each kit. If kits are mixed the plants could be under or over-fed, resulting in less than optimal growth.
3. Your Aerogarden comes with pre-set light cycles according to kit type. If you mix kits you could be sub-optimizing your plant’s growth by giving it too much, or too little, light.

N.B. - for general troubleshooting questions, most answers can be found at http://www.aerogrow.com/community/home/customercare.php

However, most spring, well, softened or very “hard” waters have high dissolved-mineral contents that can cause problems when used in an AeroGarden. High dissolved mineral content or strong pH can interfere with the proper uptake of the AeroGarden nutrient/pH-buffer tablets by the plants, which can prevent or delay germination of seeds, severely stunt growth, and cause “chlorosis”, or yellowing of the leaves.  This will be a problem for aerogardeners using tap water from a “hard” tap water area. You can find a map giving a rough guide to locations of hard tap water areas in the UK here… http://www.dwi.gov.uk/pubs/hardness/index.htm#4

So-called “hard” water has a high dissolved calcium and magnesium content, and is the tap water that we get here in London.The high mineral content of the water can cause an excess build up of mineral deposits or limescale that could damage your pump, as well as the other problems listed above. 
 Most home water filters, do not remove dissolved minerals. They are designed to remove contaminants such as organic solvents and chlorine taste, but dissolved minerals generally occur as tiny ions which are too small to be filtered out. Distillers remove minerals, by heating, vaporizing and re-condensing water and leaving the mineral deposits behind. Pure distilled water works well in the AeroGarden, provided it is within normal pH range.The easiest alternative is probablt to use inexpensive bottled “drinking” or “distilled” (preferably not “spring” but this is ok as long as it has a low mineral conent) water instead, which has a low mineral content is available at most supermarkets. One of our customers, Alex has used Ashbeck Mountain Spring Water, available from Tesco, and reports excellent results with faster growing, healthier plants.If you do use a bottled mineral water in your aerogarden, be sure to do a rinse and refill every couple of weeks to prevent a build up of minerals. Here are instructions for a rinse and refill. 

The programme was due to be aired live on Monday 30th June at 7pm on BBC 1. As many of you are aware, with the tennis pedigree that exists  in the UK, we take every opportunity to show the nation our talents, whether it be Chris Eaton, Laura Robson or Andy Murray, and so it happened that the Wimbledon Mens last 16 singles game between Andy Murray and Richard Gasquet on Day 7 of the Championship was shuffled from BBC 2 to BBC 1. All i can say was that we were rather dissapointed.

 Pictures of the aerogarden that would or should have been aired are here, the chillis are looking pretty good, we are sure you, Adrian and Andy would have agreed!

A clean Pump really helps to keep your garden healthy and productive. Cleaning removes the nutrient residue and/or plant roots that can possibly clog your Pump, preventing the flow of water and nutrients to your plants. It also and possibly most importantly, reduces the pump noise.

A clean Pump really does help keep your garden healthy and productive. Cleaning removes nutrient residue and/or plant roots that can clog your Pump and prevent the flow of water and nutrients to your plants

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR AEROGARDEN:

STEP 1.

1)      Remove & Save Aeroaarden water & seed Pods, (Skip this step if your AeroGarden is not planted and proceed to Step 2)

2)      Unplug your AeroGarden

3)      Remove Bowl from Base

4)      Remove Grow Surface and place in sink (or on towel) as roots will drip water

5)      Pour water from Bowl into shallow dish to a depth of 1”

6)      Pour remaining water from Bowl into container that holds at least 1 gallon and set aside

7)      Gently remove Seed Pods from Grow Surface and place plants upright in shallow dish, be sure roots are in water, don’t worry if you tear a few roots or if the Cross Beams come out with the roots. Cross Beams can easily be placed back in position.

STEP 2.

   Remove Grow Surface from Bowl and bring to sink or set on towel.  Hint: Lift the View Door and slide one hand into the Bowl to lift9)   Remove Filter from the back of the Pump Tower and rinse under hot water 10)  Turn Grow Surface upside down and remove Cover Plate11)  Insert flat-head screwdriver at an angle into rectangular slot on right side of Pump Tower and gently push down on screwdriver12)  Remove the Pump by inserting the flat-head screwdriver into the space under the Pump. Push down on the handle of the screwdriver to lift the Pump out of the Pump Tower. 13)  Pull Pump Wire from Wire Slot but keep it attached to Grow Surface. Rinse out any residue or roots from Pump and Pump Tower in sink. It is okay to get everything (the Pump, Pump Wire and Grow Surface) wet.Rinse all Pump Parts and Pump in sink with hot water, reassemble the Pump Parts, Insert the Pump back into the Pump Tower making sure that:

• The Rubber Feet on the Pump are facing up.

• The Face Plate is facing toward you.

• The Pump Wire goes behind and underneath the Pump.

• Pump is securely seated in the tube in the Pump Tower.

• Pump Wire does not need to go into Wire Slot at this time.

Aerogarden.org.uk - Pump repairs brochure.

view pdf

download

 We now have stock of three tier shelves, as can be seen in the rather poor quality picture. Are you running out of room for your aerogardens? Then the 3 tier shelf is the answer. The three tier shelf is easily mounted on the wall, and the sleek design looks great in any room.  The elegant unit lets you mount three AeroGardens vertically on the wall to grow everything from herbs to cascading flowers. It not only saves counter space, but adds a beautiful organic feel to any décor.  

In the aerogarden three tier shelf in the office we have gourmet herbs in the bottom aerogarden, salad greens in the middle (which have only been in 2 days) and we were planting chilli peppers in the top aerogarden as the photo was taken.

 Here at www.aerogarden.org.uk we have just got stock of the garden starter tray which is a fast, simple, clean and foolproof seed starter kit allowing gardeners to get a jump on the outdoor growing season. You can start up to 70 seedlings indoors in an AeroGarden with no soil or mess. They can then be easily transplanted into an outdoor garden when you want. The specially designed tray uses biodegradable and nutrient-rich BioCell growing media and fits into any 7-pod AeroGarden, providing just the right amount of light, water and nutrients for fast germination and healthy root development.

UNTIL THE 1ST AUGUST WE ARE OFFERING £5 OFF TO ALL CUSTOMERS, A TOTAL PRICE OF £28.98 

From August 1st these will cost £29.99 + £3.99 postage and packaging.

The kit Includes the nutrient tablets for a full set of seedlings as well But YOU need to supply your own seeds.

 We have started growing some seeds in the Garden Starter Tray in the office for a couple of days and as we are waiting for the seeds to germinate, and to give you some idea what they look like…..

1) Unplug the AeroGarden.

2) Carefully remove the Bowl and Grow Surface from the Base and take them to a sink. (Whenever you lift the Bowl from the Base, be sure to lift it up before lifting it out so that you do not inadvertently bend the electrical contacts on the front of the Lamp Arm.) Set the Base and Lamp Hood aside. (Note: Never submerse the Base/Control Panel in water.)

3) Remove the Grow Surface from the Bowl and place on a counter near the sink (be prepared for dripping water).

4) Empty the contents of the Bowl into the sink. (Note: Don’t use this water on houseplants… the nutrient mixture may be too concentrated for them).

5) Remove the Seed Pods and plants from the Grow Surface:

Pull the Seed Pods out of the Grow Surface openings. You may need to cut away the roots from the bottom of the seed pods in order to be able to remove them from the Grow Surface. Throw away the Seed Pods and plant debris (plant growth and roots). The Seed Pods cannot be reused (unless you are using the Master Gardener Deluxe Kit, where you can sanitize the split-apart baskets. The Grow Sponges cannot be reused). If you compost, the plant debris can be composted.

6) Rinse and clean the Pump Stand and Pump Filter:

Use a soft scrub brush to clean tangled roots from the Pump Stand.
Remove the Pump Filter from the Pump Stand. Gently scrub the roots from the Pump Filter. Holding it under running water is often a helpful way to flush out debris.
Place the Pump Filter back into the Pump Stand.

7) Clean the Bowl and Grow Surface:
Use a soft cloth or sponge to thoroughly wipe the Bowl and Grow Surface. A mild soap may be used if desired, but it is very important to rinse it thoroughly before proceeding to the next step.

Sanitize the AeroGardenFill the Bowl ¾ full with water.
Add 1/4 cup of chlorine bleach.
Replace the Grow Surface on the Bowl, place the Bowl on the Base and plug in the AeroGarden for 2 minutes. If you have an AeroGarden Classic or Deluxe, select Salad Greens on the Control Panel. If you have the AeroGarden Pro, set it on the Super Grow cycle (to do this, set it on Strawberries, and then press and hold the Select button until the LED light starts blinking, then release). On these settings the Pump is set to run continuously, and this assures that the water is flowing.
Unplug the AeroGarden and empty the bleach water from the Bowl.
Refill the Bowl with tap water and replace on the Base.
Plug the AeroGarden back in and run with the clean water for another 2 minutes to flush the bleach water through the system.Repeat the rinse cycle again to completely flush the bleach from the system. Towel dry the Bowl and Grow Surface before putting them back together and setting them back on the Base.
Your AeroGarden is now ready for replanting.

We are going to get three judges from our offices to look at both quality of plants - and quality of location of the Aerogarden (we have already had one that is housed in Saudi Arabia with wonderful views of the desert).

Please send in two photos - one focused on the plants themselves and one with a wider view of the location - and a summary of where/when/why. We will show all entries on the on a section of the main website. All entries should be emailed to contact@aerogarden.org.uk as soon as possible.