How Much Elcetricity Does the Aerogarden Use?
The entire aerogarden system uses less electiricty than a 60 Watt lightbulb - about 0.8 Killowatt hours per day, depending slightly on which light cycle you have selected.

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

Following on from our previous blog about problems that can be caused from using hard tap water for your aerogarden…

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.