New Product Review-the AeroGarden

I recently saw a televised advertisement for a new product called the AeroGarden and found myself intrigued. The gist of this new product seemed to be that it allowed someone with or without a green thumb to grow a low maintenance garden of the herbs, flowers, fruit, and/or vegetables of her choice within the convenient comfort of her own home. Especially appealing to me was the idea of my very own customized little garden upon my very own kitchen counter. I like the notion of being able to use homegrown and easily accessible herbs and spices when preparing meats, pastas, salads, stir fry dishes and more. I like the idea of growing my own cilantro, basil, and other savory herbs to use in making sauces, salsas, or pesto.

I followed up on my AeroGarden commercial viewing by visiting the AeroGarden website at http://www.aerogrow.com/. The byline of this interesting new product is 'grow anything, anytime, anywhere'. The AeroGarden is available in a variety of models, styles, colors, and sizes. The AeroGarden ranges in price from $79.95 for some of the smaller models up to $229.95 for the largest model, called the AeroGarden Deluxe. Since even the purchase of a smaller model sounds like a substantial investment, how should one decide if an AeroGarden would be right for her and worth the price?

Fortunately, the AeroGarden website is user-friendly and informative and includes product ratings and customer reviews, enabling someone who might be interested in her own AeroGarden to acquaint herself with others' experiences with various models first. Overall, the product ratings are very high and the customer reviews are enthusiastic and helpfully detailed. Another helpful section included on the website is a form called 'Which Garden is Right For You?', which allows a potential consumer to answer a few multiple choice questions and then receive a handily formatted list of recommendations about which AeroGardens might be your best fit. Potential new AeroGarden buyers can even request a free catalog via the website, if you would rather consider your options on paper.

You can choose to purchase specialized seed kits from AeroGarden or use your AeroGarden to grow your own seeds. Some of the many items you can grow with an AeroGarden are salad greens and tomatoes, green beans, chili peppers, chives, mint, lavender, petunias, and more. Imagine cultivating the fresh ingredients for your own side salad, topping a cool glass of homebrewed iced tea with a sprig of freshly-picked mint, adorning your grilled meat with aesthetically pleasing fresh herbs, or decorating your dessert with lavender for a lovely gourmet-looking flourish.

The AeroGardens use special water pump technology to oxygenate the roots of the items you're growing. This means no messy dirt and also no guesswork in terms of how and when to tend your garden-the AeroGarden lets you know when it's time to add water or nutrients. Due to the ease of gardening with an AeroGarden, this product sounds ideal not only for the would-be gardener who has not been graced with a green thumb, but also for kids and for renters or other individuals who do not have their own yard space to work with. Since the AeroGarden models are small, self-contained, and portable, they can be conveniently located upon your kitchen counter, elsewhere within your home, or even in an office cubicle.

After conducting some follow-up research on the AeroGarden, it strikes me as an appealing new product that I will keep in mind for the future, when my budget becomes more flexible. For now, since it's not a necessity, I don't feel it's an item that I can reasonably afford to purchase. If you can't afford an AeroGarden for yourself, but do have a gift budget to work with, then you might wish to consider an AeroGarden as a special treat for a lucky friend or family member. Currently, the AeroGarden website is featuring some special offers for Mother's Day, so why not do a little research yourself and see which AeroGarden would be the best fit for you or for your mom, now or in the future. Unique and convenient, an AeroGarden sounds like a nifty gift that would truly keep on giving-and growing.