Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I opened up this box. Getting to grow little hydroponic pots of herbs on your kitchen counter - how cool is that? This kit comes with everything you need to set up and start growing basil, parsley, and dill. It took all of five minutes to set up, and while that is a wonderful aspect of this kit, the science geek in me was hoping for a bit more. There are a few rules to adhere to with this kit. Keep away from other sources of light, do not put near heat sources, keep an eye on the water level, but nothing so constrictive that it requires massive amounts of your time and attention. The light automatically turns on for 16 hours a day, and there are instructions included on how to set this so it best coincides with your schedule. Miracle-Gro advises that you will need to replace the bulb every six months, which runs about $16.00 for a pack of two. When the bulb does need to be replaced, make sure that you recycle it properly (Best Buy takes bulbs like this, for example). As the plants sprout and grow, the light arm needs to be adjusted higher to make sure the plants don't receive too much or to little light. Water will need to be added every few days to keep the level stable. The liquid food needs to be added every two weeks. Other than this, all you have to do is watch the pods sprout little green shoots in one to two weeks. The air pump does make a little noise, but it quickly faded into the background for us and we don't even notice it anymore. Another good feature of this aerogarden is that once you have grown these herbs, you can transplant them to a pot with soil and then reuse the little sprouting pods with regular seeds. The plan now is to get these three herbs to a nice healthy status, move them to pots, and start up again with three different herbs. Because this is the smallest of the available aerogardens from Miracle-Gro, you are limited to only three different types of plants at a time, and if they are for a plant that grows to a large/bushy size, you will find yourself transferring to soil pots on a regular cycle. Consider the start-up cost for this unit for approximately one year of use: a pack of replacement grow bulbs ($16), replacement filters ($13), liquid food ($28/qt), grow sponges to use your own seeds (50/$15), pod labels (recommended) ($16/50), your own seeds (cost will vary), replacement air stones for air pump ($14), this particular aerogarden ($65), electricity use (??) and wowza the cost quickly adds up in comparison to a 50# bag of Miracle-Gro potting soil ($10), basic quart size pots ($1/each), Miracle-Gro plant food ($8/one pound box), your own seeds (cost will vary), sunny spot in your home (Free). Granted the 'old fashioned' way of seeds in pots of soil isn't neat-o futuristic as the aerogarden, and for non-green thumbs like me a bit more likely to end up with a few pots that don't grow anything, it is a much cheaper way to get an indoor kitchen garden. The upkeep cost is the reason I deducted a star from this product. I do really, really like the whole science-y aspect of the aerogarden, but for a casual gardener, it really isn't worth the long term cost. If you home school your child(ren), this would make a great addition to your 'classroom' as it provides several teachable aspects: hydroponics, life cycle of plants and seeds, what is necessary to grow food and why areas of the world cannot grow anything or only particular crops, how to harvest seeds from plants and save them in order to grow new crops, etc. Though growing some plants the old fashioned way would be less expensive, this method is much more attention grabbing and interesting in the long term. My nephew (whom I have been updating in pictures) constantly asks for the status of the plants and can't wait until he is here on his next school break so he can see/experience this aerogarden in person. Plans have already been made for what he wants to try and grow with it during next summer break. I could also see this being a thoughtful gift for an older person that loves to garden but may not be able to due to arthritis in their hands. The unit could be set up for them so they wouldn't have to do to anything other than add the water and food and adjust the light height as needed. Also if someone lived somewhere that didn't have enough sunlight hours part of the year (like Alaska) it would be a great option to grow a small kitchen garden. Would I purchase this for others? Yes, though only for people that I KNOW would keep up with the unit and continue to use it to grow items, such as those who love to cook with fresh herbs or love to garden. It makes for an interesting gift and conversation starter, and can provide a very useful product (produce) instead of another gift that just sits there collecting dust or gets shoved into a closet. However, I would also purchase additional grow bulbs, liquid food, filters, air stones, grow sponges, pod labels, etc. so it is a complete gift that will keep on giving for a good amount of time before the recipient needs to spend their own money to replenish stock. It is pricier, but based on how much I am looking forward to using this to start more herb plants once those included are big enough to transplant, receiving this would be an amazing thing for the right person.