I Bought an airgarden!
I am so excited! I only found out about the Airgarden last week, when I scrolled past an ad on Facebook. They were having a Boxing Day special on until the end of January ($100 off) and I made a rather sudden decision to buy one.
I’d never heard of aeroponics before I found the Airgarden. I’d only heard of hydroponics and aquaponics until last week. I love everything ‘garden’ so I did some research to figure out what exactly aeroponics is. I’ll explain it below – it’s super interesting!
My Airgarden hasn’t arrived yet. Sad! That’s why there are no photos of it. Yet! But I’ve been tracking its progress with the freight company, and it arrived at the Mackay depot today. Mackay is only an hour away, so I’m very hopeful it will arrive this week. Once it does, I’ll update you on the setup, sprouting my seedlings, and getting them growing!
What Is Aeroponics?
Aeroponics is a soil-free way of growing plants. Instead of using soil, the roots hang in the air and are misted with a nutrient-rich water solution. This gives the plants everything they need to grow while using less water and space than traditional gardening.
Aeroponics was invented in the 1940s by a man named F.W. Went. He was interested in how plants absorb nutrients through their roots. To study this, he developed the first aeroponic system, so he could easily observe the roots. He didn’t call it “aeroponics” until 1957. Since then, aeroponics has evolved and is now used in sustainable farming practices around the world.
What Is the Airgarden?
Prue and Tom, the owners of the Airgarden company, explain it best:
Or watch this video that shows you exactly how it works:
Why Would a Soil Lover Buy An Airgarden?
Ha, yes. That’s what my husband asked, too. Well… It was a bit of an impulse buy. But I have good reasons! Any gardener in Queensland knows how hard it is to grow veggies ‘out there.’ I’m certainly not going to stop growing plants and edibles in the garden. I love soil! There are good reasons, however, to give the Airgarden a spin.
1. The ‘Wild’life
Bandicoots, possums, wallabies, chickens, horses, cows, sheep, and birds. Even the dogs. Our fellow farm friends love my veggies and fruit as much as I do. I’d say 80% of the produce goes to the critters and 20% to us. That doesn’t bother me for most things – I love sharing, especially when the trees are packed full of fruit. But, I’d like to harvest some lettuce every now and again.
The Airgarden can live anywhere. A balcony, the patio… Even inside if you get the grow lights as an accessory. Mine will live on the veranda. Our house is high set so that should keep most of the animals out. Although there are always the birds. Check out these cheeky Blue-Faced Honeyeaters stealing the banana harvest!
2. Convenience
The Airgarden has 30 spots for plants. There is no way I’m going to fit everything I currently grow in the veggie patch. But there are always those staples. Those things you want pretty much every day. Those are the things I’m going to grow in the Airgarden. Lettuce, basil, parsley, chives – you know the drill!
When dinner time comes around, no one wants to go into my (rather wild) veggie garden. It’s almost always dark by the time we eat. We love spending time outside until the sun goes down and we finally get a break from the hot, humid weather.
With the Airgarden, instead of trudging 100m to the veggie garden, I’ll walk five meters to my nicely lit veranda. Give the dogs a pat while I’m out there, then hop-skip back inside. Whoop!
3. Weeds
It didn’t rain for ages. My veggie garden was pristine. You should’ve seen it! I definitely should’ve taken more photos when it was magazine-worthy. I had all the time in the world to keep the weeds under control. Then, all of a sudden it rained a lot and BOOM! The weeds exploded. That is genuinely what you’d call it.
You now can’t see the chives through the trees. Thankfully, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to find my Airgarden on the veranda if I can’t find my way to the chives.
What Shall I grow?
So far, I’m thinking:
- Lettuce. A must-have.
- Parsley. I’m addicted.
- Basil. See above.
- Chives. These go on everything.
- Celery. Awesome in a juice.
It’s a work in progress. I’m very happy there’s a list here, as well as a growing quiz to see what suits your climate and the season. We’re going into autumn, and our climate in the Pioneer Valley is considered subtropical. I thought it would be tropical (it certainly feels like it), but it really looks subtropical on Airgarden’s map.
I’ll run with it, because my Airgarden will be on the veranda and not in the full, burning sun. Let’s see what handles the humidity and what doesn’t!
It would be cool to grow Kang Kong in the bottom row. I love using Kang Kong (water spinach – Ipomoea aquatica) as a spinach alternative. I can’t grow spinach and I blame it on the climate. I’ve tried many different spinach alternatives and found most of them to be rather slimy. Mucousy. Shiver. Kang Kong is my saving grace. It’s amazing! Looks like spinach, tastes like spinach. It will be my spinach!
Kang Kong looooooves water. Let’s see how it does in the Airgarden!
What do you think would be great to grow in the Airgarden? Let me know in the comments!
