Aerogardening

No, it is not gardening in an airplane, though I'm sure if there was a way to do that, Ben would find a way. It is the gift my mother-in-law got me for Christmas, which I did not ask her to do. This is not uncommon, however it is not the end of the world with her. She's super good about saying "I know you didn't ask for this, but I thought you might like it. If you don't, my feelings aren't hurt, we'll take it back." So, this year the unexpected gift was something called an Aerogarden, which is basically a hydroponic garden, or garden using water and special nutrients instead of dirt, as pictured here. 

I "planted" the herb seeds about 10 days ago, and within three days, things were sprouting! You must understand, this is a huge victory for me, given that I've never successfully placed any seeds in the ground that grew to anything. (Ben, of course, does not have this problem.) Anyway, it was very exciting to see this bubbling pot of water give birth to seedlings. I've previously had an herb garden in containers outside my back door, but those were planted from plants, and I inevitably killed them. I don't think I ever had any of them last more than a year. . (I usually tried to blame it on the summer heat or the dogs or something, but I'm pretty sure it had more to do with the caretaker!)I always ended up re-buying them from the friendly Herb Guys at the farmer's market. Either way, now I have basil, thyme, mint, dill, oregano, and chives growing in my kitchen. Very fun :-) Since this is all a very pre-determined type of gardening, I'm pretty sure I can't screw this one up, as long as I follow the directions, (knock on wood)...

Maybe next I'll try gardening in the airplane :-)