Yep - we bought it. Do I know what we are getting into? Not really. What is it? Ummmm..
Kidding. It's actually an Aero-garden. The basic concept is growing food in your kitchen, regardless of season, in optimal conditions and with very little intervention. The hood on top contains a couple of growing lights (flourescent), and the bottom is a base filled with constantly cycling water (by a pump). Each of the plants (7) have a small base (like 1.5" wide, and about 2" deep I think), and they are filled with a little piece of foam, and a few seeds.
The basic concept is that you fill it with water, drop the seed baskets in, and for the next 6-12 months you have a garden that is more prolific than it would be outside, by growing in a medium of water instead of soil. For us, this might be good, because we are in West Coast Canada, and while there are some things we can grow outside in the winter months, many things just won't grow this time of year. Our lattitude keeps that sun low in the sky and it's hard to coax life into your plants!
Now, will this replace your garden in the summer? No. But, it can grow lots of veggies like tomatos, peppers, herbs, lettucs and more, and they say that the nutrients are higher than in soil-grown food (due to the amount of time passing before the veges are consumed after picking).
It runs at a kw cost of less than a 60w light bulb/day, so $2-3/month I believe, and is really quite a cool thing. It's an experiment, and I'll tell you how it goes over time! I'll take some snaps and we'll see what happens together, eh?
In the back of my head, I keep thinking - what if something like this could be developed for the kitchen - like a wall unit of growing veges, instead of purchasing them at the store?? Wouldn't that be cool??? I wonder how many products like these we will be seeing hitting the shelves over the next period of time????
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