AeroGarden Blog

AeroGarden expert John Thompson shows pruning and harvesting tips for a 3 week old herb garden.

AeroGarden expert John Thompson checks in on a 2 week old Gourmet Herb Seed Kit.

Indoor Garden Expert John Thompson plants culinary herbs in the AeroGarden.

Champagne and flowers are very elegant. But instead of a flower bouquet, place the flowers in the champagne glass. Now that’s romance – subtle, pleasurable, and unexpected.  This can be done one of two ways: 1) float smaller blossoms in a glass of champagne or 2) balance larger flowers on the rim.

To balance blossoms, insert a toothpick into the base of a bloom at about a 45-degree angle. Cut the stem one inch below the bloom. Place toothpick into the glass so that the flower balances on the rim. This works better in a thin glass like a champagne flute.

INGREDIENTS

2 lb eggplant, peeled, cut into ½-inch cubes
Salt and pepper
¼ cup olive oil
3 medium bell peppers (green, red, yellow, orange or a mix), seeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
6 cups cooked rice

Preparation: Serves 6
Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and place in a colander to drain for ½ hour.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pat eggplant dry, sprinkle with pepper and stir into the oil. Sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down, cover and cook the eggplant for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is soft. Add the peppers, stir to combine well, cook until the eggplant is very soft and the peppers are cooked through but still firm. Add the garlic and parsley and sauté for 1 minute. Salt to taste.

Mix the vegetables into the cooked rice. Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.

There could be three issues with the pepper not setting fruit in a salsa garden: water, light and patience.

With water, start with an immediate rinse and refill.  Remove all the water from the reservoir (a siphon works best for this, we sell a rinse and refill siphon that works well) and add new, fresh water and nutrients. You’ll see the plants look better (less leaf browning) within days.  Even mix ½ and ½ with distilled water when you add fresh water back in.

Next, regarding light, peppers can tend to grow more slowly than tomatoes.  This can mean that your peppers get shaded and don’t get enough light to set fruit.  Look at how your plants are growing together, and then, if needed, do some gentle pruning to your tomatoes (don’t prune the branches that have fruit!) to get more light into your pepper plant.  Finally, some of the lower leaves will turn brown just because they are not getting much light and aren’t needed by the plant.  You can trim these lower leaves off without hurting your plant.

Finally, patience is key.  Plants have minds of their own and will set fruit when they want to, even though we are offering them ideal conditions.  That you are getting flowers is a good first step (a pepper plant will almost always have a lot more flowers than fruit) and if you pay attention to the first two variables we’ve covered, the fruit should start setting too.

This vinaigrette tastes great on a green salad or mixed with pasta and parmesan cheese.

1. Add balsamic vinegar to the “Vinegar” line on the Herb n’ Serve carafe.

2. Add a handful of basil leaves from the AeroGarden to the carafe.

3. Turn on the Herb ‘n Serve until the herbs are chopped.

4. Turn off the Herb ‘n Serve.

5. Add olive oil to the “Oil” line on the carafe.

6. Add 3 garlic cloves, minced.

7. Add 1 tsp Dijon mustard.

8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

9. Turn on the Herb ‘n Serve to mix the ingredients.

Some herbs germinate and grow faster than others, but you can benefit by beginning harvests much earlier than you think.  Most herbs develop bushier growth when you harvest early — so as soon as you can trim a stem here or a leaf or two there, start enjoying herbs on your salads, or a handful in soups or sauces.  You’ll actually get more herbs in the long run if you start gently trimming them back early.

Many beginning AeroGardeners wonder when it’s time to start harvesting.  If your plants are old enough for you to ask the question, you’re probably ready!  Begin harvesting lettuce when leaves are about 3 inches tall.  Pick the leaves you’d like to eat and leave the rest to grow.  Just never harvest more than 1/3 the plant at any given time.  Picking the bigger leaves allows more light to reach other leaves, making everything grow faster.  Waiting too long to harvest actually hurts your lettuce yields.  Start with smaller yields as snacks or on sandwhiches, then as plants grow faster, work up to salads.