Who cannot be exited about AeroGardens as they allow us to grow plants and vegetables indoors, five times faster than in soil? If you are growing microgreens, you may want to learn if you can benefit from using this system as well.
So can you grow microgreens in an AeroGarden? You can grow almost any fruit, flowers, and vegetables in this self-contained hydroponic ecosystem, and with the right extras, you can use it to grow microgreens. The AeroGarden comes with seed pods, but for growing microgreens, you’ll get more volume if you are using a flat tray. They offer a Growing Bowl and a Grow Light LED panel that can make your microgreens flourish rapidly.
If you have an AeroGarden or considering investing in one, you should not disregard using it for microgreens, but it may not give the same volume as using a flat tray. The reason is that the system involves using individual seed pods aimed to grow single plants.
Let’s look at how it works and what alternative set up they have for growing microgreens!
How does the AeroGarden work?
The AeroGarden is an indoor garden system to grow any vegetable. It provides excellent conditions for growing inside your home and for someone with limited space.
It’s a hydroponic system, which means it uses water and nutrients as a medium and not soil. In a combination of providing plenty of light and warmth, it creates the ideal environment for good germination and healthy growth. The system is simple to use, simply plug-and-play.
The AeroGarden system comes pre-installed with growing lights, a growing deck, the bowl that holds the water, and the seedling tray. There are different models of the system, and you can get them in different sizes and with various features.
The setup is easy to use. You lay the tray with holes on top of the bowl that holds the water. In each hole, you put a grow basket with the pre-seeded pods, or you can plant your own seeds by using the AeroGarden “Grow anything kit”. The seeds are placed in Biodegradable Grow Sponges, and soon you will have mature plants ready for harvest.
The AeroGarden is computerized, so you don’t have to worry about turning on and off the light, forgetting about filling up water, etc. In recent models, you can even connect your system to WIFI and your smartphone to check the status of your growth! It’s a great asset for those who want to get healthy greens without getting your hands into it!
The main benefit of using an AeroGarden is that it’s self-managed and fast, compared to growing in a garden. The manufacturer claims that they go from seedling to harvest, five times quicker than traditional gardening.
How do you grow microgreens in AeroGarden?
The AeroGarden comes in different models, and they all have a system that includes a tray with holes to be used with grow sponges. It’s not ideal to use these seed starter trays for growing microgreens as they are designed to only have single plants grow in them.
When growing microgreens, we use flat open trays to be able to get an even and large growth.
Grow anything kit
Most commonly when using an AeroGarden is to use the pre-seeded pods. If you want to use your own seeds, AeroGarden offers a “Grow Anything Kit” which includes the baskets and medium and you can plant your own seeds. When growing microgreens you will not get as much out of it as if you are using a flat tray without holes.
The benefit of using the AeroGarden is you get full-grown vegetables to flourish quickly. If you place few microgreen seeds in every grow basket you will not get the same volume as if you would using a single large tray.
Fill the Grow Bowl
So, as an alternative, you can replace the seed starter trays with the Grow Bowl. The Grow Bowl is a special insert for some models of AeroGarden, and it creates a different type of hydroponic system. This bowl is flat, and you can sprinkle your microgreen seeds over the medium.
AeroGarden offers a kit of Chunk Coco Grow Media that fits perfectly with the Grow Bowl solution. For growing microgreens, we would, however, recommend using the coconut coir that is more granulated.
RELATED: Coconut Coir for Microgreens – A must-read guide
There is another solution offered by AeroGarden that can better support you with growing microgreens! That is the AeroGarden LED Grow light Panel.
AeroGarden Grow LED lights
The AeroGarden LED Grow Light Panel is a grow light that provides the full spectrum of red, blue, and white, and it rotates 360 degrees. It provides concentrated daylight white LEDs that promotes fast growth, blue LEDs to generate bigger yields, and red LEDs to trigger more flowers.
You can place it anywhere in your home and don’t need to worry about providing natural light. The light is white for the eye, which can be more pleasant if you grow indoors, compared to the deep red/pink colored LED panels.
Using the stand works excellent if you want to grow a single tray at a time. It’s perfectly sized to cover a 10/20 or two 5/10 trays. And as your microgreens grow, you can easily adjust the stand’s legs from 10.43” to 16.3”. If you need even more height, you can instead hang the panel.
To grow microgreens using the LED light, you simply place your tray under the grow light, and you are good to go. The combination of the different colors will work for any microgreens. The only thing you have to be conscious of is the duration of light you provide to the different microgreens. Always read the instructions of the seeds and monitor your crop to ensure you let them grow until you can see the first true leaves.
The AeroGarden LED panels are more costly than many other growing lights, but because of the full spectrum of light, you can use it for cultivating both vegetables, herbs, and flowers. It’s also versatile in the sense that you can use it with the stand or hang it, depending on your needs. It also works with all grow mediums, including soil, hydroponics, and aquaponics.
What can you grow in an Aerogarden?
You can grow almost anything; herbs, vegetables, salads, and flowers. The options are endless. Though some plants may be too big such as melons and zucchini, you will find that the most common vegetables are suitable to grow in an AeroGarden.
If you are using your AeroGarden for growing microgreens, there are no limits to what you can plant. The same goes for using the AeroGarden LED Grow Light Panel. It works for all types of seeds.
Which is the best AeroGarden?
There is a great selection of AeroGardens, and which one is better depends on your needs. When it comes to growing microgreens, you can use the Grow Bowl that is compatible with the AeroGarden Bounty Elite.
Visit the AeroGardens Store on Amazon to see all the models.
Let’s wrap it up
It may sound too good to be true, that this indoor gardening system can make miracles and have your vegetables grow faster than anything you have seen before. People are thrilled over it!
If your sole goal is to grow microgreens, we would, however, choose to grow them in trays, instead of an AeroGarden. The system is excellent for growing vegetables, herbs, and other full-grown plants, but it will not give the same volume as a 10/20 tray.
When it comes to growing microgreens, the main catch is the volume. As the AeroGarden system includes trays with holes that are aimed to simplify planting seeds for full-grown veggies, it is not as beneficial for the germination and growth of microgreen seeds.
So if you have to invest today, we find the AeroGarden Grow Light Panel a better solution for growing microgreens. It’s a good choice for the casual indoor gardener as it provides the right light and it has the size to cover a 10/20 tray.
If you already are an owner of an AeroGarden, you should not disregard using it for growing microgreens. Try it out! You can complement using the Grow Bowl and fill it up with a soilless medium.
We hope that you have found this walkthrough valuable and that you will get the most out of using your AeroGarden even for your microgreens!
