Sunday, January 2, 2011

Space Garden!

You may want to sit down for this. I have something very shocking to tell you.

I GREW SOMETHING!

Lots of somethings actually. HERBS to be exact. In this very apartment! The one that has no sunshine ever! How is this possible you ask? Easy...

A SPACE GARDEN!

You know, like outer space. The final frontier.  

This is a garden that would fly on a spaceship with astronauts or aliens. Ok fine. It isn't really a space garden. But that's what I call it because it looks so futuristic and it can grow plants in any room even if it's completely devoid of light! IT'S MAGIC. And you don't even have to be good at growing stuff because it tells you what to do! When the blinky light says add more water, ADD MORE WATER. When the blinky light says add plant food, ADD PLANT FOOD. That's it! Amazing huh?!

You can choose from several different types of plants to grow from tomatoes and peppers, to herbs, to flowers. I chose herbs. Because I cook a lot remember? And those fresh herbs are so damned expensive. Want to see what I chose? Too bad! HA!

 Cilantro
(Look how huge it is already! And isn't that seed case so cute all hanging on and such?)


 Genovese Basil
(This is the tradition basil you find in the grocery store that's used in Italian cooking.)


 Italian Parsley
(aka Flatleaf Parsley... this little guy is just barely starting to wake up so you can't really see him yet.)


 Mint
(This one is also pretty tiny still, but there's a couple sprouts!)


 Oregano
(Look at those cute little leaves!)


 Sage
(One strong shoot coming right up!)


Thyme
(I really can't wait for this one! Yum!)


And here it is in all it's wonderful growing glory... the Space Garden!!


And the best part is, I can grow stuff all year long! I even got several more herbs I can plant once these ones are done: Mint, Dill, Globe Basil, Thai Basil, Marjoram, and Lemon Basil. I'm going to have to figure out how to use all that stuff!


I'd always wanted one of these things but they're a little pricey for an everyday spur-of-the-moment purchase. But you know how my genius, wonderful husband is. He makes little notes in his brain about all the weird things his crazy wife likes and extricates them at just the right moment (namely birthdays and CHRISTMAS), filling my world with pure bliss and surprise and loveliness.

Thank you dear. You are quite amazing. And I love you.

9 comments:

thebluemuse, phd said...

Green-eyed monster over here!! That is so rad!! I got the "white trash" version from my mom for Christmas aka the Ch-ch-chia herb garden. Some day I will upgrade to the space garden. Too cool!

Rachel said...

That IS magical!

heidi said...

KAY WE ARE SO SAMESIES. Only you are one-half step ahead of me. Over Xmas in Cali my aunt heard me raving and raving and RAVING (like a person so blissed out it has made them a bit unhinged with joy) about CILANTRO. They have it here (duh) but it's not the same as fresh-from-the-market-down-the-street. Plus I can never use it all and I HATE to waste things. So, my auntie asked me questions and convinced me I could grow my own. (We decided growing it in a pot on the plant stand would work.)

BUT NOW I KNOW WHAT ELSE I WANT FOR XMAS! (Too late? How about Martin Luther King's Day? Or Valentine's?) Because our plant stand is full and I WANT A GARDEN OF MAGIC! In the basement! Or anywhere I want! So I'm going to round up all the Xmas money I can find and go into the magic business with you.

THANK you for sharing wonderful wonders with me such as these!

Also I'm so so so happy for you and your magic new ATK's Family Cooking book. I love that post on the cooking blog. I could read it every night before bed just for sheer happiness to ride into sleep on.

Happy New Year! Of MAGIC!

love junie

p.s. Call back to an earlier post, maybe other readers of yours will remember: I thought of you today, going for a wintry walk(with my MIL) along the railroad tracks (near the Boise Depot). (I should SO take you there. It's a lovely, MAGICAL walk from our house and as a train lover and sometimes-artist you'd love it, I bet. Also near another favorite Bueno Cheapo spot of mine/ours. Anyway the Boise Train Depot is a local icon, I bet a quick google search would have nice results.) :)

heidi said...

p.s. The call-back is to trains, not wintry walks or MILS. :D

Budsly said...

I've seen these and wondered if they worked. I've tried several times to grow herbs with no success. The only one that grew in my garden this year was cilantro. Maybe when I have a place to put it and a kid who won't touch it, I'll try it. In the mean time, i'll just use all YOUR excess :)

Collette Smith said...

OH MY GOSH--that is so freaking cool!

heidi said...

Kay--
You know, sometimes I can be impulsive and be super-enthused and then back off and change my mind; but I still REALLY want my own magical herb garden. But Someone I Live With is not entirely convinced. I think the concern is space... I was gonna say, I understand that concern 'cuz we have a small house, but actually, we have a huge house by third world concerns (and my own :D). But of course we do have a bunch of stuff, it's easy to accumulate too much and get all cluttered up.

Is the garden worth giving up some space?

Is it attractive?

Can I put it in the basement? (I'm thinking of one of the rooms with windows. BUT! It IS cold down there. One place that would be double-darling darling is the wide windowsill in the guest room but then the poor thing would FREEZE. Also it might not quite fit there, now that I think about it. Also the basement has lots of mold spores. Only not so much in the family room. And we turn the heater on lots in that room.)

Further:
Does it REALLY work? Will all the plants grow and then die? (I went on the aero garden site and people seem to love it and swear by it and complain that they can't afford more that four! Also one person who wrote a review is really affected by seasonal light deprivation--GUESS WHO ELSE! ME AND ALL MY FAMILY! and 30% of people who live where there's distinct seasons!--and she LOVES it, the light and greenery! That sounds like some Sun God somewhere saying, "Buy it my child.")

Which leads me to:
Does Jesus want me to have it? (I think so. :D) And would He want me to get the silver one or the white one?

Loves,
Heidi

Karen said...

Junie, ok so I'll have to check and see how warm it has to be for them to grow, but since it has its own growing lights, darkness doesn't matter at all.

They come in different sizes and shapes so you can get one that is size and style appropriate, but the I have it the biggest and it doesn't take up much room. We could have put it on a tv tray but it was too wobbly. You need more height than anything, especially if you grow really tall stuff like tomatoes.

I'm not sure how the grow cycle works... mainly because i don't know much about herbs in general. I'm hoping I can harvest a little at a time and keep them going forever, but I don't know if that's possible.

One thing I found that I love is the grow lights. They are on 16 hours a day and I really like it. I'm always so sad when they turn off. And Jesus wants you to get the silver one.

heidi said...

Oh, THANK you! And thank Jesus for me, too. Silver! Beautiful.