Easy Gardening

I'm growing herbs in my kitchen this winter. They are in a hydroponic kit system that I got for Christmas and if all goes well I'll have an indoor garden that looks like this:

That's all basil in the picture above, but my little garden has basil, dill, cilantro and sage, just a couple plants of each, which will all grow together in a tiny leafy jungle. Sprouts are just coming up under the clear domes. The plastic domes will be removed when the sprouts are big enough and the arm of the light fixture is movable so I can raise it when the plants get tall.

Each seed was dropped into a growing plug and popped into its hole in the kit. Water and nutrients fill the tank, and intense lights stay on for 16 hours each day, then go off automatically for 8 hours. The seeds, the nutrients, the tank and lights and starter cups were all provided in the kit.

If the tank had clear sides, you could see how the roots grow down through the plastic cups into the water. It still amazes me that water + light + some chemicals convert into leafy green biomass. Edible biomass at that.

I planted herb seeds this winter and 8 days later, I had sprouts. It's always magic to see a tiny seed push up out of its dark bed and open up. I forgot which seeds went into which hole, so I have no idea what's appearing -- I'm pretty sure this one is basil.

In addition to regulating the hours of light, the tank has a pump that stirs the solution to keep it fresh and aerated. Really, all I had to do was put the seeds into the cups, mix the fertilizer and water, and plug it in.

I'm not sure how I feel about this level of easy gardening with no fuss, no dirty mess, no weather or bugs or rabbits. I'm used to growing plants under adverse conditions and failing much of the time. This doesn't seem like gardening at all.

But I am going to enjoy fresh cilantro and dill, and sprigs of basil and sage very soon. I'll like that.

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