AeroGrow AeroGarden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit, Black

I have had my Aerogarden since May'08, and as of this review, 11/13/08, the first seed kit is still going.

All you have to do is read the directions, takes about 5 mins, and turn it on. 7 weeks later I had fresh herbs to use in my cooking.

Do you know how great it is to put fresh basil on all of your italian dishes? Without even going to the store?

I love to cook, and using the fresh herbs has opened up a new arena.

Some of these herbs are $5 for 4 oz at the store in those little plastic containers. This is right in your home.

The "value" of it will pay for itself in the long run, but defiantly, not within the first year of so.

Flat out, this is a great machine, it does what it says, and it does it well, with little effort.

This product is absolutely fabulous. I'm harvesting the herbs for my salads. It really works like a charm.

So, this thing worked pretty much as promised--no noise issues here. What I did end up with is a caterpillar infestation. The plants were decimated. I have grown lots of herbs on my counter with no problem, but my husband thought this might be a bit neater. It was gross. I finally threw all the plants away when the caterpillar count exceeded 100.

Ordered the Aerogarden at the end of September and the pump blew out at the beginning of October. Poor little sprouts died even though I tried to hand water them until the new pump arrived. I called today October 20 to follow-up, but they said that they had no pumps in stock! Needless to say, the Aerogarden is going back to Amazon. Not a good product and poor customer service!

This is a fun item but it is a bit costly for what you get. It seems the garden comes with herbs and then you must buy the veggies or flowers for $20. I would have preferred an option on what seeds to start with. But it was fun to watch them grow. Now that my herbs have grown, I have to get rid of them to start my tomatoes and lettuce or get another garden -- but they are too expensive so I will just pull the herbs and move on.