8
Designing Your Garden
Life Span
Try to choose plants that have
similar life spans so that you do
not end up with empty spots in
your garden. For example, dwarf
tomatoes and cilantro are a great
flavor combination, but they
would be hard to grow in the
same AeroGarden. The cilantro
will be near the end of its
growing season just as your dwarf
tomatoes are starting to ripen!
Plant Habit and Layout
Some plants are bushy, others
feathery, some grow straight,
others branch out. As you plant
your garden, think about the
shape and growth habit of the
plants. You may want to put the
feathery leafed plants in the front
where they can be seen. Save the
back row for the plants that grow
straight or bushy to make a nice
background for the more delicate
plants in the front. You can always
experiment with arrangements.
Even after you’ve planted your
garden, you can remove the
Seed
Pods
and rearrange your garden.
(
Just be gentle with the roots!
)
Horizontal Spreading
If you grow a garden with plants
that have extensive branching or
will spread horizontally, you may
want to leave some of the
Grow
Surface Openings
empty. (For
example, we recommend planting
only 3
Seed Pods
for dwarf toma-
toes and peppers, and leaving the
remaining 4
Grow Surface Open-
ings
empty.) This will give the plants
room to grow and assure that each
plant gets the light it needs.
If you do this, be sure to cover the
unplanted
Grow Surface Openings
to prevent algae growth.
HELPFUL HINT: To cover unplanted
Grow Surface Openings
, choose a
material that will stand up to a moist
environment, such as aluminum foil
or the plastic top from a milk jug (shown).
