Best Things To Grow in AeroGarden Systems: Top 11 Seed Pods

AeroGardens are an exceptional solution for tricky plants that can be difficult to grow indoors. These systems automate and regulate the growing process, making them a fool-proof approach for getting healthy yields from your vegetables, herbs, and flowers. 

You may be asking yourself, how do I get started? In order to decide which are the best things to grow in AeroGarden systems, it’s important to learn about each plant’s personality, nutritional needs, and time schedules for growth.

In this article, we will take a look at some of the most popular seed pod kits on the market and help you decide which ones are best for you to get started with. For more seasoned growers, we will discuss a few more ambitious varieties as well. Let’s get started and get growing!

Here is a rundown of my Seed pod kit list for the best things to grow in Aerogarden systems:

• Pesto Basil Seed Pod Kit
• Heirloom Salad Greens Seed Pod Kit.
• Salsa Garden Seed Pod Kit
• Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit
• Red Heirloom Cherry Tomato Seed Pod Kit 
• Mixed Romaine Lettuce Seed Pod Kit 
• Tomato & Pepper Variety Seed Pod Kit
• Asian Herbs Seed Pod Kit
• Mountain Meadows Flower Seed Pod Kit
• Shishito Pepper Seed Pod Kit
• Red & Golden Cherry Tomato Seed Pod Kit

*If you’re in a hurry, I’d recommend the Heirloom Salad Greens Seed Pod Kit for the beginner looking for variety, fast yields, and minimal effort. 

What is an Aerogarden?

An AeroGarden is a hydroponic plant-growing system that is foolproof, soil-free, and a perfect solution for those who need an easy and low-maintenance indoor garden. It includes a chamber for water and plant food, an area that holds your seeds, as well as an attached light. This form of hydroponics is known as aeroponics: the process of growing plants in a nutrient-rich water-mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium.

AeroGrow was founded by Michael Bissonnette in July 2002 and currently offers 33 different models at different price points and consumer benefits, suiting a variety of indoor gardeners. There are more than 150 Seed Pod Kits available to choose from, providing plenty of options to growers. 

What seeds can I use in an Aerogarden?

AeroGardens offers several pre-seeded Seed Pod Kits that are guaranteed by the manufacturer to germinate. These pods are clean, soil-free, and maintain consistent growing conditions that support the plants. Many of the seeds used in the pods are heirloom varieties and are sourced organically when possible. Aerogarden never uses GMO seeds. 

Each AeroGarden Seed Pod comes with a grow dome, grow label, grow sponge made of sphagnum peat, seeds, and a grow basket. 

Best things to grow in AeroGarden Systems

Aeroponic systems such as the AeroGarden do best with most vegetables, herbs, fruits, and flower varieties. There are many seed pods for these plants you can grow in your aerogarden.

However, there are certain plants that are much more challenging to grow. Root vegetables such as potatoes, turnips, onions, and carrots are not ideal for AeroGardens. This is because the system does not have enough space for its elaborate root systems. Melons, squash, and corn are also difficult choices for an aeroponic system because of their height or tendency to vine. 

Herbs

Herbs are great for AeroGarden systems since they are a manageable size and many of them grow quickly. This makes them perfect for the beginner or someone who wants to see their yields come faster. The best herbs to grow in an Aerogarden are thai basil, thyme, parsley, and curly Italian parsley. This is because they grow quickly, have a small profile and you can get multiple harvests off one plant. Aerogarden sells seed pod kits that will get you started quickly and easily with herbs.

Salad Greens

AeroGarden offers a variety of salad greens that can grow in an Aerogarden such as heirloom varieties, lettuces, and even a green smoothie pod pack. These are some of the most fool-proof plants you can grow year-round. Your yields can last up to four months. You’ll start getting harvests within 3 weeks with any of the Aerogarden models.

Tomatoes

If you’re looking to grow something more substantial, larger aeroponic units can support tomatoes and peppers. You can buy a seed pod kit with one type of plant, or buy a variety pack such as the salsa pod kit, which includes a variety of larger vegetables that grow well together. 

Some tomato plants don’t produce flowers, but very often changing the environment can cause them to start growing. You should notice yellow flowers on your plants at 5-7 weeks and very soon after that, you should see some of those flowers turn into little green tomatoes. But if you don’t get flowers, you will never get fruit. So make sure you troubleshoot if you don’t see them within the 5-7 week time frame.

When Can I Begin Harvesting?

Each plant will have a unique harvest time, however, certain plants can be pruned and harvested as early as 3 weeks. Here are sample timeframes for various plants:

Herbs: 4 weeks to harvest

Green Beans: 5 weeks to harvest

Cherry Tomatoes: 12 weeks to harvest

Vegetable Kits: 4 months of continuous harvests

Salad Greens: 3 months of continuous harvests

Herb Kits: 3 months of continuous harvests

Flower Kits: blooms for 4 months

Can I use my own seeds in an AeroGarden?

For those who have their own heirloom seeds or would like to grow varieties that aren’t available in the seed pod line, there is a Grow Anything Seed Pod Kit that allows you to easily plant whatever you want in your AeroGarden.

You’ll want to be mindful that the AeroGarden won’t work so well with the above-mentioned plants, such as tubers, squashes, and melons. Also, keep the size of your plant in mind to make sure your aeroponic system will be able to support its height. If you would like to grow larger vegetables, fruits, and flowers, you may want to invest in a larger AeroGarden such as the Bounty Basic model. 

Top 11 Seed Pod Kits:

Pesto Basil Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden pod kit includes: Genovese Basil

Basil is one of the simplest and most rewarding plants to grow in an AeroGarden system. Genovese Basil is one of the most popular types of basil in the world and is often used to make pesto. This seed pod kit will germinate between 7 – 14 days and will be ready for harvest in 4 -6 weeks. If well cared for, this crop will produce continuous harvests for up to 6 months! 

Heirloom Salad Greens Seed Pod Kit 

This Aerogarden pod kit includes: Black Seeded Simpson, Deer Tongue, Firecracker, Marvel of 4 Seasons, Rouge d ‘Hiver, Parris Island.

Salad Greens are among some of the easiest plants to grow in an AeroGarden. They germinate faster than most other plants, at about 5-8 days after placing them in the unit. Their lifespan will last for about 4 months, giving you about 1.5 seasons worth of yields before needing to be replaced. They require 16.5 hours of light per day to grow optimally. When harvesting and pruning this seed pod kit, you can either cut leaves down from the top or harvest the outer leaves. 

Lettuce is a “cool-season” crop, meaning that it will bolt (go to seed) if temperatures are above 75 degrees for an extended period of time. This will make it long, thin, and will stop it from producing as many leaves. It could also lead to a bitter-tasting plant. Try to place your garden in a cooler area of your home and consider setting up a fan in your growing area. 

Salsa Garden Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden pod kit includes: Red Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Jalapeno Peppers

This kit is a fun indoor gardening experiment for the intermediate gardener. There are some special considerations when growing these vegetables. Firstly, most people don’t use all of the pods available in their AeroGarden when planting their Jalapenos and Tomatoes. This is because they will grow so large and dense that it will be challenging to prune. You can plant 3 or 4 seed pods into the AeroGarden, and use spacers to “close” the rest of the holes. Many kits with larger vegetables already come including spacers for you to use.

It is also difficult to grow shorter plants, such as herbs, alongside these crops. This is because it will be hard for the smaller plant to receive light under the Salsa Kit and they won’t have room to thrive. 

While these seed kits will fit any AeroGarden system, they will work best in larger systems such as the AeroGarden Harvest or Bounty Basic model. The seeds will take 7 – 10 days to germinate, and 75 days to fruit. Their lifespan can last for up to 9 months and they require 16 hours of light a day. 

Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden pod kit includes: Genovese Basil, Thai Basil, Curly Parsley, Thyme, Chive, Mint, and Dill

Herbs are some of the easiest seeds to grow in and AeroGarden system. Because of their compact size. They are also compatible with any AeroGarden system. People love these herb kits because they provide a convenient and long lasting culinary garden that can be pruned and added to dinner about every other day with very little additional maintenance.

The shortest herbs in this kit are chives, growing up to 8” tall. Dill and Basil can grow the tallest, reaching a whopping 18”. There are also various sprouting and harvesting times for each herb, but the system keeps things simple by allowing you to select the “Herbs” setting on your machine. This way you can sit back, watch them grow, and not have to worry about each plant’s specific needs. 

Red Heirloom Cherry Tomato Seed Pod Kit 

This Aerogarden pod kit includes: Red Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Spacers

As mentioned above in the Salsa Kit, tomatoes are a rewarding plant for those who are willing to put a little more effort into pruning and maintaining them. Larger aeroponic machines will be best at supporting the plants, and some systems even come with a helpful trellis. 

Make sure that you only grow 3 plants in a 6 or 7 pod AeroGarden. You can use plant spacer plugs for the open slots in your machine. The seeds will take 7 – 10 days to germinate, and 75 days to fruit. Their lifespan can last for up to 9 months and they require 16 hours of light a day. 

Mixed Romaine Lettuce Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden seed pot kit Includes: Red And Green Romaine Lettuce Varieties

Above we recommended a more exotic salad blend, and this kit is personal for those who love traditional fresh salad greens. Lettuce germinates faster than most other plants, at about 5-8 days after placing them in the unit. Their lifespan will last for about 4 months, giving you about 1.5 seasons’ worth of yields before needing to be replaced. They require 16.5 hours of light per day to grow optimally. When harvesting and pruning, you can either cut leaves down from the top, or harvest the outer leaves. 

Lettuce is a cool season crop, meaning that it will bolt (go to seed) if temperatures are above 75 degrees for an extended period of time. This will make it long and will stop it from producing as many leaves. It could also lead to a bitter-tasting plant. Try to place your plants in a cooler area of your home and consider setting up a fan in your growing area. Otherwise, this is a super easy option for the beginner or someone who wants a low-maintenance experience.

Tomato & Pepper Variety Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden seed pod kit includes: Mega Cherry Tomatoes, Poblano Peppers, Sweet Bell Peppers, and Spacers.

These varieties are considered “jumbo vegetables” and are best grown in the XL Farm model, which can accommodate the height of the plants. This larger unit also has two adjustable grow lights which allows you to more easily adjust the system to various growth phases of your plants.

These tomatoes and sweet bell peppers are highly productive and can produce fruiting plants for up to 7 months. As with other larger plant seed pod kits, it is best not to fill all of your pods in the system to allow for enough space for each plant. This kit comes with spacers, making it easy to balance your space needs. 

Asian Herbs Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden seed pod kit includes: Mitsuba, Shungiku, Italian Basil, Holy Basil, Mint, Chives, Cilantro

These seed kits are great if you’d like to grow less common herb varieties while maintaining a simple and easy indoor gardening setup. With all AeroGarden herb kits, they are easily programmed into your system by selecting the “Herb” button.

These seeds will likely germinate in a few short weeks, making them the fastest crops to grow in the seed pod line. Make sure to prune your herbs regularly to stimilate their grow and keep their yields in the Aerogarden going as long as possible. 

Mountain Meadows Flower Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden seed pod kit includes: Dark Pink Dianthus, Yellow Coreopsis, Yellow Striped Gazania, Phlox

Most people think of the AeroGarden system as a perfect choice for food and herbs, but it’s also a great choice for growing flowers. There are several seed pod kits with many flower varieties, however, this is a great kit for those who would like a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes of buds. When regularly pruned, you’ll be able to have beautiful fresh cut flowers in your home consistently. 

Flowers germinate in about 7 – 12 days after planting them in the Aerogarden. On average, they will take about 42 days to blossom. Their life span in the AeroGarden is about 4 months, and they require 15.5 hours of light a day. 

Pruning is very important for flowers to make sure they don’t fall under their own weight as they get larger. You will also have to be very mindful to check your system’s water and food levels consistently, as they will require more of this in their mature growth phases. 

Shishito Pepper Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden seed pod kit includes: Shishito Peppers, Spacers

The shishito pepper is a unique and exciting choice if you are looking to grow something different in your AeroGarden. They are a sweet East Asian Variety of the species Capscium and make a perfect side dish for any meal when sauteed and served with olive oil, salt, and pepper. 

Like other peppers, this is considered a larger crop and is best grown in the XL Farm system, since plants will need at least 24” of space to grow and mature. Because of the size of this plant, there are many spacers in the kit. Even using the largest AeroGarden system, you will only be able to grow three of these plants at a time. 

You can expect these peppers to germinate between 7 – 10 days. They will take 75 days to start producing peppers, which can be harvested in about 105 days. The lifespan of these plants is a whopping 9 months. They will require about 16 hours of daily light. 

Red & Golden Cherry Tomato Seed Pod Kit

This Aerogarden seed pod kit includes: Red and Cherry Tomato Grow Pods, Spacers

For those who would like more color and variety in their tomato harvests, this is a great choice. 

This tomato is slightly more forgiving space-wise to grow in an Aerogarden than with other varieties of tomatoes or peppers. You can expect your plants to grow to a height of 12” – 14”. You’ll want to make sure to only grow 2-4 plants in your system so that they have plenty of room to spread out. 

People report that these seeds produce strong healthy yields that last for a long time. Make sure to regularly prune these plants so that they don’t get too top-heavy as they fruit. These plants will germinate in 7 – 10 days, blossom in 75, produce tomatoes in 75 and last for at least 105 days. Several people have reported that this plant continues to produce healthy yields for up to 200 days. 

Summary

As you can see, there are plenty of seed kits available for varying experience levels and personal palettes. AeroGarden does a good job of supporting you through the growing process with thorough instructions and customer support as needed. They also happily replace any seed pods that do not germinate to make sure you’re getting the best value from your kits as possible. Accessories such as grow domes and grow baskets improve your harvest easily and affordably.

Although an indoor garden is primarily about having fun and improving your lifestyle, it can also be a great learning opportunity. Whichever plants you decide to grow, make sure to take some time to read a bit more about them individually and learn about their needs. This will help you feel more in control of the experience as you experiment with and learn how to grow the healthiest crops. 

Remember, these systems and seed pods are designed for success! As long as you approach your gardening journey with curiosity, excitement, and an open mind, you’ll end up with the indoor garden of your dreams.