Plants in the Kitchen, New Approaches
Windowsills cluttered with scraggly little herbs may soon be a thing of the past as designers develop new ways of integrating plant life into the kitchen.
The AeroGarden brings “NASA-tested, aeroponic technology” to the kitchen counter. Occupying about the same space as a bread maker (the original version) or a blender (in the case of the newer, smaller model), the soil-free system allows you to grow herbs, salad greens and vegetables with minimal effort. “Planting” is accomplished by simply inserting pre-sown proprietary seed pods called Bio-Domes, and from then on a computer controls the light, moisture and nutrient levels during growth, as well as providing alerts when it’s time to add more water or nutrients. The systems are pricey and the range of plants available is a bit limited, but I’ve heard nothing but good things. And, having killed just about every plant I’ve ever owned, edible or otherwise, there’s something very appealing about the product’s guarantees for success.
In the less technical realm, Turkish designer Erdem Selek has created a quirky plant cage meant to serve as a dish rack, such that the water from drying dishes hydrates the plant below. Not only does this device take care of plant watering while solving the problem of water collecting in stagnant pools, as it does in most standard dish racks, but it saves a little space, which is always a good thing.
And from Tineke Beunders of the Dutch design pair Ontwerpduo comes Windowherbs, a clear plastic rendering of the classic flower pot form, cut in half, and decked with suction cups. It would be a simple, lovely and workable herb solution in kitchens with no windowsills or with windows that are opened and closed often.
Though I’m not wholly convinced of the long-term sticking power of suction cups, detect a touch of the precarious in the dish rack (at least in the current prototype), and find terms like "aeroponic" and "Bio-Dome" disquietingly futuristic (Soylent Green anyone?), all in all I applaud these attempts to refine and augment the position of the much overlooked kitchen plant.
About the author: Amanda Clarke is a recovering restaurant pastry chef with a background in architecture. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she writes, tests, and develops recipes and works on freelance food-styling gigs between walkings and feedings of her two dogs and husband.
View other entries from In Design.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
6 Comments:
We have an Aerogarden in the Serious Eats office (right behind me!) and it does work really well without much effort! Or...uh, it did when we planted the herbs (they EXPLODED herby goodness everywhere, seriously, and then all I could smell was basil). The salad greens plants aren't growing as well for some reason—some of the plants haven't really grown while others have. The stuff that has grown tastes really good though. :P
roboppy at 10:39AM on 03/27/08
I was just going to pop in here about our AeroGarden! I'll second everything Robyn has to say about it above but also add a link to this photo of Robyn and the AeroGarden. I'm skeptical, too, about the window-suction version, Amanda. Eventually I'd expect to come home to a half-pot of herbs and soil on the floor.
Adam Kuban at 11:01AM on 03/27/08
I WANT ONE.
Cathy at 11:18AM on 03/27/08
The Aerogarden is great but a little touchy - our first two attempts with herbs were very nearly dismal failures aside from the basil plants that WOULD NOT DIE. I've determined that it was an issue of placement rather than a problem with the system itself, however - we first had the system set up on sort of a rolling cart underneath a window, and as our windows are old and not well-sealed, I believe the air that may have been seeping around the edges had a negative effect on the plants (as well as allowing bugs and parasites to get at the plants). Now we've set the system up away from the window in more of a central area, and our current crop of hot pepper plants are thriving. We'll definitely retry the herbs in the new location - I believe we'll have more success this time.
erichan726 at 11:36AM on 03/27/08
I've had my Aerogarden for almost a year. Right now, I'm using the Aerogarden Master Gardener kit to grow the herbs that I use the most and also to try my hand at growing Thai basil. The kit made it easy to create my own seed pods. My parlsey, italian basil, cilantro, and Thai basil are growing like crazy.
PattiA at 11:49AM on 03/27/08
I love my Aerogarden too, but the light that grows the plants can make you a little crazy. My house is all open, so wherever you are you see the light so to speak!
As far as success with the plants I'd have to say the basil and dill are clear winners.Too bad I tend to use little or no dill. Chives are draped over the side and the parsley does not amount to enough to use in any one dish. Same with the oregano and mint.
I plan to turn off the "garden" for the summer since all my herbs are beginning to sprout in the garden. I'll start it up again in the fall so I have the basil all winter and I'd like to try to create my own seed pods since it really makes more sense to grow what you use all the time.
hanak at 2:00PM on 03/27/08