I’ve been tending my hydroponic herb garden pretty dutifully for the past few weeks (although it can go a few days on its own as a recent weekend trip proved!), and things are going swimmingly. Today I changed out the nutrient solution, which gave me the opportunity to pop the top and take a quick peek at the roots.

Holy cow! I was totally blown away by the cilantro roots, which extend all the way to the bottom of the reservoir. No wonder it’s growing so fast! I’ve been using all the fast-growing herbs (cilantro, thyme, oregano, sage) in my cooking lately, and let me tell you, they are tasty. I’ve been holding off on using the rosemary, basil, and tarragon to let it get a bit bigger, but they’re on their way!

At first, the arugula caused me the most worry out of all the seedlings I planted, since it went into shock from the trauma I caused to the roots. Well, wouldn’t you know it, the arugula is the biggest plant in the garden by far! I recently used a big handful as a bed under a filet of wild salmon, and it was fantastic. I served it up with sauteed (non-hydroponic) collard greens and shiitake mushrooms.

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CRAFT Video: Hydroponic Herb Garden