Set it and forget it… if only gardening was that easy, right?!

If you’re like me, gardening has been a hot topic of yours, or at least something in the back of your mind. Maybe you already have an outdoor garden going, maybe you’ve got a few plants inside…

No matter how big your green thumb is, you definitely know that caring for that tomato or pepper plant is no easy task.

Overwatering, underwatering, trimming… any cloudy days ahead? Now what do you do? I didn’t know I had to be a weatherman just to grow a couple tomato.

All I ever had was my plants on my mind… when people started asking me what I do for a living I’d joke and say that I’m a full-time gardener!

I’ve always wanted the benefits of having a garden without the need of feeling like I’m a perpetual student of gardening. That’s why I want to talk to about what I learned to simplify all of this.

Specifically, I want to talk about hydroponic gardening… that is gardening without soil.

I started growing my own food as a way of guaranteeing the quality… I don’t have to rely on labels to know that my food is grown without GMOs and the use of harmful pesticides. I also know that no matter what happens at the supermarket… I’ll always have fresh food.

If you are currently using store-bought vegetables and herbs, it is likely you are consuming GMOs/pesticides which can be detrimental to your health. More specifically, GMO/pesticide-contaminated food can cause immune problems, accelerated aging and allergies.

Did you know that parsley alone can have up to 40 pesticides sprayed on it before you pick it up at the grocery store?

And that’s just the parsley. If you’re making a dish with any kind of herb or vegetable, multiply that number by another 50… Yuck! No wonder we get sick!

Whether you want to be prepared in case of an emergency, live healthier or just be able to show-off to your friends — growing a garden at home has probably crossed your mind.

As anyone who’s plunged into the world of home gardens knows… it’s no easy task. Plants, surprisingly, don’t grow themselves, but all you need is the right direction…

One of the biggest reasons hydroponics has become so popular is because recent studies on hydroponic farming have shown it to have many benefits.

Plants grown hydroponically are of exceedingly high quality, consume fewer resources than traditional growing methods and even produce a higher yield.

But I’m sure you’ve seen what those crazy PVC pipe overcomplicated hydroponic systems look like… they are WAY too complicated for someone like myself to implement… I mean just look at it!

Going down that route was not something I was ready to commit to. I flirted with the idea for weeks, did some research, I even bought a book about it back in February…

The truth is, these systems cost A LOT and consume A TON of time,

But I always loved the idea of growing my own lettuce, peppers, parsley, basil or tomatoes just on my patio and if I had friend or family over, they could walk out and grab their own fresh herb or produce for dinner.

Which is why I FELL IN LOVE with my friend’s little device when I saw it.

I went over to her house just before the pandemic started for a little girlfriends hangout and dinner. She made a nice little seafood pasta, but it was very… basic (sorry I really can’t think of a nice way to put it).

It was shrimp, fettucine and alfredo sauce, which is GREAT! But if I had to be honest, it’s a little bland for my taste personally without vegetables, herbs or spices.

When I was grabbing my share, I asked her nicely “do you have any basil I could sprinkle on top?”.

She had a mini freak out, apparently with all the gabbing we were doing she forgot to explain the dinner!

She pointed to her little patio (she lives in a condo) and said, dish up your pasta and go season it with my garden outside!

I kind of held in a chuckle, this is an apartment, there’s no way I was walking out to a garden…

Well sure enough we open the patio and saw 4 of these little devices, one was growing cayenne peppers, one with little cherry tomatoes, one with fresh basil and the last with fresh parsley.

WOW! I couldn’t believe it; I wish I snapped a picture of her whole setup but here’s one of the pepper plant after I brought it in. IT WAS SO COOL!

Needless to say, dinner was a HUGE hit for me. So, the moment I got home I messaged my friend and begged her to tell me what those little devices were. I learned they were the “Grow Pad Mini” by Farm Culture.

They were BRAND-NEW, no wonder I never heard of them until now.

I immediately ordered 3 (they provided a discount because I was ordering more than one) and they all arrived just a week later. Now I grow everything I possibly can in them.

And now that I have the devices, I realized just how easy they are to use.