Have you ever tried to grow basil indoors?  Maybe you have just tried to keep that plant you bought in the produce section alive?  I can attest, it’s not as easy as it seems.  I generally justify the slightly increased price of the plant over the cut herbs with a rationale about being fresher, because I certainly can’t guarantee that I can keep the thing alive as some sort of cut and come again resource.

Chives are another story.  These are perennial plants, naturally, they die back and comeback.   But this fact is something that I suspect most don’t think about when they but the plant.  Years ago, I planted grocery store chives in the base of  giant potted orange tree that I move inside every fall and back out in the spring.  Until this year (when the adjacent asparagus fern seems to have finally strangled them out) they have come back right about this time of year and given me fresh chives, grown indoors, at a time when my outdoor plants are still hibernating.

I have never tried hydroponics.  So I am curious what kind of success is possible with the Growbottle.  If looking at it purely from a design perspective, I would say for sure, this is a winner.

The concept is by Potting Shed Creations. Using containers made from reclaimed, cut wine bottles, herbs are grown using hydroponic methods.  They are exciting to look at, I can easily imagine a row of them in my kitchen window. But do they work?  Have you toyed with hydroponic gardening?  I am curious to hear from someone who knows more about this method of growing to understand if this is practically as exciting as it is design stimulating.