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Growing With The Smart Garden 27: A Culinary Arts Instructor's Story
Meet Christie Gibbons, Culinary Arts Junior Instructor at Normandy High School in Parma, Ohio. Several schools in Christie’s district are using indoor gardening systems as educational tools for children. Here, Christie explains why she chose the Smart Garden 27 and how it’s a great resource for teaching, cooking and anyone who wants to grow their own food!
Christie Gibbons
Hi, Christie! How did you find out about Click & Grow?
I was looking for alternatives to a larger hydroponic system that another group was already using at school. We wanted something specific for the culinary program that was manageable and would fit within our class / kitchen space.
Why did you choose the Smart Garden 27? And how did you plan on using it?
We needed something a little larger than the Smart Garden 3 and Smart Garden 9 to grow herbs to use in our restaurant. I saw that the Smart Garden 27 came with a stand and we could grow more herbs at one time. We wanted it to show our students how easy it is to grow your own herbs and, in turn, we could use those herbs in the restaurant or in the lab. Either way, it was a win win. We gave our students the opportunity to start the herb garden and they loved it. Some of my students even gave ‘their’ plants names!
Growing plants in the Smart Garden 27
How does it fit into your everyday life?
Everyday life at school was easy because we had students tending to it daily, talking to ‘their’ plants, watering them, etc. I did have to do a little rearranging to find the ideal spot for it in our home but nothing crazy. It’s super easy to take care of. I have probably 30 other plants in my house that I water weekly so it’s just something else I water. When my daughter is occupied I will take off any dead leaves, etc. It’s very low maintenance.
How do you consume the plants and how often?
Being a chef, I love having fresh herbs around and with quarantine we don’t do a whole lot of shopping so it’s great. I’d say I use them at least 2-3 times a week, depending on how often I am making dinners and not having leftovers. I also leave baggies of herbs taped to my front door for my neighbors to come and grab. If we were still using this at school, we would have used all the basil at once to make pesto or use in sauce. We cook on a much bigger scale so using 3 pods of any herb would have been easier.
Who would you suggest this product to?
Anyone really! A culinary program, the home gardener, someone just starting out, or my sister who has no green thumb at all. It’s all very easy, from setting it up to maintaining it.
I also wanted to share that I ordered our cafeteria a Smart Garden 27 and had it in the kitchen by the cafeteria lines so all the students could see the progress of the plants each day. The ‘Farm to Table’ or ‘Farm to School’ is a big push right now. I teach in a city so most kids don’t get to see what different vegetable / herb plants even look like so having the Smart Garden 27 has been great for everyone!
Enjoy a stress-free way to grow beautiful, healthy plants at home or at school
