My plants are sickly-looking.

There are numerous reasons why your plants may look sick. Sickly-looking plants may be stunted in their growth, have droopy or yellowing leaves, or may have leaf margins that are turning brown. The five most common reasons are:

1) The source water you are using is "hard", or has a high mineral-content. Plants grown in the AeroGarden do not like well water, spring water, softened water or very hard water. This usually shows up right away, when the plants are very young. It may actually prevent germination entirely, or cause the seedlings to be stunted and yellow, or sometimes pale green or purplish. For detailed information on water types that are good for AeroGardening, click here.

2) The Pump has quit working (7-Pod AeroGardens only).
If you have a 7-Pod AeroGarden, it is possible that your Pump has quit working. Symptoms of this are that the plants may look a little droopy all over. To quickly test your Pump to see if it is working, set your AeroGarden Classic temporarily to the Salad Greens selection, or your AeroGarden Pro to the Super Grow cycle (set to Strawberries, then press and hold the Select button until the select light starts blinking, then release). The Pump should start running immediately. (Lift a seed pod out and check the spout inside the hole to see if water is flowing.) If no water is flowing, click here for further troubleshooting, or call AeroGrow Customer Service at 800-476-9669.

3) Your nutrient solution has become too strong or too weak.
This can occur if there are out-of-balance minerals in your source water, or if your Seed Kit has been growing a long time. It usually manifests as yellowing of the leaves or browning of leaf edges, and if not corrected, can lead to plant death. It is easy to correct by doing what we call a Rinse-and-Refill. For instructions on how to do a Rinse-and-Refill, click here.

4) Your plants have a plant disease.
Plants grown in the AeroGarden are subject to all the same air- and soil-borne plant diseases that are common to houseplants and garden crops. Because they are grown indoors, this is generally much less of a problem than plants grown in an outdoor garden, but it does sometimes occur.

The field of plant pathology is extensive, and short of microscopic examination of plant tissue by an expert, it is impossible to diagnose exactly what plant disease may be affecting your plant. Having said that, however, here are some plant diseases that can affect indoor plants:

Tobacco Mosaic Virus causes yellow/green mottling of leaves, particularly in tomatoes and peppers. It is found on virtually all tobacco products, including cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, and is carried on the hands and clothing of most smokers. There is no remedy once plants are affected. For more information about Tobacco Mosaic Virus on tomatoes and peppers, click on the following link:

http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/IPM.asp?code=126&group=67&level=s

Powdery Mildew manifests as a gray or white powder on leaf surfaces, which causes leaves to shrink and eventually crumple and dry up. It can affect almost any plant, but particularly enjoys dill and roses. It can be controlled with a sulfur-containing powdery mildew spray, available at most nurseries and garden centers. For more information about powdery mildew, click on the following link:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3047.html

Pythium is a naturally-occuring soil microorganism that can cause root rot. In the soil it is normally kept in check by the other microorganisms in the soil, but if inadvertenty transferred to an AeroGarden can overgrow and cause root rot and plant death. (If you are also a soil gardener and have recently been working in your garden, always remember to wash hands thoroughly to remove any soil residue before working with your AeroGarden.) If your plants suddenly begin to wilt from the bottom up, they may be affected by pythium. There is no control measure, and if your plants are wilting from the bottom up, we recommend disposing of all plant material in the trash, and doing a very, very thorough sanitizing of your AeroGarden. For sanitizing instructions, click here.

5) Your plants have an insect infestation.

If you suspect that you may have insects on your plants, click here for more extensive troubleshooting information.