every three weeks , I add ten gallons of water to the reservoir with two hundred millilitres each of two mineral blends that provide nutrients . As a final step , I plug in the pump and the lights , which are both set up with timers .

Eventually , I ’ ll be able to go away on a three-week holiday , and my garden will not need any attention . I might have a jungle when I return , though , if I don ’ t find someone to harvest the crop while we ’ re away . I am thankful I have a friend who will gladly check on our house and harvest the produce .

My husband says it looks like an alien has landed in our house in the evening . One morning when I came to check my plants , he had flipped the lights out far from the tower and left a note saying “ E . T ., come home .” He often teases me that E . T . gets more attention than he does . When I first got it , every morning I ’ d rush out to see how much the plants had grown overnight . It has definitely kept me entertained throughout this past year and provided me with a lot of fresh produce . I also have not had to clean up any little puddles on the floor or worry about chewed-up furniture . I think E . T . was the best choice for me !

A retired elementary music teacher , Bonnie Bauer lives with her husband Stan on an acreage just outside of Vermilion . With a year ’ s experience of growing , she reports that her favourite thing to grow on her tower is kale .

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news & views AUTUMN 2021 | 49