Which Aerogarden To Buy
Different AeroGarden models have different water reservoirs, the capacity of which may be important for those who plan on leaving their AeroGarden unattended for some time. The AeroGarden Bounty Basic has the largest water reservoir of all available AeroGardens.
which aerogarden to buy
Each AeroGarden comes with a seed kit, which provides everything needed to get a new garden started. Keep in mind that different AeroGarden collections come with different seed kits. Some include seed pods for commonly used herbs, while others include pods for growing vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce.
Aerogarden is a countertop device which grows a range of plants in your home with minimal effort. Plants are grown from seed pods which slot into the top of the device. The plants are grown under LED grow lights, and the AeroGarden delivers the water and nutrients automatically to the plants, with no user input required.
The AeroGarden model range can look a bit confusing when you first begin looking at them, but things have been simplified recently. There are five main product lines which I will explain a bit more about below. I have specifically excluded their obsolete models (classic and ultra).
Whilst the Harvest models are good for growing salad greens and herbs, it is only when you move up to the Bounty models that growing peppers and tomatoes become a good option. If you want to grow a reasonable amount of food, which can be harvested regularly, this is a really good model to go for. I have listed the Bounty models below, highlighting the key differences between them.
Back to the smaller options now, the AeroGarden Sprout is an AeroGarden which can grow 3 plants at once. Best for those who want to keep a selection of fresh herbs available all year round, rather than those expecting a great quantity of food production. Being very affordable, it is also a good way to dip your toe in the water and test the process of using and growing with an AeroGarden.
With so many models on offer, you might find it a bit challenging to pick the right AeroGarden for you. Here are some things to consider which will help narrow down your choice and should make the decision easy at the end.
It really is fun watching your plants grow and mature in an Aerogarden. My whole family get involved and love to chat about how our plants are doing and which are growing the fastest. Kids find watching the plants grow fascinating.
AeroGarden uses a subtype of hydroponics called aeroponics to deliver water and nutrients to the roots of the growing plants. Although there is no soil required to grow the plants in an AeroGarden, you still need something to hold and support the growing plants. The seeds are grown in special grow sponges which provide support for the plants and help to retain water and nutrients around the roots.
Although the stainless steel finish is just cosmetic, it really does make a big difference to how well this product looks. Particularly important for the Harvest models, which are easy to display in a wide variety of locations, the stainless steel finish looks great.
In my experience, the Bounty models produce about twice the output of the Harvest models despite only having 3 additional plant pods. The main reasons are the additional height and space that the plants have when growing in an AeroGarden Bounty, and the grow light, which provides more than double the light output of the Harvest models. (45W v 20W).
Finally, this is a model which can realistically produce a good quantity of food for you and your family. Whilst not a cheap option, the AeroGarden Farm Plus is a fantastic product that works well and looks fantastic.
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On the front, the Bounty Elite features a small color touch panel that shows the time, your garden's water level, how long ago you planted it, and how many days until you need to add nutrients. The control panel features several buttons, including Menu, Vacation Mode, Quick Plant (for starting a new garden), Garden Tips, Light Options (for adjusting the brightness and enabling the Sunrise/Sunset feature), and Light On/Off (to temporarily override your light schedule, which won't harm your plants when used occasionally).
When enabled, Vacation mode shortens the amount of time your light is on each day, which roughly cuts in half the amount of water the plants need and reduces overall yield. You can enable this mode at any time for a lower-maintenance garden. The Sunrise/Sunset feature gradually brightens or dims the Grow Light over an hour to mimic the outdoors.
In the Bounty Elite box, you get the garden base, an LED grow light, a power cord adapter, a trellis system for larger plants like tomatoes and peppers, and your selected seed pod kit (which includes plant food).
After tapping Quick Plant, it will ask you to set the clock to the current time, then select which type of garden you're growing (herbs, lettuce, or tomatoes). If you're growing a different type of garden, select the option that most closely matches. Based on which type of garden you select, it will tell you how long the light needs to stay on each day, and let you select on and off times.
The app then coaches you through connecting to Wi-Fi, which is quick and easy. Once that's done, the app shows your garden's light schedule, current water level, and how many days until you need to add plant food. It also lets you remotely turn the lights on and off, adjust the light schedule, and keep track of how long ago you planted your garden.
After posting about the AeroGarden on my Instagram Stories, my cousin Stephen said he has one too, and uses it to start plants, then transfers them to his outdoor garden where they have more room to grow, which I thought was an ingenious idea.
I'm not great at keeping plants alive, so the AeroGarden Bounty Elite is one of my greatest gardening achievements to date. In testing, my lettuce sprouted within days and started producing enough for daily harvests within weeks. The Bounty Elite takes the guesswork out of gardening, guiding you through the planting process with step-by-step instructions on its color touch screen, and keeping track of water and nutrient levels. Its companion app offers helpful tips, instructing you when and how to harvest your bounty. Amazon Alexa integration can be a lot better, however, and at $430 (or even $330, which it can often be found for), the Bounty Elite is a substantial investment, so you're going to need to eat a lot of salad to help offset the cost of entry.
The AeroGarden Farm is basically a full-sized indoor farm. If you want to grow multiple plants at the same time, then the Farm models will get you there.Read the in-depth AeroGarden Farm Models Comparison ReviewThe AeroGarden Farm family has four different models in the line up, providing users with a variety of options to choose from. First up is the basic model, the Farm 12 XL which has the capacity to grow 12 plants up to a grow height of 24 in. The 60W LED lighting system is fully customizable and provides full spectrum lighting. This is the slimmest of the Farm models and can fit easily in almost any corner of your house.Up next is the AeroGarden Farm 24 Basic model which has two 60 W adjustable LED light setups. Each setup can grow 12 plants, so in total it can hold up to 24 plants and the maximum growth height can be 12 in. each.The slightly larger model is the Farm 24 Plus model, where the plants can grow up to a height of 24 in. Rest of the other features are similar to the Farm 24 Basic model.
Choose first plants that reward fast. If you have a choice of seeds to start with, choose basil or leafy greens like lettuce, which grow fast. I found that they delivered more instant gratification than other plant types.
The Harvest is comprised of a lower reservoir, which has controls at the bottom; a removable grow deck with six holes to insert the planting cells; and an attached, adjustable overhead light panel with red, white, and blue 20-watt LED grow lights.
Each label is printed with an expected timeframe for germination dependent upon the seed type, such as salad greens which are noted to take one to seven days to germinate, or parsley which is expected to take two to three weeks.
Then I added the water to the reservoir, which took 2.4 liters, or a little more than half a gallon of water to fill. The water level indicator inside the unit is clearly visible, so you can easily avoid over- or under-filling the bowl.
Be sure to select a location that is near an outlet, but not near a sunny window, which can produce too much light for the plants to tolerate. Avoid placing it near sources of heat or cold, or areas that are accessible by unsupervised pets or young children.
Once the units were in place, we plugged them in. The lights came on and the pumps started running. We followed the instructions to reset the light timer so it would come on in the morning, which was as easy as holding the light button down for three seconds so it would set the new time.
I made sure to keep the area the units were in within the recommended temperature range of 70 to 75F and waited about three weeks, which was enough time for all of them to germinate based on the timeframe printed on the pods.
I contacted them via the chat feature on their website, which was fast and convenient. They responded almost immediately, and after I confirmed that I had followed the directions and my seed pods had not germinated, they mailed out replacements.
The next question people always ask is whether you can grow tomatoes in the AeroGarden. While the answer is yes, we would only recommend this in the larger Bounty or Farm units which are equipped with a much taller light. Tomato plants also grow to be large and heavy, likely needing support when they begin setting fruit. 041b061a72