I have been intensely interested in how to grow vegetables using hydroponics for a while now. I have spent more than 40 hours going through all of the brands and units online looking at the specifications and reviews, pros and cons. And here is what I have found its called the Aerogarden Harvest. In my professional opinion as a vegetable gardener for over 20 years, this is my go-to recommendation for people wanting to start growing herbs, tomatoes and lettuce indoors at home.
So what is Aerogarden Harvest anyway, and why is it the hottest product among indoor gardeners these days? Is it really worth all the attention, and most important of all – should you purchase it? Read this Aerogarden Harvest product review and find out everything about the product before you actually bring it home.
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What Is Aerogarden Harvest?
Aerogarden Harvest is a home gardening appliance that makes growing herbs, vegetables, and even flowers as easy as pushing a button! It’s an aeroponic indoor garden that’s used to grow plants without soil.
Aeroponics is an advanced form of hydroponics and involves growing plants with nutrient-rich mist. The roots sit in a soilless growing medium and are misted regularly with nutrient solution.
Your Aerogarden Harvest can be placed anywhere, as long as there’s an electrical outlet close by. Unlike your conventional pots, it doesn’t need to sit near a window or on a sunny balcony since the LED lights give plenty of light and heat for your plants to thrive. You can even go ahead and place it over your kitchen counter, where it will be easiest to snip some fresh herbs to garnish your dishes.
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Aerogarden Harvest comes with 6 seed pods (herbs, salads, cherry tomatoes, or petunias) and liquid nutrients so you can start growing right away. You can also purchase seed pod kits separately once you’re through with the first harvest. It’s a useful appliance to have in the kitchen, especially for the elderly, since tilling, planting, watering, fertilizing, and all other practices involved in conventional outdoor gardening can be challenging for most.
How To Set Up And Use Aerogarden Harvest
One of the reasons why you’d want to pick Aerogarden Harvest is the simple setup. The concept may seem sophisticated, but the gadget takes care of all the technical bits on its own. Thankfully, your work is as simple as it gets. Follow the steps to have your garden ready in minutes – compare that to hours of tilling and amending the soil before you can actually plant the seeds in a garden bed!
So, anyway, here’s how to get Aerogarden harvest going:
- Pick a suitable location for it, such as your kitchen counter, place it there, and secure the base unit, which is the water reservoir, onto the lighting system.
- Attach the pump cable at the back and the power adapter.
- Fill the water reservoir up to the mark that says “Fill To”. Include nutrient solution according to the instructions on the pack.
- The reservoir lid includes 6 holes for seed pods. The pre-seeded soil-free seed pods are already included in the package. The variety, germination time, and size (tall, medium, or short) are mentioned for each seed pod. Place the pods according to their heights, taller ones at the sides so they won’t block light for the shorter ones. Cover them with humidity domes and keep them in place until the seeds sprout.
- Turn the unit on, and the lights will turn on. Adjust the height of the LED lights to the lowest position until the plants grow to within a few inches of the light. The lights are set on a single 15 hrs on and 9 hrs off cycle to replicate the natural sunlight hours. If you want to change the “turn on” time, just press and hold the light button and wait for it to blink. The lights will now turn on at the same time every day until you reset them.
- The control panel will notify you when you have to “Add Water” or “Add Plant Food.” when you see the LCD display for these tasks illuminated, that’s when you have to add water or nutrients.
That’s all it takes to get your indoor veggie garden ready. The best part is that you aren’t bound by the seed selection of the manufacturer. You can purchase seed pods for peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, flowers, green beans, strawberries, and whatever else that fits within the maximum height, 12 inches.
What Are The Benefits?
When reading the Aerogarden Harvest product review, what customers really want to know about are the benefits. What do you get out of it? What are the advantages of having one of these gardens in your home? Let’s take a look.
- Hydroponics: Mess-Free Gardening
The major attraction is the innovative hydroponics gardening technique that forms the basis of this gadget. If you don’t like getting your hands dirty with soil and fertilizer, Aerogarden Harvest is for you. Free of soil, compost, and all the dirt that comes with gardening, this is a beautiful system you can install anywhere in the house without fearing any mess.
- No-Fuss Gardening For Home Cooks, Busy Moms, And Seniors
Conventional gardening takes plenty of time, commitment, experience, and hard work. Those who lack a green thumb or don’t have the time or energy to grow plants would also appreciate the opportunity to enjoy fresh vegetables in their recipes. Aerogarden is for all those who would love to see a thriving garden on their counter, minus the hard work. It only requires you to add water and nutrients to the reservoir and even tells you when to do so.
- Full Spectrum Led Lights
One of the major limitations of indoor gardening is sunshine. Most plants, especially edibles, need plenty of light to thrive. Yet, most homes don’t get a lot of sunlight inside their homes for proper plant growth. With Aerogarden Harvest, you don’t need to find a sunny spot for your plants to rest.
The 20-watt LED lighting system covers all their lighting requirements perfectly. The full-spectrum LED grow lights give off all the light colors to speed up growth and produce bountiful harvests. Their energy-efficient operation makes sure that the appliance doesn’t add much to your electricity bills.
- Automatic Light Cycle
The ideal light cycle for plants is 15 hours of brightness and 9 hours of darkness. Outdoors, nature takes care of it all. Indoors, Aerogarden Harvest’s intelligent engineering handles it for you. To replicate the natural light cycle of the sun, the LED lights stay on for 15 hours and then automatically turn off. After 9 hours, when it’s time to shine again, the LEDs turn on automatically.
- Reminders For Forgetful Gardeners
Among tons of responsibilities every day, it’s easy to forget watering plants. With Aerogarden Harvest, you get reminders for everything. It’s a self-watering system that will keep your plants nourished until the water in the reservoir is all used up. When it’s time to put more water or plant food in the reservoir, reminders will pop up on the LCD screen, and you’ll know what to do.
- Space-Saving Garden – Perfect For Urban Gardeners
Space is always an issue with apartments and small homes. With a 10.5 inches width, 7.5 inches depth, and 17.4 inches height, Aerogarden Harvest is designed to fit a standard kitchen counter without crowding the space.
With a small footprint, the garden can grow up to 6 plants, ensuring a consistent supply of fresh herbs and vegetables for a small family. Not to mention the welcoming full spectrum glow it spreads into the setting while the lights are on.
- Faster Harvests
The manufacturers guarantee 5 times faster growth than soil. Reality is not too far off the mark. Research proves that plants grown on hydroponics take a shorter time to mature. Even if it isn’t exactly 5 times faster, you’ll find yourself snipping off parsley, chives, and basil much sooner than you would have expected with your in-ground plantings.
With optimal lighting and a consistent supply of nutrients, water, and oxygen, the roots will develop faster, and you can expect a lush garden within weeks of installing the seed pods.
- Germination Guarantee And Unit Warranty
Aerogarden Harvest comes with a seed kit with 6 seed pods. These pods are covered by a germination guarantee. If any of the pods fail to sprout, which is almost never the case, you can give them a call, and they’ll send you new pods.
The unit itself is covered by a year-long warranty. If you experience any problems during the first year of purchase, contact customer service, and they’ll help you out.
Not Without Its Drawbacks
For the most part, customers are thoroughly satisfied with the appliance, but there are some negatives we should point out at this stage.
You don’t get a choice between the seed pods when you place the order. So you’ll either have to settle for growing what the company sends with the unit or buy your own seed pods. Furthermore, if you’re growing peppers or tomatoes, you may want to leave some pod spaces empty around them to give them more space to spread.
Another common complaint is that the lights are too bright. Though it’s understandable, since the unit mimics sunlight for the plants to thrive, it can still be a bit annoying, especially at night. If you turn it on at just the right time, you can effectively manage to keep it off during night hours. However, there can still be some overlap, particularly since the time for which the lights stay on (15 hours) isn’t adjustable. Some customers highlighted that the LCD display is also bright. You may want to keep it in a room where it won’t trouble your sleep or use it as a night light.
Though overall, Aerogarden Harvest couldn’t be any easier to operate, the reservoir can be hard to fill without spilling water on the counter. The opening is small, so you’ll want to fill it with a water bottle or a wine bottle with a narrow neck to avoid a mess.
In A Nutshell
So you’ve read the Aerogarden Harvest product review, but what does it come down to? To buy or not to buy? Let’s quickly review the pros and cons before you make up your mind.
Pros
- Easy to operate
- An attractive piece for any room, available in three colors
- Fast results
- Guaranteed seed germination
- Requires little attention
- Space-saving design, perfect for small kitchens
- No gardening experience required
Cons
- Lights are too bright
- On/off timings aren’t adjustable
- Seed kit isn’t customizable
- The light arm can only be adjusted to a maximum of 12 inches
- Reservoir opening is small
Conclusion
Now that you have gone through the Aerogarden harvest product review, what do you think of the product?
It can be a beautiful indoor garden to keep in your home or gift someone who will appreciate some indoor greenery without putting in much effort. With the simple controls and reminders, it’s easy for anyone to use, whether they have a prior gardening experience or not.
Once you get Aerogarden Harvest home, you just need to set it up, add seed pods, pour water and nutrients, and watch them grow. Within a month or less, you’ll be picking some fresh greens to jazz up your dishes!
