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What is an indoor smart garden? It is a computer device-powered herb or vegetable garden. The technology advent gets gardening and farming supported by electronic gadgets and whatnot.
As you may know, indoor gardening and smart home technology have been increasing trends over the past years. Having a garden smart is an easy way of growing your crops and plants. It is likewise fantastic for gardeners fond of having a steady and full-year supply of fresh produce. And if your place has no space to nurture one in natural zones, you cannot go wrong with this option.
Read through the guide below for everything you should know about this increasingly popular type of garden.
Specifically, what is it?
As the name implies, a smart plant pot is technologically constructed to deliver an effortless gardening experience. Instead of usual dirt, it usually cultivates plants in smart soil. After getting multiple times its water weight, the smart soil smoothly distributes these throughout itself. Thanks to this process, your vegetables, herbs, and whatnot gain adequate and regular access to water, oxygen, and nutrients.
The smart garden tends to be a compact, indoor unit and enables the choice of various ways to alert you to add water or stuff. Further, there is not much demand for sunlight for your vegetables and herbs by using this device. You know, many indoor smart garden systems come with LED lights to take care of the requirements for garden lighting.
The increase in the need for this garden has led to a wide range of it. Using a garden smart has become an advanced, effective way of acclimating plants indoors. You are not necessarily a natural talent for growing plants, this gardening option reduces the itch to bring vegetables and the likes of them inside your home and at the same time, afford you the thrill of cultivating them.
Now that we have addressed what these gardens are and given an overview of their usefulness and benefits, next we are checking for how they work.
How does indoor smart garden work?
Smart plant pot operation is quite straightforward. In some cases, just plant the seed into the pods. There is nutrient-rich smart soil in these pods.
Then, add water to your smart garden’s reservoir. Follow with plugging it in. That is when your plants will begin to grow.
Pros and cons of garden smart
For many people, the main reason they get garden smart is to maintain a modest supply of herbs and vegetables throughout the cold season. And they can appreciate a hobby with their beloved, for example, children, even when their outdoor area does not support cultivating plants anymore.
Even more, it is fantastic that you do not have to be a green thumb. The automated attributes will generate the most favorable environment for growth. I have worked to grow lettuce within a couple of weeks, and guess what? You can continuously get that supply the whole winter.
What about the main drawback? It will get pretty costly assuming you intend to grow a large quantity to feed your family.
What you may like:
- Most of the time, 100% automated systems
- Make sure that your plants never run out of fertilizer or become dry
- Usually simple to use systems for anyone, even for those without gardening skills
- Particularly suitable for growing herbs and leafy vegetables
- Keep organic products going all-year-round
- Tend to occupy less space and suit apartment homes best
- A fantastic way of beautifying your house
What you may not like:
- The larger systems may not provide you with a big harvest
- A few cutting-edge smart systems can be relatively pricey
Growing systems used by the smart garden
It makes use of four major growing systems. These are aeroponic, aquaponic, hydroponic, and soil-based systems.
1. Soil-based systems
They are just about the same as cultivating crops in your outdoor garden. This system has pods with potting soil that you can add seeds into. Also, it needs watering from time to time.
What you may like:
- Flavor as expected
- Soil can adjust itself naturally
- Lower costs than other systems
- Natural environment
What you may not like:
- Slower/ longer growing cycle and smaller yield compared to other systems
- Large space requirement
- Need more caring in the beginning compared to other systems
- Pests
2. Hydroponic systems
Instead of leveraging soil, this smart garden system provides a nutrient-rich solution to your crops’ roots. It tends to use a reduced amount of water compared to the soil-based one. That is because they do not water bigger-than-needed areas or make the runoff.
What you may like:
- Flavor as expected
- Sustainable (say, little water used)
- Simple to automate
- Less space is needed than soil-based farming
- More visually appealing than soil-based farming
- No pests
- Early identification of issues
- Faster growing cycle and larger yields than soil-based farming
What you may not like:
- Need to use nutrients
- Waterborne diseases
- Higher up-front costs than soil-based farming
3. Aquaponic systems
While they are pretty much like hydroponics, there is live fish in the water. As you may know, the creature’s waste offers useful nutrients for plant growth, which imitates a natural ecosystem.
What you may like:
- Flavor as expected
- Sustainable and eco-friendly (say, little water used, no water pollution and waste)
- Chemical-free
- Climate adaptive
- Larger yields than soil-based farming
- Faster growing cycle than soil-based farming
- More visually appealing than soil-based farming
What you may not like:
- Infrastructure requirements
- Higher up-front costs than soil-based farming
- A limited selection of crops compared to soil-based farming
4. Aeroponic systems
The indoor smart garden system is hydroponics’ more innovative form. Rather than soil, it uses air environments and whatnot. This garden sprays water full of nutrients on the crop’s exposed roots. In comparison, in the hydroponic system, the nutrition-dense water solution helps with your vegetable growth.
What you may like:
- Flavor as expected
- Sustainable (say, little water used)
- More visually appealing than soil-based farming
- No pests
- Faster growing cycle and larger yields than soil-based farming
- Regarding plant growth, aeroponics is better than hydroponics
- Higher nutrient absorption than hydroponics, meaning to have less nutrient waste and be more money-saving
What you may not like:
- Need to use nutrients
- At first, not grow as fast as hydroponic plants due to the need of devolving much energy to grow their root system. But following several weeks, as they establish their root system, they gain on hydroponic plants.
- Lower risk of waterborne diseases spread than hydroponics
- Higher set up costs than hydroponics
Overview of smart garden system market
Statistically, the worldwide market size of the smart indoor garden system was more than 105,000.0 thousand USD in 2019. And it is predicted to be over 176,000.0 thousand USD by 2027, registering a compound annual growth rate of over eight percent from 2020 to 2027.
The rise in construction projects in China, India, and other developing nation drives the market growth. For example, China intended to spend thirteen trillion USD on construction buildings by 2030, expectedly making smart indoor garden systems around the world thrive.
Also, an increase in the global indoor gardening trend is another contributor to the market growth. Higher disposable income is likewise projected to foster smart garden growth. South African, Brazil, China, and other emerging economies are seeing an improvement in disposable income from the previous years. For example, as per the Chinese economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, real disposable personal income became higher by almost six percent from 2018 to 2019. This increase likely leads to an expenditure boost on health, which is anticipated to result in higher demand for the smart indoor garden with time.
Its preferable picks
Let’s check for some of the most popular choices out there today.
1. Click & Grow Indoor Garden
This smart device works to grow various vegetables, fruits, and herbs. All you have to do is plug in the adaptor, add the plant pods, fill the reservoir. And the crops take care of themselves. As you can see, this product helps a lot with a gardener’s chore.
What is more? The built-in LED light supports plant growth wherever you put them in your place. Aside from being handy and advanced, this indoor smart garden beautifies your home, particularly if put in your kitchen.
What is its drawback? The device’s refill is rather expensive, which makes it less pleasurable to some people.
2. AeroGarden Farm
This smart garden is intended to bring you the most convenient gardening experience. It allows you to enjoy out-of-season farming products throughout the year. Feel free to nurture any plant you like such as lettuce and vegetables.
Better yet, with the device, you can rest assured about your plant’s growing speed is far faster than in typical soil. It is likewise worth noting that the amount of plants you have the choice to grow all at once is remarkable.
You may also like the adjustable 60W LED lights. The app on this smart device should make gardening a breeze. You will not have to be anxious about when to add nutrients and water because the device sends helpful reminders. All you need to do is add nutrients, water, insert the preseeded pods, and let your indoor smart garden fend for itself.
3. AeroGarden with Ultra LED
How lovely to watch seven different plants grow simultaneously! The lighting helps optimize the photosynthesis process, increasing its growth speed. Similar to the AeroGarden Farm, your choice to nurture either out of season or in season easily is undoubtful.
But that is not all. As far as we know, this brand is relatively proactive to add the 7-Pod Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit. These are Mint, Dill, Curly Parsley, Cilantro, Chives, Thai Basil, and Genovese Basil. The specially formulated Liquid Nutrients aid growth all year round as well.
4. Tower Garden
This hydroponic vertical garden smart boasts the propensity to make your room brighter. But one thing to note is you may want to put it up where the crops do not lack lighting or give it your grow light.
Our recommendations for the tower garden are the Mr. Stacky 5 Tiered Vertical Gardening Planter, 4Ft 5 Tier Vertical Raised Garden Bed, and 4Ft 4 Tier Vertical Raised Garden Bed.
5. Wallgarden
This indoor smart garden tends to be more sizeable. You can hang it from a ceiling or wall. The wall garden waters and fertilizes your crops automatically and effectively.
6. Veritable smart plant pot
Veritable is a big name in the field. This brand’s products are not much different from the Click and Grow. They feature a reservoir tank holding the nutrients and water and dispersing these to your vegetables and whatnot automatically to maintain their optimum health. Please bear in mind that the reservoir needs refilling every couple of weeks.
7. Plantui Smart Garden 6
This device is geared more toward users looking to grow smaller plants such as tomatoes and herbs. Its modern look should boost your work area or home’s aesthetics. Also, the integrated grow light makes it effortless to place your garden wherever you want.
What is more? The Plantui Smart Garden 6’s features are all automated. That is why it is a convenient device to use when you want to create an indoor smart garden.
8. AeroGarden Bounty Garden Smart
There is a high chance that you will be fond of this super-smart device. The creative design and incredible concept make nurturing plants, for instance, greens and herbs handy and enjoyable.
It works to remind you when to add things such as plant nutrients and water. With the device, you can cultivate over five plants at a time. Moreover, the adjustable grow light allows your crops to receive the necessary lighting in whatever corner of your home it is in. Another plus is the soil-free seed pods are simple to use and the price for refills is reasonable.
Some of the top-rated AeroGarden Bounty smart gardens out there are AeroGarden Bounty Basic and Bounty Basic Indoor Hydroponic Herb Garden.
9. Nanofarm by Replantable
The Nanofarm has the honor as a trusted Food – Growing appliance. It plays out the essential functions of an indoor smart garden.
But that is not all. The brand’s uniqueness makes it stand out. This box-like smart garden lets anyone garden in the most possible worry-free way. Likewise, it features several organic seeds to begin your incredible gardening journey.
10. Rise Gardens
This device is a hydroponic garden with automatic fertilizing and watering functionalities. Similar to other smart plant pots’ mantras, it enables you to grow healthy greens, vegetables, fruits, and herbs time after time.
Further, the garden comes with a mobile app that aids to simplify your home gardening experience. It informs you about when to add plant foods, when to water, how to make the most of the lights, how your plants are going, and when to gather your harvest. As a bonus, various sizes for it are sizable enough to accommodate from twelve, 24 up to 36 crops in each garden.
11. Back to the Roots Indoor Garden
The system comes with everything necessary to make a self-contained ecosystem right inside your place. These include seeds, fish food, water dechlorination, grow stones, water conditioner, and coupons for stuff for the garden such as food and fish.
It is worth mentioning that this smart garden collaborates aquaponics with hydroponic methods, offering the best organic microgreens and houseplants. Thanks to the special design with a three-gallon reservoir, you will benefit as much as possible from both techniques and diminish environmental impact at the same time.
Example: Click & Grow Indoor Garden setup guide
Here is information about the initial setup of the Click & Grow Indoor Garden for your reference:
Step 1: Open the product box.
Step 2: Set up the lamp with an extension’s level. See to it that the extension with the groove and the water tank groove share the same side.
Step 3: Place the domes aside and remove the cavities, moving out the U-shaped lids.
Step 4: Add the pods into the cavities. Also, move the U-shaped lids back on. Follow up with clicking the cavities into the smart plant pot.
Step 5: Place the clear germination domes on the capsule. Just remove the dome after sprouts get some visibility. Ensure to hang on to the domes and cavities for use in the future.
Step 6: Add around 135 oz of water (equal to four liters) into the reservoir. Prevent over-watering by seeing to it that the indicator of water level does not reach above the lid surface.
Step 7: Plug in the smart garden.
How to choose an indoor smart garden
Your ideal smart plant pot has to be beautiful, functional, and should not need lots of maintenance.
To be more specific, here are the key factors you should think about when you are in the market for a smart garden. These should enable you to make the right purchase decision as per your demands and wants.
1. Size
The first thing we would tell you is that you had better not try and get all the things you need to survive from smart gardening inside your home. Even when your house is spacious, you will wind up spending plenty of money on the garden smart. Rather, kick-start with something manageable. Expand only when you have a better idea of timing and the growing techniques.
Should you plan to grow some leafy veggies, a few flowers, and herbs, we suggest using a system with the ability to accommodate about nine plants. They will not occupy lots of space and there will be adequate room for each plant to thrive. Assuming your budget is larger, you may consider a 24-plant gardening system that indeed would take up a small space in your house. Else, you can buy one or more small smart plant pots and put them around your place.
2. Plant type
Likewise, you should consider the size and numbers of the plants that you will nurture. If the ones you intend to cultivate are big, a more sizable indoor smart garden should be your best bet. A smaller garden will work for the less big plants in a small number.
3. System type
As addressed above, there are four growing system configurations. For example, if you favor a traditional potting mix, opt for the soil-based system. Should you want a system that does not need soil but water and plant food, you cannot get enough of the hydroponics. Consider aquaponics if you are looking for something featuring fish whose waste becomes plant food.
4. Watering
Do you wish to avoid messing up your plant watering? If so, we would recommend buying a garden smart and with automated systems.
For example, the hydroponic gardening systems have your plant roots exposed to the fertilizer and water solution continuously. You may likewise want them to have a water level indicator or stuff. This feature helps in reminding you when to look after plants with fertilizer and water.
Meanwhile, in soil-based devices, getting some sort of a pump attribute is significant. With the pump, the soil will remain moist, allowing the plants to flourish. This factor is particularly helpful in the less sizable smart plant pots because the soil tends to dry out quickly compared to what for outdoor gardening.
5. Grow lights
Consider the energy-efficient LED grow light feature of the garden smart since you plan to grow indoors. It releases a similar color spectrum to the sun to promote more plant growth even on dull days. Should your plants be lucky enough to receive sunny and bright days in cold weather, automated LEDs will not be crucial. With that being said, the number of daylight hours is still limited.
More often than not, the systems feature LED lights. They may come with automatic dimming as well. There are also automatic timers in some models.
6. Temperature and humidity regulation
Temperature and humidity regulation during seasons is another attribute you want to look for in your indoor smart garden. Because you do not intend to place your plants outside, you will need to set up the desirable conditions for them. The good news is some smart systems can handle this aspect automatically.
7. Maintenance
When purchasing smart gardens for your home, you should remember that they had better not require plenty of maintenance. While soil-based and hydroponic systems usually need less attention, aquaponics may need certain care, say feeding the fish.
More indoor gardening tips and tricks
Assuming you have set up a smart garden for the first time, we are sharing with you a few tips and tricks to make it stay healthy and grow strong at whatever time of the year.
1. Position your smart plant pot near the kitchen
Keeping it near your kitchen and where you pass by every day ensures that you can frequently keep an eye on your crops to keep them thriving.
2. Grow plants’ smaller versions when growing indoors
Many people suggest planting beets, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, and whatnot. You will have more luck having such vegetables and fruit to grow to a decent size for eating
3. Spend one or two minutes daily paying attention to your crops
When your plants are small, catching problems is easy. Even ‘no work’ garden smart reaps the benefits from a tender gardener.
4. Match the produce with your environment’s conditions
What if your indoor smart garden does not come with grow lights? But you have a window receiving direct sunlight for a lot of hours daily? Then opt for a plant that can flourish in such conditions, such as tomatoes and herbs.
Also, avoid plants gaining from pollination and requiring some time of outdoor exposure. It is worth noting that should your outdoor space be available for use, you may want to place lavender, daisies, and stuff around the garden that will draw in pollinators.
5. Watch out for indoor pests and only use organic ways of controlling them
If you handle a pest invasion sooner, there is a higher likelihood that you can keep it under control. Remember that healthy plants often avoid being hit by diseases and pests. Thus, just water when your crops need it and give regular fertilizing and appropriate lighting.
Some of the most frequently asked questions
1. Where should I place an indoor smart garden?
Again, should your smart plant pot does not come with LED lights, you should put it in a sunny spot, for example, close to a window facing south. There, your crops will get six hours of sunlight or longer each day. Assuming your garden smart has the grow lights, feel free to put it anywhere as per your area availability and depending on whether you tend to frequent there.
2. Can I reuse Click & Grow pods?
On the one hand, this system is intended for functioning with the Smart Soil coming n the pods. But on the other hand, you can reuse the pods with various growing mediums.
3. How long do grow lights often stay on?
The lamp tends to have an integrated timer with an appropriate cycle for faster plant growth. Sixteen hours on and eight hours off, for example.
4. Can I put soil in Click & Grow?
For the handiest experience and optimum outcomes, Smart Soil is the preferable choice for this smart garden. The soil is dedicatedly made for the cultivars you grow nowadays and there are now more than sixty pods accessible to grow.
5. What is Smart Soil?
This soil is a nano-tech growth medium resembling soil and balancing nutrient, water, and oxygen levels. It is the core of the trademark Click & Grow technology. The crops’ roots do not receive adequate air in regular soil.
6. How many types of hydroponic systems are there?
There are five main types of this system. They are ebb and flow, nutrient film technique, deep water culture, wicking, and drip systems.
7. Types of aquaponic systems?
The five main types are media-based aquaponics system, nutrient film technique, raft system, vertical aquaponics system, and hybrid aquaponics system.
8. Aeroponics vs. aquaponics?
Compared to aquaponics, aeroponics boasts a higher yield. It needs less use of power and water as well because the unused water can become drained back to your nutrient tank, Meanwhile, the perk of aquaponics is growing plants and raising fish simultaneously. Your crops will receive nutrition from the fish waste with ease.
When nature and smart homes combine
Should you be into gardening and gadgets, why do not you combine both? Indoor smart garden systems help keep your space alive. Make sure you refer to the valuable pieces of information and knowledge mentioned above to kick-start your next gardening project!
