This post contains affiliated links. Please read my disclosure page.
Indoor Garden Kit - You can grow organic vegetables easily with a smart garden kit all year around.
*This post is a Part 1 of Indoor Garden series. Next post will be Pat 2 of Indoor Garden series.
During this Covid-19 Pandemic, I have thought about growing my own vegetables at home. It would be very nice to get fresh, organic vegetables right at your home right? However, putting the idea of growing my own vegetables into action was actually another story. Anyone who does gardening knows that plants just don't grow. I have tried gardening at home previously and it required some high maintenance and care. Therefore, the idea of growing vegetables at home always held me back. However, for some reason, growing organic vegetables at home has been in my thoughts more and more lately. There must be simpler way to grow vegetables at home rather than traditional gardening right? Therefore, I decided to research. While researching, I realized that you can actually grow vegetables indoors. You don't need a backyard or a community garden. Actually, you can grow vegetables hydroponically without soil or sun. I came across an indoor garden kit that I can use at home. It is not just an indoor garden kit but a smart garden kit which doesn't require preparation or maintenance of getting soil, fertilizing it, watering the plant and so on. You can simply place and set a smart garden kit right at your kitchen (or any other place) for everyday salad and herb harvesting. Do hydroponic vegetables have same nutrition as the ones buy at the store? How long does it take to grow vegetables hydroponically? How simple is it to set up and run an indoor garden kit (smart garden kit)? In this post, I share with you what I found out about an indoor garden kit (smart garden kit) and what indoor garden kits are available.
What Is A Indoor Garden Kit (Smart Garden Kit)?
An Indoor garden kit I am talking about here is not just growing vegetables and fruits indoor but a smart garden kit that you can set up to grow vegetables and fruits indoor without dealing with soil, sun, fertilizing or watering. It is an hydroponic garden kit that you can have plants grow in water (in the pods), without soil. You simply place seeds or plants in the pods with liquid nutrients and water then those pods can be placed in the indoor garden kit (smart garden kit). You set up the machine to provide automatic watering and automatic LED lighting to plants so that plants can grow. The machine will also let you know when you need to fill the machine with water and plant food when the water has been all used. Indoor garden kits come in different sizes depending on the amount of vegetables and fruits you want to grow.
Why Do Indoor Gardening (Smart Gardening)?
When we are so used to buying vegetables and fruits, even flowers and plants at the store, growing vegetables and fruits at home can feel new. However, there are many advantages to indoor gardening (smart gardening). Indoor smart gardening is actually a very good idea if you want healthier, fresher and environmentally responsible food. Let's take a look at why.
Less Maintenance Than Traditional Gardening
There is an increasing trend of growing your own food. About, 35 percent of households in the US grow food either at home or in a community garden according to the National Gardening Association (NGA). A five-year report by the NGA, Garden to Table: A 5-Year Look at Food Gardening in America, more millennials are growing their own food and there has been dramatic increases in all types of food gardening. Also, according to an article by the FoxBusiness.com, seed companies and indoor farming startups are seeing an increased demand as more people opt to grow their own food during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Many people grow food on their own and get organic fruits and vegetables at a cheaper price. Growing your own food is certainly a great way to get fresh and healthy food. I always thought about it. However, for me, I wished there was a simpler solution to growing food traditionally. With an indoor garden kit, you don't need to prepare soil, fertilize soil, dig soil to plant seeds, water plants regularly, or harvest vegetables or fruits only during specific times of the year. LED light works as sunlight for plants all year around. You can set up a timer for LED light. The indoor garden kit automatically feeds plant food and water to the plants and also lets you know when you need to refill water and food. You can set up the kit and it will also take care of your plants when you are gone on vacation.
No Harmful Chemicals or GMO
My family spends a lot of money on organic fruits and vegetables every month. We buy organic fruits and vegetables to avoid harmful chemicals not only for us but especially for my daughter. After all, most fruits and vegetables are grown with harmful chemicals such as pesticides or herbicides. I have mentioned health risks related to pesticides or herbicides in my other posts. Pesticides or herbicides can provide numerous negative short-term and long-term health risks to humans and also damage to our environment. Not only that, some crops are grown from GMO seeds and have been genetically engineered to have their genes act as insecticides. With an indoor garden kit (smart garden kit), you can grow herbs, vegetables and fruits right at your home without any harmful chemicals such as pesticides, fungicides or herbicides. You can ensure that your vegetables and fruits do not have any harmful chemicals sprayed on. You can also use non GMO seeds and avoid GMO veggies or fruits you may buy at the store.
Fresh
When you get vegetables or fruits coming from other regions or countries, those vegetables spent time being stored or transported before reaching you at the store. If you think about it, they spend time being stored where they are from, during time they are transported, when they arrive at your local store. When you buy at your store, you also store them at home. With an indoor garden kit, you can grow vegetables and fruits at home and eat them right away when they are ready to be harvested. That means you can get them very fresh without vegetables and fruits spending time being transported and stored.
Grown All Year Around
Traditional gardening takes time. You have to plant a seed, water it, take care of it for some time before a plant grows fully before harvesting. Plants grow in shorter time in the indoor garden kit (smart garden kit) than it would in soil with traditional gardening. Therefore, you can grow fresh vegetables and fruits more frequently at home. Also, with an indoor smart garden kit, you can grow vegetables and fruits all year around. Vegetables and fruits are traditionally grown in seasons depending on the climate. However, unexpected weather can ruin plants, vegetables and fruits. Weather conditions such as floods, storms, draughts, temperature changes can affect the growth and harvesting of vegetables and fruits. Your plants are given lights, nutrition and water all year around optimally so they can grow all year around. You can get fresh vegetables and fruits effortlessly more times a year all year around.
Better For Our Environment
You may have heard about greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change and global warming. Food production is responsible for one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by food production come from growing, processing, packaging, transportation, refrigeration, selling food and food waste. Global greenhouse gas emissions from crop production for human food is 21% of total food production. Greenhouse gas emissions by supply chain takes up about 18% of total food production. Supply chain includes food processing, retail, packaging and transporting. Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are three main greenhouse gases emitted from food production. Fertilizer releasing from the soil is a major source of nitrous oxide emissions. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), nitrous oxide has 265–298 times that of carbon dioxide for a 100-year timescale. Nitrous oxide emitted today remains in the atmosphere for more than 100 years. Food demand is expected to increase between 59% to 98% by 2050. That means more carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. We will require more land, more fertilizers, more transportation, etc. and have more waste. We have to change the way our food is produced. We may also experience reduction in food production output due to climate change. Also food production will not be fast enough to meet the demand. Growing vegetables and fruits at home hydroponically does not involve use of land, fertilizers, food production process such as processing, packaging, transporting, etc. Fruits and vegetables can also be harvested faster and more frequently without high maintenance or dangers of unexpected weather.
Same or Higher Nutrients
When I first heard about hydroponic vegetables and fruits, my first question was if they were as nutritious as traditionally grown fruits and vegetables. Although it will depend on type of vegetables and fruits and hydroponically controlled condition of plant's environment, in general, hydroponic fruits and vegetables have about the same nutritional value. In fact, hydroponic vegetables and fruits can have higher nutritional value. According to an article by NY times, Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University said hydroponic producers who have tested their leafy greens for key nutrients, and the amounts fall well within normal limits for their crop and are sometimes even higher. Also, according to a study published in Food and Nutrition Sciences, vitamin c (74%), tocopherol (53%) and polyphenolic compounds(22%) were significantly higher in soilless grown strawberries compared to soil grown strawberries (Although it wasn't the case for raspberries). Hydroponic vegetables are grown in controlled environments, in water filled with nutrients. The mineral levels that plants get can be controlled. Controlling environments for traditional farming is more difficult since it involves the quality of soil, fertilizer, water, weather and maintenance. Therefore, if plants are given hydroponic solution with good nutrients, they can produce vegetables and fruits with the same amount of nutritional value as traditionally grown produce. They can even produce vegetables and fruits with higher nutritional value depending on the hydroponic nutrient solution given to them.
Lower Grocery Bills
According to the United States Department of Agriculture guidelines for a moderate budget, parents with two children between the ages 2 and 5 years old can spend around $890 a month and parents with kids between ages of 6 and 11 years old can spend around $1,062 a month for the cost of food at home. If you buy organic vegetables, fruits and meat can cost more money. Growing your own food can be a way to cut costs on a monthly grocery bill. According to an article by psecu.com, tomato plants costs $4 or less and will typically produce at least eight pounds of tomatoes. Tomatoes at the store will cost around $2.56 per pound which comes out to a total of $20.48 per eight pounds. You can save $16 by growing food on your own. For leaf lettuce, seeds cost less than $3. One packet can provide one week long of salad. If you buy 7 hearts of Romaine lettuce at the store, that will cost $2.75 per pound, a total of $19.25. You can save $16.25 if you grow lettuce at home. Also, 3 green bean plants cost about $5.25 and you can get about six pounds of green beans per plant. At the store, green beans can cost about $1.64 per pound, 24 pounds of green beans will cost $29.52. That means you can save $24 for the same amount of green beans when you grow them at home.
Indoor Garden Kits (Smart Garden Kits)
Aero Garden Kits are indoor garden kits (smart garden kits). With indoor garden kits, you can grow and get fresh herbs, vegetables all year around without high maintenance. Just fill the garden with water, drop in the pre-seeded pods, add a little bit of liquid plant food. Plants get the nutrition in water and high efficiency LED lights provide an optimum environment for plants to grow. There is no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides needed. Plants grow in Aero Garden typically grow five times faster than it would in traditional garden. Automatic timers make sure the lights go on and off at exactly the right time. Digital displays remind you automatically when to feed and add water. Let's take a look!
AERO Garden Harvest Elite Stainless Steel - Indoor Garden Kit
Indoor Garden Kit - AeroGarden Harvest Elite Stainless Steel
Size: 12 inches tall
Harvesting Time: Depends on the species of plant
- Herbs- start harvesting at 4 weeks, harvest up to 4months after that
- Cherry tomatoes or green beans - start harvesting at 8-10 weeks, harvest up to 4 months after that
- Salad greens - start harvesting at 3 weeks, harvest up to 3 months after that
- Flowers - start blooming at 4 weeks, bloom up to 4 months
Number of Plants: Up to 6 plants grow at a time
Setting: Advanced garden settings for optimized growth even when you are not at home or out of town. You can set up Alexa integration, Add nutrients, Add water, Lights on/off (Light timer).
Lights: 20 watt LED high efficiency grow light system
Includes: 6 pod Gourmet Herb Seed Kit (Genovese Basil, Curly Parsley, Dill, Thyme, Thai Basil and Mint and Plant Food - enough for a full season of growth)
AeroGarden Harvest Elite 360 Stainless Steel - Indoor Garden Kit
Indoor Garden Kit - AeroGarden Harvest Elite 360 Stainless Steel
Size: 12 inches tall
Harvesting Time: Depends on the species of plant
- Herbs- start harvesting at 4 weeks, harvest up to 4months after that
- Cherry tomatoes or green beans - start harvesting at 8-10 weeks, harvest up to 4 months after that
- Salad greens - start harvesting at 3 weeks, harvest up to 3 months after that
- Flowers - start blooming at 4 weeks, bloom up to 4 months
Setting: Advanced garden settings for optimized growth even when you are not at home or out of town. You can set up Alexa integration, Add nutrients, Add water, Lights on/off (Light timer).
Lights: 20 watt LED high efficiency grow light system
Includes: 6 pod Gourmet Herb Seed Kit (Genovese Basil, Curly Parsley, Dill, Thyme, Thai Basil and Mint and Plant Food - enough for a full season of growth)
AeroGarden Harvest Elite Indoor Hydroponic Garden, 2019 Model Platinum - Indoor Garden Kit
Indoor Garden Kit - AeroGarden Harvest Elite Indoor Hydroponic Garden, 2019 Model Platinum
Size: 12 inches tall
Harvesting Time: Depends on the species of plant
- Herbs- start harvesting at 4 weeks, harvest up to 4months after that
- Cherry tomatoes or green beans - start harvesting at 8-10 weeks, harvest up to 4 months after that
- Salad greens - start harvesting at 3 weeks, harvest up to 3 months after that
- Flowers - start blooming at 4 weeks, bloom up to 4 months
Setting: Advanced garden settings for optimized growth even when you are not at home or out of town. You can set up Alexa integration, Add nutrients, Add water, Lights on/off (Light timer).
Lights: 20 watt LED high efficiency grow light system
Includes: 6 pod Gourmet Herb Seed Kit (Genovese Basil, Curly Parsley, Dill, Thyme, Thai Basil and Mint and Plant Food - enough for a full season of growth)
AeroGarden Liquid Nutrients (1 Liter)
Indoor Garden Kit - AeroGarden Liquid Nutrients (1 Liter)
AeroGrow is a liquid nutrient for all Aero Garden models. It contains amounts for more than 100 feedings. It is great for both indoor and outdoor plants, shrubs and trees. Actually it can be great for all hydroponic applications. This nutrients is made from mineral salts that provide iron, calcium, magnesium and other vitamins. It does not contain harmful pesticides or herbicides.
AeroGarden Seed Pod Kit
Indoor Garden Kit - AeroGarden Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kits
Indoor Garden Kit - AeroGarden Salsa Garden Seed Pod Kit
AeroGarden Seed Pod Kits work with any AeroGarden models. These kits include pre-seeded pods, 3 oz bottle of liquid nutrients, grow domes and a guide. According to AeroGarden, their seeds are sourced from large and small vendors from around the world. Many are heirloom seeds, organic sources are chosen when available. GMO seeds are never used. No herbicides or pesticides are used for the seeds.
Indoor Garden Kit - AeroGarden Grow Anything Kit, 50-pod
This kit includes all the supplies you'll need to grow your OWN favorite plants (seeds not included). Supplies include 50 Grow Sponges, Grow Domes, Grow Baskets, Pod Labels, six 3 oz bottles of Liquid Nutrients, and a Growing Guide with step by step instructions. It works with any AeroGarden models.
Final Thoughts
Thoughts of growing vegetables at home always lingered around in my head but I needed a simpler solution to preparing and maintaining plants. I am excited that my family and I can enjoy healthy, organic vegetables at home at a lower price, more frequently all year around. I feel an indoor garden kit is a great idea and I am ready to start my gardening at home. I also feel that indoor gardening can benefit our environment. Watching the world experiencing floods, storms, hurricanes, extreme heat, draughts and wildfires in some regions around the world made me think about global warming and climate change. Indoor gardening is not the only answer to healing our damaged earth. However, I feel that it is a small step towards being responsible for the environment. Hydroponic gardening and farming which use less land, less fertilizer, less packaging, less water, less transportation can lead us to more responsible gardening and farming and a positive impact on Earth.
*This post is a Part 1 of Indoor Garden series. Next post will be Pat 2 of Indoor Garden series.