Are you thinking about starting a vegetable garden this year? If so, you're in good company. Over the last two years, an estimated 20 million people have taken up olericulture, which is the technical term for the science of cultivating edible plants. That’s the largest surge in home vegetable gardening since World War II. And the trend has not been limited to people with big backyards. Indoor gardening has become especially popular, as evidenced by the proliferation of horticultural Instagram feeds and plant-themed podcasts.
It’s certainly not hard to understand the appeal of gardening. Growing your own fresh herbs and vegetables is manifestly good for your diet and budget. However, it’s also aesthetically pleasing and can boost your mental health. Studies have shown that indoor gardening lowers stress by making you feel more comfortable, soothed, and natural. It also boosts workplace productivity and creativity, which is especially beneficial now that many people work from home.
Of course, traditional home gardens require a lot of time, space, and expertise that most people simply don’t have. Luckily, there are a lot of high-tech indoor gardening solutions that make growing your own fresh, organic produce ridiculously easy. Below, you’ll find a few of our favorites.
Hamama makes growing your own delicious microgreens ridiculously simple with their proprietary Seed Quilts. This Hamama Starter Kit with Bamboo Frame has everything you need to get started, including an inner tray, an outer tray, and three non-GMO Seed Quilts. Just place a Seed Quilt in the tray, add water, and that’s it. The quilts have all the nutrients your plants need, and they’ll grow, even in low light. When you’re ready to expand your indoor garden, just buy more Seed Quilts and more trays. For more information, check out Hamama's website.
The Harvest Elite from AeroGarden is a countertop growing system that lets you grow up to six different herbs, vegetables, or flowers up to 5x faster than traditional gardening. Sleek and compact, all you have to do is add water and plant food to the reservoir, then pop in AeroGarden’s pre-seeded growing pods. The Harvest Elite then uses its LED growing hood to produce 20 watts of white, red, and blue light, providing your plants with the full spectrum they need to grow. You can also create customized growing cycles or set a vacation mode using the Harvest Elite’s simple LCD control panel. Here's AeroGarden's website for additional information.
Like the Harvest Elite, the VĂ©ritable CONNECT is a countertop growing system that lets you grow vegetables and herbs faster using specialized full-spectrum LED lights. However, VĂ©ritable CONNECT takes automated growing to the next level with a dedicated smartphone app that lets you track the development of your plants, select lighting modes, and receive alerts when the water tank is low. This system also uses special growing pods called Lingots, which contain organic seeds, organic soil, and all the nutrients the plants need to grow. With over 70 varieties of herbs, flowers, and greens to choose from, and every aspect of growing fully automated, this system lets you enjoy fresh produce all year long. Learn more at Veritable's website.
Click And Grow Smart Garden 27
The Smart Garden 27 from Click and Grow is a fully automated smart gardening system that lets just about anybody grow herbs, fruits, vegetables, and flowers no matter where they live, with absolutely no effort or horticultural knowledge. Just insert a seed pod, fill the tank with water, and technology takes care of the rest. With professional-grade LED grow lights, biodome sprouting, automated watering and feeding, and a proprietary smart “nano soil,” the Smart Garden 27 can grow 27 different plants at once. And, as a bonus, its stylish design makes it an excellent addition to any decor. Interested? Find out more at Click and Grow's website.
The Garden Tower Project: Garden Tower 2
While this home gardening system doesn’t feature any advanced electronics, that doesn’t mean it’s not technologically sophisticated. The Garden Tower 2 from the Garden Tower Project is an advanced soil-based vertical planter that lets you grow up to 50 different plants while taking up only four square feet of floor space. With a compost tube running down the middle, the Garden Tower 2 turns kitchen waste into organic fertilizer, replicating a natural ecosystem. It holds six cubic feet of soil and retains 14 gallons of water for ultra low maintenance gardening. And while this system is designed for balconies, decks, and porches, it can also be used inside with proper grow lights. If this seems like a great option for your space, check outGarden Tower Project's website.
The Farmstand from Lettuce Grow is a modular, pod-based, self-watering vertical growing system. Simply add water and nutrients to the reservoir, place the seed pods, and plug it in. In a few weeks, you’ll have a sleek and elegant tower of vegetation. With a footprint measuring two feet by two feet, and a height ranging from three-to-six feet, the Farmstand can grow between 12 and 36 plants at one time. It also works both indoors and outside. Lettuce Grow's website offers more information.
