Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Update after a year: Still using after a year. COVID-19 has me planting every inch of my garden, indoors and out. I've used it as a seed starter, and from seed to small transplant takes a month. About 75% germination rate. This is annoying to clean out, but doable. The app is now 100% worthless and will not save your information and tells you to fertilize every day. Still growing mostly lettuce, but Tiny Tim variety of tomato seeds will work through the winter in the system with 50/50 results. The bright light and the fountain sound made us have to move it to our dining room (which we never really use). Strawberries grew, but never fully ripened. Have used Aerogarden seed pods and fertilizer in this system, which work well. If you want to keep pets out of the plants, put a 45-gallon clear lawn bag (ours from Costco) over the entire system and you will have a pet-free mini greenhouse :-) Original review: If you’re considering this Miracle Grow garden, you’ve probably also considered one of the Aero Gardens. I’ve had a few different Aero Gardens and was considering the Aero Garden Farm before ordering this product. I’ll include some of my experience with the Aero Garden for comparison’s sake. I choose this because of the lower price and it’s furniture-like appearance. The jury is still out on this product. The stand/table is stable and attractive; however, it looks a little utilitarian. Assembly is easy and the parts are basic. The biggest problem is with the lights and the hydroponic tub’s ability to grow quality veggies. The lights on this grown system are far from the grow tub. In my previous experience, this makes it hard to grow veggies from seed since the seeds need more light to germinate. I highly doubt you will get a good germination rate with this system. I started with pre-potted plants and they have done OK. The growth rate is very slow. Most plants take 30-75 days to reach maturity, and it will take that amount of time to get edibles. This is also designed to grow leafy greens and herbs. No strawberries, no tomatoes, no peppers—it’s very limited in what can be grown. Plus, it can only grow 4 small sized plants at once. Basically, you will get about two salads a week using this system if you use the haircut method of harvesting lettuce. To be fair, most tabletop Aero Gardens can only grow lettuce and herbs, but the size of this unit makes you WANT to grow more. If you are new to hydroponic gardening, this system is very easy. Add water, the nutrients, and the plants and then it’s a waiting game. You should also know that you should place this in a spot that doesn’t get too much natural light. Natural light can cause mold growth on the growing medium and sludge in the hydroponic tub. If you have pets, know that there is no way to block them from “sampling” from your garden. Many plants, especially flowers, are poisonous to pets (especially cats) so choose them with care. The app is very nice but is really just for information and to track your plant’s growth. The lights on the device (and all hydroponic devices) can be annoying when trying to watch TV, so I have mine set to be on just at night. There is a slight gurgling sound. As of now, there are very few accessories and/or plants that you can order from Miricle Grow directly. Aero Garden is vastly superior in this regard. At the end of the day, I like this product; however, growing lettuce year-round is not that exciting. I may just convert it to an herb garden in the future. The Aero Garden Farm allows you to grow a variety of veggies and start them from seed. It’s not nearly as attractive, is twice the price, but it has more utility. Thanks for taking the time to read this very long review. I hope this information helps you make an educated purchase! I hope you found this review helpful!