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Peak gardening season varies wherever you live. This means a few months out of the year, you’re deprived of growing produce and plants that can sustain your lifestyle. However, indoor gardening and hydroponics are the solutions to fix that gardening drought.
Indoor gardens utilize self-watering systems to allow gardening all year round. It’s a mess-free approach to gardening that takes the stress off your shoulders — perfect for those who don’t think they have a green-thumb. When investing in an indoor garden, it’s important to make sure you are choosing one that fits your budget and lifestyle needs. So I did the hard work for you. I tested the top two indoor gardens on the market — the Rise Garden and Gardyn Home Kit 4.0 — and ultimately found one winner.
Rise Garden
As a newbie in gardening who only wants to grow, I wanted an indoor garden that grew with me. Enter the Rise Garden.
The first thing that attracted me to the Rise Garden was its modular design. You have three levels to choose from, which you can always add on to. One level grows up to 36 plants, two levels up to 72 plants, and three levels have an output of 108 plants.
Rise Garden can grow the most out of any indoor garden on the market, which is sustainable for someone looking to swap out grocery store runs for indoor gardens. There are 105 varieties of plants — from herbs to peppers — you can grow, allowing you to have a plentiful garden that is long-lasting and supports healthy meals and lifestyles.
The Rise Garden utilizes a hydroponic, or self-watering, system. With a 9-gallon tank, the garden delivers the right amount of water to your plants. This took the weight off my shoulders as someone who always worries about killing my plants. Plus, days can get hectic, and watering your plants might become a constant thing to think about—but Rise has your back.
To support the hydroponic system, Rise has a patented gravitational watering system that delivers a steady stream of water to all your plants. The professional-grade lighting panels feature full-spectrum LED lights that mimic the natural light of the sun to maximize plant growth. Photosynthesis is maximized, allowing for year-round gardening.
The hydroponic system does all the work for you, and this is even further enhanced by the Rise Garden app. It makes gardening simple and keeps you up to date on the plants’ lives. The app alerts you when it’s time to add nutrients or water. It features a whole library of plant facts and weekly reminders. Plus, you can connect your Rise Garden to Amazon Alexa. Simply say, “Alexa, Run Care.”
The gardening works fast. In about a week, I was able to transport my pods into the garden. During the month, the app guided me as I added pH balance and nutrients. After 30 days, I harvested my first greens.
However, it lost some points for me with its price. Rise Garden is a premium indoor garden on the market. The three different tiers are listed as:
- The one-level tier model is for $799
- The two-level model is $1149
- The three-level model is $1449
The Rise Garden is an investment piece, but it’s worth it. With an average cost of $2.50 per plant, its price-per-plant payout is less than other indoor gardens. In the end you’ll get your return on investment with its abundance of healthy, nutritious growth output.
Gardyn Home Kit 4.0
Utilizing similar technology to the Rise Garden, the Gardyn Home Kit 4.0 uses hydroponics but on a smaller scale.
The Gardyn Home Kit 4.0 utilizes a 5-gallon self-watering system. Like Rise, they use full spectrum LED lights to mimic sunlight. Gardyn’s lights are placed vertically, allowing for the growth of tall and vining plants indoors. Typically, these plants cannot be sustained year-round, but Gardyn allows for all-year growth.
Where Gardyn differs is its scale. The Gardyn Home Kit 4.0 only takes up two feet of space. This is ideal if you’re just starting to grow or only have a small amount of space available. However, with this small design comes smaller output. Compared to the Rise Garden, Gardyn has a significantly smaller output at just 30 plants. There are over 90 varieties you can choose from to fulfill that output.
Gardyn uses pods, or what they call yCubes, to easily grow a variety of plants. All you have to do is insert the yCube and let the watering system get to work. Like the Rise Garden, it comes with a companion app.
The companion app uses AI technology, named Kelby, via cameras and sensors attached to the Gardyn Home Kit to monitor your plants 24/7. It tracks indoor temperature, humidity, water usage, and growth rates of every plant. If an issue is detected, the app will give you step-by-step instructions on how to remedy it. A feature that I love is the timelapse feature. The cameras will capture the growth journey of your plants and put them into a timelapse video.
Both the Rise and Gardyn can go from seedlings to harvest in as little as 30 days. However, where they also differ is in price. Gardyn is cheaper at a price of $849. Though this is cheaper than Rise, the price-per-plant doesn’t pay off. Each yCube is $4.99. For a smaller unit, the price-per-plant should be cheaper.
Gardyn has an extensive app that makes the gardening experience engaging. However, it faults in price and output. Depending on your needs, both spatially and the type of plants you want to grow, Gardyn might be better if you’re looking to grow taller plants, but in a small amount of space. On the other hand, Rise is better for creating a garden that is longevity-friendly and supports day-to-day diets.
Bottom Line
Indoor gardening allows gardeners (and gardening newbies) to grow year-round. It makes for accessible produce that sustains lifestyles and diets. However, indoor gardens will vary in their ability to fulfill gardening needs.
Gardyn Home Kit 4.0 and the Rise Garden both utilize hydroponics to create easy growing that takes the work off you. However, they differ in how they will benefit you in the long run. The Gardyn Home Kit 4.0 is good for small spaces and growing essential produce. It only covers 2 ft of space and has an output of 30 plants. Where it lacks space, the app makes up for. The Gardyn companion app is extensive and creates a user-friendly, engaging experience for gardeners. However, the Gardyn price isn’t justified. At $849, it should be able to be at Rise’s level of output.
Rise creates a long-lasting solution to produce. It can grow year-round and up to 108 plants. With its modular design, it grows alongside you. Start at one level and buy more when you feel you’re ready for it. The 9-gallon watering tank and gravitational system make for even dispersion of water to ensure plants are growing consistently and healthily. Though it’s expensive, it’s an investment into a healthy lifestyle.
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