Indoor hydroponic gardens help grow fresh produce in a controlled environment in the comfort of your own home. They're becoming increasingly popular in apartments, offices, commercial kitchens, and even in schools.
However, while indoor gardens with cherry tomatoes and sweet peppers sound enticing, the amount of work and knowledge needed to set one up successfully sounds exhausting.
Hydroponic gardens have historically been intimidating, especially for those lacking a green thumb (novices like me who have inadvertently killed many a house plant).
Fortunately, I found a brand called Gardyn that has totally eliminated the intimidation factor of growing your own hydroponic plants. Their unique system leverages automation and smart technology to help your plants grow themselves.
What's different about Gardyn versus other hydroponic home grows is that it's not a one-and-done deal. You're not left to your own devices, trying to add plant food or fiddle with indirect sunlight versus direct sunlight.
Instead, Gardyn offers a super-helpful subscription service that gives you monthly credits for new plants and will even automate your garden while you're on vacation with a built-in AI assistant, a set-it-forget-it type of thing.
If you want to see the latest Gardyn reviews, you've come to the right spot. Here's what you can expect from the Gardyn Home Kits and their subscription service.
What Is Gardyn?
Gardyn is a smart hydroponic indoor garden that monitors plant health for you. The system does this with Gardyn's proprietary ‘Hybriponics® technology' and an intelligent setup that includes cameras, an app, sustainability settings, a self-watering tank, and more.
The major selling point here, as Gardyn famously says themselves, is that there's no green thumb required. Pretty much all aspects of caring for your plants is automated by technology.
Unlike your hydroponic system from high school, you don't have to hide a Gardyn home kit. It has a beautiful, minimalistic design that adds a vibrant look to any decorating scheme and helps fill the air with the pleasant smell of fresh greens.
How Does Gardyn Work?
Gardyn is a self-driving indoor hydroponic system, meaning it's automated to take care of your plants for you. The system connects to your Wi-Fi and can be conveniently managed on the corresponding Gardyn mobile app. You don’t even need your own seeds–most kits come with them already.
Gardyn's technology pinpoints optimal lighting and watering for high yields. Its intuitive plug-and-play functionality makes taking plants in and out easy and mess-free.
Gardyn's overall aesthetic and design are a big departure from most indoor hydroponic systems I've seen. The home kit is an aesthetic piece with a more sleek design that puts the plants at center stage.
A monthly Gardyn Membership provides continuing expert support. This subscription service helps you automate your hydroponic system even further and gives you free plants every month.
Learn more about how Gardyn works today
Benefits of growing with Gardyn
Thinking of getting an indoor hydroponic garden? Here's what you can expect to gain from the Gardyn system:
- FREE shipping: All Gardyn home kits and a monthly delivery of plants for members are shipped FREE. You’ll see your product within just a few days of ordering.
- 2-year limited warranty: Every Gardyn system has a 2-year limited warranty to help protect your device in case of malfunction.
- Easy to use: With Gardyn's plug-and-play setup, it's really simple to add and remove different plants. There's no mess; just plug it in, and you're good to go. As long as you have a Wi-Fi connection, the Gardyn app has literally everything you need to grow plants at your fingertips.
- No green thumb is needed: Gardyn has sensors for humidity, temperature, and more that work together with LED lights and cameras. Through the app, the system monitors what's happening and can adjust to give you the highest possible yields.
- Save energy, water, and money: The Gardyn system is rooted in sustainability, with energy-saving lights and a self-watering tank. Its patented technology is designed to yield maximum results with the lowest footprint possible. And, of course, you'll save money on your grocery bill by growing your organic produce at home.
- Cleaner food: You don't have to worry about chemicals seeping in when you grow food with your own hydroponic system. Growing produce with a Gardyn home kit means you know 100% that no pesticides or other weird additives have come near your food in the growing process.
- More nutrients: Industrial agriculture has decimated soil quality, and the result is that our food is much less nutrient-dense than it should be. Those problems go away with a Gardyn Home Kit because there is no soil, and the environment is tightly controlled. In fact, the brand had an independent lab look into it, and its produce is around 50% more nutrient-dense than what you can get at the store.
- Value for the price: Gardyn's home kits are priced around the range of comparable hydroponic systems that offer zero automated features. The fact that this technology is built-in without incurring an exponentially higher price is a major draw.
- Explore top-of-the-line varieties with no risk: The Gardyn team hand-selects organic varieties to help you enjoy fresh greens, flowers, fruits, and veggies. Gardyn will replace them for free if they don't germinate, so there's no risk if you want to venture into new territory.
- Attractive unit: As you can see in the photos, this isn't your average hydroponic grow. Gardyn's grow towers are sleek and made with tapioca-based compostable plastic. The vertical setup allows you to grow up to 30 large plants in just 2 square feet while adding vibrance and energy to any space.
Step 1: Choose one of the Gardyn Home Kits
With Gardyn, you can start growing your herbs and produce them in the comfort of your own home or office. Here's how you get started:
First, purchase one of Gardyn's Home Kits. This is your hardware, the unit that will grace your kitchen, office, or wherever you choose.
Gardyn currently has two home kits to choose from, and as I mentioned earlier, they look good. They're not clunky like so many old-school models, and Gardyn doesn't have that science-lab look either.
From a design perspective, Gardyn enhances the space with all the green color and life, enhancing any kitchen’s vibe.
But if you don't believe me, you can use the handy little tool on Gardyn's website to view the model in your own space, so you can figure out where you'll put it before you buy:)
Here are the two Gardyn home kits to choose from and what you can expect from each:
Gardyn Home Kit 3.0
This is the OG model that started it all with AI-powered features and a minimalist design. The Gardyn Home Kit 3.0 is the less expensive of the two but still has advanced features like monitoring humidity, temperature, and water level when connected to Wi-Fi. The Gardyn Home Kit 3.0 comes with a water pump, high-tech lights, and other elements to make growing easy.
Specs: 24”W x 12”D x 64”H; 20 lbs; 2 square feet for 30 large plants
Comes with: Sensors, Two (2) 5MP inward-facing cameras, Two (2) 60W LED lights, 30 free plants, patented Hybriponics® technology, Two (2) year limited warranty, plant food, and accessories
Learn more about Gardyn Home Kit 3.0 today
Gardyn Home Kit 4.0
To get the level-up, get the Gardyn Home Kit 4.0, which has advanced sustainability features. If you want something a little bigger, this is a step up from the Gardyn Home Kit 3.0. These help you save even more on electricity and water for your hydroponic garden. Don't worry—the basic design is the same.
Specs: 24”W x 12”D x 64”H; 20 lbs; 2 square feet for 30 large plants
Comes with: Sensors, Two (2) 5MP inward-facing cameras, Two (2) 40W LED lights, 30 free plants, patented hybriponics® technology, Two (2) year limited warranty, plant food, and accessories
PLUS
- Real-time water measurements
- Sunrise and sunset modes
- Column redesign for quicker cleanup
Learn more about Gardyn Home Kit 4.0 today
Step 2: Get the Gardyn app
Once you've purchased a Gardyn Home Kit, you can download the Gardyn app on your smartphone or tablet. You’ll need a stable WiFi connection to connect the app to your growing system.
Once you've downloaded the Gardyn app, you can:
- Order new plants from Gardyn
- Monitor the water level of your system
- Manage the watering schedule
- Manage the lighting schedule
Do you have to use the Gardyn app? It's not required for the system to work, but I can't see a reason not to. If you choose not to use the Gardyn app, the system will configure water and lighting schedules by default.
Step 3: Sign up for a Gardyn Membership 30-day FREE trial in the app
Here's where the subscription service comes in. A Gardyn Membership gives you many perks if you're serious about growing fresh produce and want to get the most you can from your hydroponic grow. Whether you get a Gardyn Home Kit 3.0 or 4.0, you’ll need the app to get the most out of your investment.
Luckily, Gardyn lets you try out the subscription membership for 30 days free. This way, you can see for yourself if it's worth the value for your family.
You'll see the signup option for a FREE trial Gardyn Membership when you download the Gardyn app. After 30 days, your credit card will be charged if you don't cancel.
What you get with a Gardyn Membership
A Gardyn Membership can help you elevate your home produce game and further automate your hydroponic growth. Here are the benefits:
Ten monthly credits + 1 FREE monthly shipment
With the Gardyn Membership, you get ten monthly credits to spend on plant food, new plants, and other goodies from the Gardyn store. You can save up to 30 of these credits at a time. In short, you'll never have to worry about buying new seeds again.
Kelby smart assistant
This AI feature uses data captured by your Gardyn home kit's built-in cameras and sensors. It self-evaluates the system to determine the best lighting, temperature, and watering schedule and then adjusts to those settings. The Kelby smart assistant effectively takes all guessing games out of the equation, helping you get higher yields and more beautiful plants.
Member-exclusive plants
Gardyn has a large variety of non-GMO seed varieties, but only members can access them. This is great for people who want to explore the culinary and nutritional benefits of veggies, fruits, and herbs that are more off the beaten path.
Vacation mode
For people who want a Gardyn system but love to travel, vacation mode ensures your plants are cared for while you're away. The Kelby smart assistant that comes with a Gardyn Membership can effectively take care of your plants for up to two whole weeks without human intervention. Simply activate the Vacation Mode. It works by putting your growing plants on a slower schedule, which will also help save on water and electricity.
Credits for unsuccessful plant growth
If your herbs or veggies don't germinate, you'll get replacement credits free from Gardyn to use on new plants with a Gardyn Membership.
Timelapse videos of your favorite plants
Want to watch time-lapse videos of your favorite plants taking shape? The Gardyn Membership subscription gives you unlimited time-lapse videos to share with friends and family. In the Gardyn app, you can access these in the Journal, where you can easily edit them and download them when you're finished.
Help from humans
Finally, even though a Gardyn Membership is meant to automate as much of the logistics of the hydroponic system as possible, it also comes with human help. Members can chat with real plant experts in the Gardyn app about how to grow their seeds, increase yields, address problems, and more.
About the Plants
The Gardyn subscription delivers new, non-GMO seeds every month. Gardyn selects all its organic heirloom varieties known for taste and nutritional content. It currently offers over 100 options, including fruits and veggies, herbs, greens, and flowers.
You can order plants from Gardyn anytime on the app, and members receive ten free plants per month as part of their subscription. You really don’t need your own seeds.
If your plants don't sprout, no worries; Gardyn will replace them for FREE.
Learn more about Gardyn plants today
Returns
Every Gardyn system comes with a 60-day window for a full refund of the purchase price. To make a return, you must return your Gardyn Home Kit undamaged in its original packaging.
To get started on returning a home kit, send an email to support or chat with the Gardyn team inside the app.
Here's the deal with returning other items from Gardyn:
- Accessories & spare parts–14-day return window
- Microgreens and cubes—Gardyn has special policies that will allow you to get these replaced if they don't germinate.
Learn more about Gardyn’s return policies today
Gardyn Indoor Garden Membership: Is It Worth It?
The Gardyn Membership is worth the monthly cost if:
- You're serious about always having fresh, pesticide-free produce on hand.
- You want to invest in better nutrition for you and your family. (Produce grown with Gardyn was shown to be around 50% more nutrient-dense).
- You're not a serious gardener and need all the help you can get.
- You want to explore growing organic veggies, fruits, herbs, and flowers.
Remember, you need Wi-Fi to access the AI assistant and other automated features with a Gardyn home kit and subscription.
Finally, the Gardyn subscription is risk-free: You can try it out free of charge for 30 days, and if it doesn't serve you later, you can always cancel. It's worth a shot if you ask me.