Are you almost giving up on gardening with the many plants you have killed? Growing plants to maturity takes regulated parameters, knowledge, and regular maintenance, which goes off-balance, especially as a beginner.

If this is your story, try an aerogarden, a type of hydroponic system. Aerogardens are designed to provide optimal conditions for plants to grow and produce with little for you to do. And, in the recent past, their popularity has grown with more people working from home and taking up gardening as a hobby [1].

Aerogardens are available in different models and sizes to meet diverse growers’ needs. If you are looking for one, below are reviews of some of the best aerogarden models that you can buy.

Best Aerogarden Models To Consider

Best Overall Aerogarden Model

1. AeroGarden Harvest Elite- Platinum

If you are looking for a combination of flexibility and value for money, this AeroGarden Harvest Elite is one of the best. Thanks to its easy-to-use, functional design, it is an excellent option for beginners and advanced indoor growers.

This aerogarden kit comes with six seed pods; Genovese basil, dill, thyme, parsley, Thai basil, and mint. Its plant-to-plate design makes it seamless to set up and enjoy a fresh supply of herbs all year round.

The aerogarden comes with a digital control panel that you can use to adjust settings. The most outstanding feature is the vacation mode that keeps your system thriving when away from home. The advanced settings are easy to adjust for optimized growth.

The system also features 20-watt LED lights. These are high-performance, full-spectrum lights to ensure efficient grow lighting for your herb garden to thrive. The lights come with a specific configuration curated to meet your herbs’ needs and facilitate rapid, natural growth.

Pros

Cons

Best Premium Aerogarden Model

2. AeroGarden Bounty Elite with LED Grow Light

If you have experience using an Aerogarden indoors, you might want to get a premium, long-lasting model and take your indoor gardening game to the next level. This AeroGarden Bounty Elite model is one of the high-end options on the market.

It is a perfect choice if you are looking for an aerogarden with advanced settings and configurations.

This aerogarden model is designed to accommodate up to 9 plants, including herbs and vegetables. It is, therefore, a great option if you are looking for one to grow a mix of herbs and vegetables; it is spacious enough to allow each plant to thrive and grow optimally.

It comes fitted with a 50W LED grow light to provide the full spectrum of sunlight, meeting your plants’ needs and facilitating quicker growth. The lamp arm is fully extendable up to 24 inches, allowing you to set it appropriately.

The aerogarden comes in a smart design for easy use and configuration. It features an automatic timer to ensure the lights go on and off at the right time. It has a bright digital screen where you can monitor your garden’s vitals and adjust if need be.

The best feature is its compatibility with WiFi and Alexa. This allows you to monitor the system from the Aerogarden app on your phone. Therefore, you can keep track of your plants’ growth when away from home.

Pros

Cons

Best Budget Aerogarden Model

3. AeroGarden Harvest Stainless Steel

You can still get the functionality of aerogardens even in budget options like this AeroGarden Harvest Elite. It is an excellent option for beginners testing the waters with growing plants in an AeroGarden.

The aerogarden comes with six seed pods, including Genovese basil, curly parsley, dill, thyme, Thai basil, and mint. The good thing is that you can customize the garden and mix the herbs with vegetable and flower varieties to meet your needs.

The aerogarden model comes with a digital display screen to monitor and adjust the settings to support your plants’ growth. It is packed with advanced settings that help you customize the garden to promote rapid growth.

With the 20-watt LED light, plants on the aerogarden get adequate light to maximize photosynthesis and facilitate fast growth. The light arm is adjustable so that you can set it at the most appropriate height for your plants.

Pros

Cons

Best Beginner Aerogarden Model

4. AeroGarden 100693 BSS Harvest 360 Elite

Nothing can be as frustrating as trying to figure out how an aerogarden works for a beginner. Luckily, this Aerogarden Harvest 360 Elite is designed for easy use and maintenance, perfect for beginners.

If you are looking forward to growing fresh herbs and vegetables through winter for the first time, this AeroGarden model is one of the best for that. It comes in a simple 360 design suitable for tight kitchen corners and other limited spaces.

It allows you to grow up to 6 plants at a time. You can grow your favorite herbs, vegetables, and flower varieties, keeping a fresh supply for home use. On this note, it accommodates plants that grow up to 12 inches and comes with an extendable lamp arm for adjustments.

Aerogardens use LED lights to mimic the effect of sunlight on plants. This particular one comes with a 20-watt LED lamp to ensure the plants get adequate light for photosynthesis and overall growth.

Pros

Cons

 

Best Portable Aerogarden Model

5. AeroGarden Sprout Black

If you are looking for an aerogarden model that you can carry around seamlessly or one that you can start with for trial, this Aerogarden Sprout is the best option. It is small and comes in a unique design that stands out from most others.

This aerogarden model comes in a sleek, modern look featuring a thin grow light hood and an improved grow deck design. It also features a silent pump for seamless water circulation in the grow deck.

It comes with a 10-watt LED light that can be extended up to 10 inches high. It works perfectly for short herbs and vegetables, providing adequate light to maximize photosynthesis.

One feature that makes this aerogarden easy to use is the simple one-touch control button on the light hood. It is helpful to turn the grow light on or off or start a new garden cycle. The trough design is ideal for growing herbs and vegetables that need extra horizontal space to sprout and grow.

Pros

Cons

 

Best Advanced Aerogarden Model

6. AeroGarden Farm 24 XL With Salad Bar Seed Kit

Are you looking for an aerogarden that accommodates multiple herbs, vegetables, and flowers? This AeroGarden Farm 24 XL is the perfect choice to explore your indoor gardening skills.

An aerogarden designed to accommodate up to 24 plants should have efficient light systems to ensure each plant gets adequate light to grow. This aerogarden comes with top-of-the-line LED grow lights to ensure optimal growth.

The lights are fully customizable, allowing you to dim or brighten the lights. You can make use of the sunrise/ sunset auto light dimming feature to gradually brighten the lights at a particular time each day and night to wake your plants and put them to bed slowly.

As complex as this garden seems, it is super easy to control using the touchscreen control panel. Alternatively, you can explore the smart features and install the AeroGarden app on your phone to manage the garden’s features.

The best thing is that you can set the aerogarden to vacation mode when you are away from home. This feature ensures the plants have the right conditions without needing to control them daily, ensuring your plants grow and thrive while away.

Pros

Cons

 

How To Choose The Best Aerogarden

Before you spend your hard-earned money on an aerogarden, it is essential to understand what you should look for. Aerogarden models vary in designs, features, and overall functionality; therefore, you want to ensure you get one that meets your needs.

Key Features to Consider

Below are the most critical features to consider when looking for an aerogarden.

Number of Plant Pods

Aerogardens come in different sizes, each with a specific number of plants it can grow at a time. For example, the Sprout can only hold three plants at a time, while the Farm can carry up to 24 plants at a time [2].

The 3-pod ones are suitable for complete beginners looking to learn how to use one, while the 24-pod ones work well for advanced indoor gardeners that have experience using aerogardens.

That said, you can choose from other sizes available such as the Harvest and Bounty. Checking the number of pods an aerogarden can hold will help you figure out what you can plant.

Control Panel

All aerogardens come with a control panel to monitor the settings. Some feature touch screen displays, and others come with LCD screens and buttons. The touch screen ones are easy to use, but they are no better than the LCD ones.

LED lights

The lights are a significant component of the aerogarden system. The lights are responsible for providing adequate light to the plants for optimal growth and development. Most aerogardens come with LED lights, but the wattage varies from one model to the other.

The smaller 3-pod aerogarden models come with lights of a lower wattage, most being 10 watts. The larger ones come with LED lights as high as 60-watts. When choosing from aerogardens, consider those with adjustable lights to customize that to your plants’ needs.

Material Type

Aerogardens come in various materials, the most common ones being stainless steel and plastic. Stainless steel ones are much more durable than plastic ones, but they come at a cost.

Therefore, if you are looking for a durable option, consider stainless steel models. But, if you are on a tight budget and still want the experience of aerogardens, plastic ones can be ideal.

Water and Pump System

Aerogardens need a watering system and a pump to drive air and nutrients to the plants’ roots. Some models feature top-off tanks for easy watering fitted with built-in aeration tubes for aeration.

AeroGarden Sprout models come with silent pumps which suit environments such as apartments. With this, you will hardly hear the pump run so that you can enjoy a peaceful night.

The best thing is that all models come with automated watering plans cutting maintenance in half. Some come with the vacation mode feature that automatically waters your plants while you are away from home.

Reservoir

The reservoir holds the water and nutrient solution that your plants need to grow and thrive. Most models have a large-enough reservoir that can last up to two weeks without the need for a refill. The capacity varies from one liter to 2 gallons depending on the size of the aerogarden.

Smart Features

Some Aerogarden models come with smart features for easy monitoring on devices. For example, the AeroGarden Farm can connect to your home WiFi system allowing integration with Alexa. This enables you to get a voice-activated operation for a seamless, user-friendly interface.

Factors To Consider When Buying an Aerogarden

In addition to the features your aerogarden comes with, some factors affect the suitability of what you choose.

Space Availability

How much counter space do you have? Can the space you have accommodate the type of aerogarden you want? Consider the space available to ensure the model you choose fits perfectly and doesn’t affect the functionality of your room.

Types of Plants

Which plants are you thinking of growing? Some aerogardens are best suited for herbs only, while others are spacious enough for larger plants like vegetables. Determining the type of plants you want to grow will guide you on the most suitable aerogardens to choose from [3].

Also, the height of the LED light dictates the specific plants you can grow in a particular model. For example, some varieties of mint grow very tall; therefore, an aerogarden with a light height of 10 inches might not be the best.

Ease of Use

This factor is particularly important if you are a beginner in aerogardens. If you go for complex models, you may have difficulty figuring out the settings and monitoring the entire system.

For a start, choose simpler models such as the AeroGarden Sprout. It does not need lots of configurations to run and comes with a simple control panel that any beginner can use. Remember, how well you maintain the aerogarden will determine the success of the plants.

Budget

How much money do you intend to spend on the aerogarden? If you are on a tight budget, you can buy smaller, compact models under $100. These are great for beginners and have simple features to get you started on indoor gardening using aerogardens.

If you have a little more to spend, you can choose from more expensive models over $150. Most of these come with unique features, including smart ones for easy monitoring. You can find more advanced models that cost over $300 with double or triple the capacity of basic ones.

The Bottom Line

An aerogarden comes in handy to grow fresh herbs and salad greens all year round. The best thing is you never have to worry about wilted herbs as the conditions for growth are continuously regulated.

If you are looking for an aerogarden, the options above are a great starting point. They vary in features, sizes, and price points; therefore, there is something that meets your needs. Pick a favorite and explore the indoor gardening world.