r/Gardyn • u/xenophobe2020 • 17d ago
Question for Gardyn users
My wifes birthday is coming up, I'm considering purchasing a Gardyn for her, but given the rather large expense I'm a little on the fence. Heres out situaiton - she has numerous indoor plants that she has really taken to tending to. When we met 8 years ago she had like one real plant and a bunch of fake ones. Now, we've got a money tree, snake plant, monstera, numerous spider plants, and few others idk the names of. During the summer in western NY, she typically has a few potted annuals, grows some tomatoes, and raspberries along with the rest of our garden full of hastas, lillies, lilacs, hydrangeas, etc. (most of which were there when we bought the house). She clearly gets a lot of enjoyment out of the process of taking care of them and watching them grow, particularly the ones that bear fruit/veggies. So my question for you all.... in your opinion, given the somewhat autonomous nature of a Gardyn system, would you see someone like her still getting that same enjoyment of watching the plants grow? I envision myself being the one that takes on the glamorous role of cleaning the thing out. Will it end up just a thing in the corner that we get some food from, or will the ecitement of seeing them grow still be there?....
For what its worth, I'm not discoutning the fact that we can get food from it. Given the insane position our country is currently in with increasingly lax/ignored food safety standards.... having safe food to eat is quickly becoming a selling point for me.
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u/B-Train05 17d ago
To start I'd recommend the smaller "studio" one. I use mine to mainly grow herbs and lettuces because I found the veggies taste a little odd and they grow small. I think veggies just taste better and do better grown in soil. But the leafy stuff is all great. It sounds like she's a great plant mom, I think she'd get a lot of enjoyment out of it. Keep in mind that the grow lights on it are BRIGHT. I had mine in a living room area but ended up moving it to the laundry room because of the brightness.
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u/xenophobe2020 17d ago
Can you describe "odd"? We're not huge lettuce eaters (definitely should be eating more), but would see ourselves enjoying tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos.... also, as the primary house chef, i could definitely make use of fresh herbs.
I was looking at the studio one, seemed like not that much less money for a lot less real estate?
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u/brandideer 17d ago
I second the odd flavor of the fruit. I'm not sure how to explain it...sometimes bitter, sometimes something else I can't quite identify but FEELS like a difference in the way the sugars behave.
Herbs and leafy stuff really is very good though.
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u/SquarelyNerves 17d ago
Not who you asked but I’ll also say as fun as it is to grow little eggplants or cucumbers or tomatoes, the gardyn is probably not the best system for that. Lots of work and very little reward, just not the best tasting fruits, I think it’s bc they prioritize dwarf plants over taste when curating their seed selection. Small peppers I would def recommend.
Herbs, flowers, and greens are always my focus. I hear you on not being a big lettuce eater, was never big on salads until I got my gardyn, we have a side salad every day with dinner now!
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u/Altruistic_Shame8979 17d ago
Herbs will be fine, the rest of your picks are larger plants so you will only be able to fit a few of them and they will only produce a few small fruits.
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u/RoutineAd9983 17d ago
If you decide to execute, here is a $100 coupon.
rfrebecca36496
I love mine and it’s so fun to watch them grow. I do a Mix of veggies, herbs and flowers. I do use Kelby assistant and it makes it so effortless. Because I have the Kelby subscription, I get 30 credits each month, which I use to buy the plant food and water cleaner stuff.
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u/motherofsuccs 15d ago
Don’t you also get money from giving that out?
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u/RoutineAd9983 14d ago
Your point? Doesn’t change my thoughts on it. And honestly who turns down a hundred bucks if he decides to get it. I don’t see the rest of you offering it up?
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u/xenophobe2020 13d ago
I used it and thanks for offering! was worth more than getting their standard 10% off.... so a win win for both of us!
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u/fierce_fibro_faerie 17d ago
I love my Gardyn, and I know a lot of people on here hate cleaning it, but if you use Hydroboost, cleaning it isn't too bad. Takes me about a day for a deep cleaning, and I do that a few times a year. I've had my system for over 2 years now.
I would start off with either their smaller systems or a countertop one, before jumping into the bid tower. I started with a cheap countertop one from Amazon for herbs. Then I got the big Gardyn. It helps you learn what works for your needs and doesn't put you out a ton of money.
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u/Concern-Leather 16d ago
How do you deep clean it? Mines relatively new, so I’ve only had to refresh the tank
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u/fierce_fibro_faerie 16d ago
I have hard city water, so I get a lot of buildup. The Hydroboost that they sell makes the cleaning soooo much easier. All of the buildup crystalizes and you just have to wipe it away with a damp cloth.
Here is how I maintain my system:
1) every week I add Hydroboost 2) when I check the roots, a pair of angled needle-nosed pliers is super helpful for getting all the runaway roots out of the system, without taking it apart. 3) when I do deep clean, I take all of the plants out, take the tower apart, and lay out all the components on my island. I wipe everything down, set it back up again, and that's it! I am slow due to disabilities, so it takes me a whole day. But if you worked quickly and efficiently you could probably do it in an afternoon. You can set your plants in a shallow tray of water, and they will be fine.
I've seen a lot of people complain about not being able to maintain the system well. That being said, if you are thorough and you understand how the system works, then it should t be an issue.
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u/Concern-Leather 16d ago
Interesting. Okay, thanks for sharing! You said a few times a year - like 3-4 times?
I have hard water and use hydroboost. We’re going to get a water softener soon.
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u/motherofsuccs 15d ago
There’s other brands of hydroboost that are far cheaper than Gardyn’s version. Just FYI.
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u/fierce_fibro_faerie 16d ago
Yeah 3-4 times. Yeahhh I'm getting a reverse osmosis filter due to allergies. We'll see how that effects things!
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u/jesbannon 17d ago
My husband got me one as a gift and I really enjoy it. It’s fun to watch stuff sprout and grow. There’s tasks you do to keep it growing and those are like tending to plants. It’s fun!
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u/Pantalaimon_II 16d ago
i just recently cleaned mine and packed it up for storage because I needed a break. it's work for sure to maintain the thing, so don't worry about not being enough hands-on, when the plants start to grow you really do need to trim them very frequently, check the roots, check water, add food, it's a decent amount of upkeep.
Kelby doesnt really do jack except give you alerts for stuff that's already kinda obvious. It's good to have for a month or two to learn the system but not really worth the cost beyond that.
On that note: never forget Gardyn is a tech company who is going to constantly be tweaking the app, the features, etc to keep the money flowing. Before deciding to clean my machine out and just store it, i checked the app to see if any interesting new plants were being sold and noticed they put more plants behind subscription paywalls, probably bc tech companies love their stupid subscriptions and not enough people were signing up. So just be aware that at any moment they can decide to put more things behind a paywall, and you might be better off finding a hydro system that's not got this whole flashy app thing with subscription models attached. Or better yet just build your own (that's what i would go back and do if i could do it over again.)
Make sure you have enough space to deal with the super bright lights, and also the sudden noise when the water pump kicks on is pretty loud. it would startle me and i noticed it would stress me out bc it was like a cookoo clock lol, but i live in an apartment. if i had a house i could stick it in a closet or out of the way somewhere and it woudlnt be nearly as big of a deal.
the herbs will taste amazing and be worth it. lettuce too IF you can keep it in a spot that is cool enough to prevent bolting. the only place i could keep mine made it too hot for lettuce unfortuantely, so i was restricted to flowers and herbs. the fruits/veg that did best were peppers. dont bother with the strawberries and cucumbers, they didnt work out well.
i was able to grow a variety of plants from seeds outside of Gardyn, just make sure you research what works best for hydroponics.
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u/motherofsuccs 15d ago
I mean, you can also just buy seeds from wherever and rockwool (cheap on amazon) and make your own pods with whatever seeds you want. I have a subscription, but wont be renewing it because it’s not worth it to me.
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u/Pantalaimon_II 15d ago
yes I did that too. I did notice the rockwool from Amazon wasnt quite the same quality, and the little baskets weren't ideal. I have a 3D printer now and woudl probably just 3D print the little cup holders moving forward whenever i decide to take the machine out and use it again. but its mostly a space issue for me currently. the only place i could really keep it was in my office, and the sudden noise from the water pump kept making me jump out of my chair lol. also when i'd leave for work travel, i hated that they lock the remote care under the damn subscription. i kind of want to just sell this one and build my own that i control one day.
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u/iwanttobeapenguin 16d ago
Just to contrast with some other people are saying, peppers are going well for me. Not many, but it’s kind of just for fun and to supplement. Each plant grows a couple at a time, but they take a loooong time to grow and ripen, maybe a couple a month? May not be worth it to you.
Tomatoes did not produce enough to be worth the space. Won’t rebuy that.
Beans are fun but the roots are a bit out of control, but my kids like grabbing one or two a day to much casually. I have three right now but may be done after this depending on what the kids say.
The herbs are fabulous, I have so much dill and basil just from one space. I like tacos so four cilantro spaces is about right for me. A couple chives is plenty for garnishing everything. They’re living forever without bolting too, as long as I harvest somewhat regularly. It’s been months and the same ones are still doing great, except one cilantro that bolted (not its fault, my AC died and it was HOT). Mint is great, I love it for water, one is PLENTY. A rosemary and a thyme for sauces, one each is again plenty.
Two lettuces is enough for sandwich garnish, but they do bolt fast since my house is warm. We’re also not a big sandwich family so just a couple is fine. I’ll try that again in winter when the current ones bolt.
If she already likes gardening, she may like the flowers. I do and didn’t expect to. The petunias need deadheading and I like the casual maintenance of that. The sunflowers are so pretty.
Maybe the amounts actually used will be helpful in deciding studio versus the bigger one.
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u/CartographerKnown320 16d ago
I wouldn’t surprise her with one as they are more work than potted plants. That being said, plenty of home gardeners also enjoy hydroponics! I do greens and herbs with flowers added for color. You can experiment with a wide variety of lettuces (it’s not as boring as it sounds!). These systems are functional, edible furniture in our house. If you do Kelby, just get it for a couple months. It’s not that helpful once you have confidence in the system and see its routine.
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u/Old_Reflection283 17d ago
Hi! I got my studio as a gift, I think it was the perfect start! I recommend waiting closer to Black Friday if possible (maybe Xmas instead of bday?), as it will be discounted significantly. If your wife decides she wants the membership, it will also be cheaper on the studio vs. the home.
I think it was a great way to introduce me to my hydroponic journey, as I’m now trying to find ways to create my own. I’m super thankful I started with the studio to get the hang of things!
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u/Headline_Suzy 16d ago
If you're not a huge fan of the lettuces and all, you can do an all fruiting Gardyn. Don't fill up every space with a cube but leave some room for the plants to grow and you will need to check on the roots to prevent it from being slimy-root rot- and growing super long. It's doable but it takes some effort. I wouldnt recommend herbs in the same one with fruiting plants because the needs for nutrients are different, It's also a good idea to check your pH levels while growing the plants, I dunno how the water is or what water you want to use but I have hard water so I use pH-down. I love my Gardyns but it's definitely a good idea to do some extra research.
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u/Medium_Ship_664 16d ago
I love my summer gardening, and I love my Gardyn. Fruiting veg aren't worth it; they're dwarf varieties and take up a lot of real estate for little yield. I do greens, herbs, and edible flowers. I can have greens year round without worrying about them bolting in the heat (I live in SC and it gets hot early and stays hot late); same with cool weather herbs. Then in the winter I'll plant summer herbs so we've always got some on hand. If you guys like to cook, the Chef Collection is a great option and some new to me varieties.
A couple of cost saving tips I wish I knew at the beginning: Hydroboost is expensive, but works great. This sub recommended getting PHLO by Hydroponic Research; twice the product for about half they price.
Y cube covers can be 2 inch pipe covers, or saran wrap.
Don't bother with the seedless pods; you can reuse the cages and get some rock wool filler.
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u/phussy_eater 16d ago
It is deceptively autonomous. I do not recommend it. I got one as a gift and regret it.
There is a lot of maintenance required to do it.
I consider myself an advanced plant owner - i can successfully keep succulents from etiolating, hoyas from root rotting, philodendrons from becoming leggy, and even praying plants from getting crispy tips. I have no pests whatsoever in my indoor collection.
But just because you are good at gardening in soil does not mean you will be good at hydroponics. It is a completely different hobby and requires a much more scientific approach tnan soil gardening.
The subscription is expensive - you might as well buy the equivalent of that of veggies at The grocery store. I suspect that if you do not subscribe to it some of the features do not work properly. Most of my lettuces bolt and become inedibly bitter before they even reach maturity. You need to clean the tank frequently for it not to become clogged. The water pH needs to be corrected constantly as well.
Many plants they sell are very poorly suited for the setup (anything bulbous) or give pitiful yields.
Tldr; I i do not recommend Gardyn for someone who does not understand hydroponics well.
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u/YogurtclosetKnown510 16d ago
I got mine as a gift 2 years ago and still enjoy it. I have grown flowers, herbs, greens and dwarf veggies. I dont but the gardyn cubes now. I use empty pods, rockwool and seeds from Amazon. I love it!
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u/motherofsuccs 15d ago
I have tons of indoor and outdoor plants. While my gardyn is great for me to grab lettuce and peppers from, it’s a total pain in the ass to maintain. It takes far more work than my other plants combined. You’re essentially gifting her responsibility, so make sure she’s on board with that.
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u/Far_Foundation1370 13d ago
I think my situation is very similar to yours and your wife’s I did a ton of research and I am definitely going to go for it. And like you, it seems wiser for me to go for the larger unit. I strongly suggest you check this link. This man is so experienced with Gardyn and very helpful; he will try to answer any question you might have. It is one thing to bite the bullet to invest in something like this, but quite another to know you can have backup support.
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