This content was produced in partnership with Gardyn.
In a past life, I worked in fields, labs, and greenhouses with plants. Now that the work is over and I’ve moved on to bigger and better things, having some plants around again — especially ones that I can actually EAT — seems like fun. You probably feel the same way, greenery always brightens up a tough winter, but neither one of us has access to a professional-grade greenhouse in our living room.
So, what to do?
Well, as it turns out, Gardyn just released a new home growing kit, that could bring that wonderful greenhouse feel back to my life… and in both of our living rooms! Unlike the hard work I had to do as a professional, the Gardyn Home Kit 3.0 takes care of a lot of the guesswork and chores that come along with plant growing. Basically, it is a plug it in, load it up, and forget about it self-watering grower system. It’s convenient, smart, and it’ll give you all the produce variety you could possibly want while trying to feed your family. Today, I wanted to take a look at the kit and analyze it from the perspective of your average person or, you know, your average lazy former plant grower guy.
No green thumb, No schedule
Green thumbs don’t exist, expertise does.
As a lab assistant, I was given a watering and feeding schedule by experts. Even for me, right now, if I wanted to grow a wide variety of produce I would have to learn the details of dozens of plants. It’s a yucky business and more than what I want to deal with. This can be especially tricky with indoor plants, which are highly influenced by temperature fluctuations, humidity changes, and the pressures of constant lighting. I’m also painfully aware that winter can be one of the hardest times of the year to find the extra time to do maintenance tasks. Usually we’re plagued with New Year’s goals, both self and work imposed, that take over our time.
Well, with the included cameras and AI plant coach, Kelby, you don’t have to worry about memorizing watering and feeding frequency. Kelby is your expert. Just plug a pre-seeded container (called a yCube) into the device and let your app know. It’ll guide you through the rest of the process and take over the hard parts in a way not so dissimilar to that of a smart robot vacuum.
In other words, you won’t need the bio degree I sometimes question getting — or even need to know the difference between oregano and thyme — just let the algorithm do its work.
Plant babysitter
Living in Florida, we have a special class of visitor around this time of year: the snowbird. They come to Florida specifically to get away from the cold that plagues anyone from North of, say, Maryland this time of year. While a few of them might bring their pets, if they have them, I can’t imagine a snowbird bringing their indoor garden plants. That means if they stay for more than a short while, they either have to face the prospects of returning to a dead indoor garden, an annoyed plant-sitter, or *gasp* avoid having plants altogether.
When I look at the Gardyn House Kit, I see a more reasonable approach. First of all, there is a two week no-hassle vacation mode. But what if you want to stay out longer than two weeks? Here’s the human maintenance cycle in a nutshell:
- A 5-gallon water tank at the bottom needs to be topped up about once a week.
- A water treatment solution, called HydroBoost, to add during your weekly watering time. While it’s highly-recommended it is optional.
- A monthly 10-minute tank clean out.
If, like me, you hate asking for big favors then the Gardyn House Kit will be a sure stress reliever.
2023’s winter produce solution
But maybe you aren’t escaping to Florida. What now?
Well, it turns out that the Gardyn may be the winter food solution you were looking for. Since you’re growing directly from your home, you have to worry a lot less about getting overpriced, wilting out of season produce and can be more in control of what you’re eating. It’ll also keep you from going to the grocery store as often, especially when the roads or icy of the so-called “tripledemic” is raging the hardest.
Surely some machine can’t replace a fully stocked store though, right?
You’d be surprised! Gardyn makes over 60 varieties of plug’n’play (to borrow a tech term) seed kits that cover a lot of ground. Sure, you’ll get the kale and lettuce you were expecting, but also have access to a wide range of spices (including sage and oregano), and healthy veggies like snap peas, mini eggplant, and sweet peppers. Gardyn has recently added mini cauliflower and strawberries to the mix and periodically updates their systems with more seed types and varieties for you to try. Plus, you’re always welcome to get a seedless yCube and try your hand at your own plants.
Responsible growing
One of the immediate misconceptions I had about the Gardyn was that it was going to cause a lot of waste. At first glance, the yCubes that make everything so simple kinda resemble oversized K-cups — the kind used in Keurig coffee makers. It just feels wrong for something like an indoor garden where you want as few inorganic wastes as possible.
It turns out my initial speculations were completely wrong and I couldn’t be happier about it. yCubes are made from a corn or tapioca base and have the ability to be composted by industrial composters.
Another cool factor with the Gardyn is how little electricity it uses despite being plugged in, having lights, and using cameras. Gardyn estimates that its products use around 54 kWh per month, which is — based on my own calculations — approximately a quarter as much as your refrigerator uses. If you plant things right, you might actually save a tad on your winter electric bill with a Gardyn Home Kit.
Here’s how to get your Gardyn Home Kit 3.0:
Follow the link below and make your purchase today. What’s cool is that you’ll get everything you need, including 30 pre-selected yCubes to make for the best starting experience with the Gardyn system. That means you’ll get some quick growing and some slow growing plants, of a variety of types, so you’ll never be over- or under- whelmed by the system. When you add on a membership, you’ll also get 10 credits of yCubes monthly of your own selection so you can make sure you get your family’s favorites, so you’ll be happy right out of the gate. Before you go, take note that you can use code TASTY100 to get $100 off your Gardyn order, right now. That’s one heck of a deal.
