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Herbs and vegetables need six to eight hours of direct sunlight, Failla says.
Credit:Better Homes & Gardens
Think about it: it takes a lot of energy to grow a fruit or vegetable!
To find the best indoor garden systems, we tested popular products in our own homes for six weeks.
We also considered the quality of the included seeds and the price of the system during our evaluations.
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To learn more about how we tested indoor gardening systems, check out our testing process below.
This model is fairly small and can only grow five plants.
This system only took 10 minutes to set up before we were ready to start growing.
Credit: Better Homes & Gardens / Alexandra Domrongchai
We found that the the water tank only needed to be refilled every few days.
However, we still thought this system was a great value for the money.
The system was easy to set up as the pots fit neatly on top of each other.
The pots are large and their clover-like shape made it easy to plant three different plants per pot.
However, we were disappointed when it was time to water.
Since this kit doesnt come with seeds, youll need to purchase your own.
The grow light is adjustable so you’re free to raise it as needed.
It was easy to add water, and theres an indicator when water is running low.
We noticed great plant growth using this system.
Fertilizer and basil seeds are included with the garden, and the basil tasted delicious when it was harvested.
It only comes in black.
For gardening novices, we recommend theiDoo Garden.
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A water circulation system helps deliver oxygen to the roots.
The proprietary seed pads must be purchased from the manufacturer and had some minor issues during testing.
The pad design for the seeds keeps everything clean and free of spilled soil.
Credit: Better Homes & Gardens / Chris Ader
The microgreens sprouted shockingly quickly, within 24 hours of being planted.
This was the fastest germination rate we saw out of all the gardens we tested.
The biggest flaw with this system were the seed pads.
We appreciated that the seed pads had the seeds and nutrients embedded within.
Assembly and placement of the Lettuce Grow was somewhat difficult and the proprietary seedling plugs are expensive.
TheLettuceGrow Farmstandis best for someone who wants to grow more than herbs.
This is partly due to its large size, according to Failla.
You usually just need to add nutrients to the water once a week.
LettuceGrow has proprietary seedlings that you might purchase for $3 at the time of publish.
However, the plants grown in this system grew well and tasted delicious.
Were skeptical of the manufacturers claim that you’re free to grow 12 plants simultaneously.
This was at least five days quicker than many of the other gardens we tested.
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The setup for this garden was easy for a smart garden and the app worked perfectly.
Everything we needed came with the garden.
The app sent reminders to change water and fertilize throughout our testing period, which was helpful.
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This soil-based garden isnt a great choice for beginners and requires frequent maintenance.
For those who still want to get their hands dirty, the soil-basedSpade to Fork gardenis a great pick.
The included soil discs are composed of arich potting soil.
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You use them by placing them in the pot and pouring warm water on the disc to activate it.
As a bonus, the kit also has five wood-burned plant markers and a growing guide.
The set up was easy and our plants sprouted successfully.
Credit: Better Homes & Gardens / Chad Sparks
However, there was a lot of maintenance required, including watering daily.
We forgot to water for one day and thecilantro plantbegan to noticeably wilt.
We were also disappointed to see that plant growth stalled after a few weeks.
However, this could be due to our gardening skills and not the kit.
Its hydroponic system has a low price, and we liked the manufacturers commitment to sustainability.
Our Testing Process
We spent six weeks testing 18 indoor gardening systems.
The testing process began as soon as we unboxed the garden.
If not, the garden was placed near a window, southern-facing when possible.
For the gardens that did not include seeds, we used identical packs of basil seeds for testing purposes.
If the humidity rose too high, we adjustedusing fans; if too low, we added humidityusing humidifiers.
We checked and measured seedlings at three weeks and six weeks to chart growth.
However, this means that these are less expensive.
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Hydroponic systems are more expensive and more likely to have a suite of smart features.
Plus, these models are less messy thanks to their soil-free operation.
We noticed that the hydroponic systems tended to perform better than the soil systems during our testing period.
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For growing food indoors, I’ll always use hydroponics.
Its way lower maintenance and a much cleaner way to grow food indoors, Failla says.
Soil systems may have a bit more room where you could squeeze in extra plants.
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Features
Hydroponic systems often have smart features designed to provide instruction and make gardening easy for beginners.
These smart systems often include timers for lights, automatic watering systems, and reminders to waterand fertilize.
We found these features to be helpful during our testing period, especially for beginner gardeners.
Credit: Better Homes & Gardens / Emily Teel
The Bluetooth connection for the app was inconsistent and the seeds grew very slowly in this system.
Though it had a lot of bells and whistles, including cameras, the plants grew extremely slowly.
Neveln personally tested this kit, and ended up replacing the soil and starting over to complete testing.
In both soils the seed germination was extremely poorthe plants either did not sprout or died shortly after.
That said, perhaps someone else would have a different experience with this kit.
Your Questions, Answered
What plants are best for indoor gardens?
As an enthusiastic indoor gardener, Failla recommends several different kinds ofplants to grow in indoor gardens.
I love growing micro dwarf varieties of the large scale plants we grow in our gardens, she says.
Are indoor gardens high maintenance?
Indoor gardens can be high or low maintenance, depending on which model you buy.
If you buy a high end smart hydroponic system, growing the garden should be virtually effortless.
Basically, you have to mimic outdoor conditions and that is very challenging to do withouta greenhouse.
What else do I need to start indoor gardening?
What you oughta beginindoor gardeningdepends on what the system you buy includes.
If youre using a soil-based system, youll need soil, fertilizer, and seeds or seedlings.
Youll also need a light sourcewhile a sunny window may work, many indoor gardeners preferusing grow lights.
For this story, Rachel spent hours researching indoor gardening systems and analyzing our teams testing feedback and results.
Those tests examined 18 different indoor gardening systems over a span of six weeks.
Credit: Amazon
Rachel also consultedMaria Failla, author of Growing Joy and host of the Growing Joy With Plants podcast.
Failla is an expert on gardening in small apartments and swears by theLettuce Grow Farm Standthat cracked our list.
What is BHG Recommends?
Credit: Better Homes & Gardens / Lukas Smith
In these cases, we use the same testing criteria we use to test the purchased products.
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Credit: Better Homes & Gardens / Chaina De La Cruz
Credit:Better Homes & Gardens
Credit:Better Homes & Gardens
