In the beginning, there was a box...a very large box! Here it is, friends, my Christmas present from my husband, David. I guess this was "our" Christmas present. I really love to garden, but the winters are cold and I feel so confined to the house. This seemed like a great option for me; I get to garden all winter and my husband has something technical to play with--win/win. Was it all wrapped up under the tree? Nope! It never even made it there. It went straight to the dining room table where it sat waiting for me to open it. Here we go!
David ordered this from BestBuy because they had some discounts for us to use, and like most people, we like to save money where we can. The picture above is how we received it. The box was in fair condition, all things considered, with a dent here and there, but as you will see in the following pictures, nothing was damaged.
This is a big box. 56 pounds of gardening fun. Be sure to have someone help you lift it; the box is on the heavy side, and it is a little awkward.
After carefully opening the box, this is what we found inside. Again, everything safe and sound and nicely packaged.
We put down a towel to keep the table and the garden safe from scratches and cut away the outside of the box. This was the end result. Snug as could be. It was time to read the instructions (that's my job) and start putting things together (that's David's job).
I like to rate instructions on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 are instructions that are so difficult to read that you need a team of professionals to help you, and 5 are instructions that are so clear and easy that even I could probably put it together without David's help. These instructions are definitely a 5. Thank you to the people at AeroGarden for making things so easy for me!
The assembly of the AeroGarden then went fairly quickly. I have included some pictures of the process below, but you will not have any trouble if you follow the directions that come in the box.
The legs are the first part to be positioned. They come prewired for easy connection.
The hardware comes in a separate bag. It is nicely organized and comes with some extra bolts, washers and such.
Connect the legs to the top. It helps to have two people for this part--one person to connect everything together and one person to hold the parts straight. It would not be impossible to assemble this alone, it is just easier with two.
Once you have completed the assembly of the legs and the top, your garden will look like this. Now it is time to turn it over and get it into position.
Time to add the supports at the bottom. Be careful not to overtighten the bolts or the paint on the supports will split. See below:
We tightened it a little too much and caused a small split. This didn't affect the garden at all and in the end, this part is covered by the grow beds.
Once the supports were put together, we moved the garden to its final location. Because we have pets, we put the garden on a table to raise it up off the floor a little (in the end, we replaced the table with a shelving unit so that it would have a smaller footprint).
The rest of the assembly went very quickly!
Open the grow beds and adjust the pump lines so that they fit nicely into the slot on the side of the grow bed.
Place the grow beds into the base of the AeroGarden.
The pump power and water level unit is placed behind the grow beds.
Connect the grow beds to the power and water level unit.
Once the grow beds are connected, it is time to connect the lights.
Remove the plugs from the lights and set aside. Again, this part is much easier with two people--one person to hold the light and the other to do the connecting.
Once the wire is in the hole at the top of the light, replace the plug; this is what holds the light in place.
Once the lights are in place, the unit will look like this:
Power the lights by connecting them as shown below:
The garden comes with optional supports. I added them so that I could see what the finished product would be. The supports snap on to the frame of the garden.
And here is the fully assembled (and powered) AeroGarden Farm 24XL!
Time to plant! My garden came with two sets of pods: Salad Bar-Herbs & Lettuce (12 pods) and Salad Bar-Tomatoes (12 pods).
Each kit came with the preseeded pods, liquid plant food and instructions for planting.
We filled the garden to the instructed level and made sure the pumps were working. Then we added the pods and plant food.
Depending on the kits that you receive, follow the instructions to set up the garden for optimal lighting and water.
This garden connects to wifi and you can check in on your garden from the app on your phone. It only took minutes to set up.
The app works well to check in on the water levels and food. It gives helpful tips about your plants and reminds you when to add food and water. The app is a little clunky, but overall isn't bad. For the Farm 24XL, you can view each side of your garden separately by switching between the left side and the right side.
Is it worth it?
The AeroGarden Farm 24XL is a sturdy garden. We looked at a few different options before choosing to purchase this product. We chose the AeroGarden because we have used other versions of this product and had luck growing in our smaller AeroGarden.
As previously mentioned, we purchased this product from BestBuy because of some discounts we received. Currently, the price of the AeroGaden from the manufacturer is $669.95 (on sale) with a regular price listed as $895.00.
The unboxing and setup of the garden was very easy and took about an hour from start to finish. The pieces were well-packed and we had no trouble putting the parts together. Once the garden was assembled, it felt sturdy.
This is not an inexpensive garden. You are paying for the convenience of a prepackaged system. Everything you need comes with this garden. Sure, there are less expensive ways to build an indoor hydroponic growing system, but if you want something that is convenient and comes with all the supplies you will need, this is a great option.
Having an app to track the progress and needs of your plants is fantastic. I wish the app was a little more user friendly, but for my needs, it works.
So, is it worth it? I suppose that will depend on how everything grows, but as it sits right now, yes, I like this system and I feel like it is exactly what we need to grow vegetables and herbs inside during the colder months and throughout the rest of the year. Yes, this system is worth it if you have some disposable income to spend on your indoor garden.
Stay tuned for growing updates!