iDOO Hydroponics Growing System, 12 Pods, Herb Garden, Indoor Herb Garden for Christmas Smart Garden, Automatic Timer Germination Kit with Fan, Water Pump, Height Adjustable, 2 Modes, ID-IG301, Black

I grow basil and salad leaves during the summer, but am keen to move away from bagged salad and decided to give this a try to keep the leaves coming all year long. The equipment appears to be well made, with an easy-to-follow instruction booklet. The kit itself is bigger than I thought - too big for my windowsill - but should mean plenty of room for salad and herbs to grow. The lights are very bright and can be set for either veg or fruit, and the lighting hood moves up and down on a sturdy arm as the plants hopefully grow. There is a quiet fan in the hood (low hum) and a pump in the well, which I can't hear. It works on a timer, providing 16 hours of light and regular water flow. You could easily set this up to provide light overnight, which might make it less distracting during the day if it bothered you - though, I quite like the pink hue. I have ordered some different seeds to try (ghost chillies, coriander and salad), though have started off with some basil, rocket and chard to see what happens. Will post an update in a month or two, when I should have something to show!The kits comes with two bottles of fertiliser, which should last a good few months. The sponges, I think are reusable to a degree, but you get 24 to start you off and you can buy replacements. You obviously get the pots and some germination caps, plus a load of plastic plant labels, which are probably unnecessary for me.The base unit is 35 x 26 cm, if you're considering a particular spot.Just to have to wait to how things grow!Overall, happy so far for the price, but will update in a month or two.

I recently purchased this for my wife as she is keen to do more gardening, however we do not have a huge amount of space and also have to put up with our typical wet and cold British weather, so after researching ideas I came across this product so she could try something new for growing herbs or starting off some of her other seeds, before transferring to the garden or her (hopefully soon, allotment). I personally liked the idea of having something small and compact, without a great deal of messy soil and she gets to try something new during lockdown; result!It arrived on time via Prime, and was well packaged in an outer Amazon box with its own cardboard box inside. Upon opening that, the item itself is well secured with protective packaging to keep it secure in transit. Each item inside was well packed and in its own box or bag along with a nice guide to help you get setup and using it quickly.Getting it setup is quick and straightforward, and has everything you need to get going (pump, soil foam pods to put your seeds in, labels to write what seeds you've planted, plastic covers to keep the seeds protected, and bottles of plant food to help them grow!). From looking on Amazon it doesn't look like replacements are too expensive either so shouldn't cost too much to keep using it in the future.The light unit has modes for both fruit and veg, depending what you're growing, while it also has controls for the turning the fan and water pump on/off.So far so good from my initial impressions and getting setup. Now it's over to my wife to really enjoy it and grow things but she is indeed very happy with my surprise gift!

Was easy to set up. Just planted the seeds. Kept it simple, lettuce & tiny Tim tomatoes. Let’s see where this journey takes me. Will update in a couple of months. Hence not five stars.

This is a good starter unit, very decorative, not so noisy, and ample light for the plants. However, there are some minor issues: 4 lt container is too small for 12 plants. It kind of works for leafy greens but you have to top up 1-2 glasses of nutrient water everyday or so. Net cups are located very close to each other and plants really compete for light, pushing each other out of the way (so IMO 12 plants is kind of pushing it). Light panel is slightly smaller than the base so outer plants lean inwards to catch more light. Timer is off by 10-15 minutes (switches on and off 10-15 minutes later than a day before everyday) so your plants might think they're growing on Mars - but my plants don't mind so far - except I have to plug it out to reset the timer every 2-3 days to keep it sync with my wake hours. It's been only 3 weeks but I already harvested a salad bowl of leafy greens, and they taste great (I didn't use the supplied nutrient mix though - I can't comment on that).