Not economical

I love to use fresh herbs in my cooking so I thought this product would be wonderful. I went down to a department store and purchased it for about $200. After opening the box, I had realized that it was going to be very costly. However, I decided to give it a chance to prove itself.

While reading the instructions, I was disappointed that only one type of seed kit could be grown at a time. I had purchased multiple seed kits. I love fresh basil and cherry tomatoes. I wanted to grow both at the same time. The instructions say that different kits require different nutrients and the garden uses the same nutrients for all seven plugs. Thus, you should only plant one seed kit at a time. Secondly, I wanted to grow salad greens but I only want a handful of leaves. The instructions say that all seven holes must be plugged. Therefore, I was forced to plant all seven plugs.

At the moment I plugged it in, I was hit by a disturbing bright light. This light is so bright that during the day you need to turn on all you lights in the room just to give you eyes comfort. Later you find out that the light will be on for 16 hours and off for only 8 hours each day. The sun is only out for 12 hours where I live. I get this disturbing light for four hours at night. You are allowed to set the cycle at any time of day. The manual says that some may want to use it as a night light but I bet no one will.

The garden is not economical. As I stated, you first drop $200 for the garden, another $20-$30 for a seed kit, and then every six months another $20 for replacing the bulbs. On top of that, you will need to pay for the electricity to run the lights and the internal water pump that constantly runs. Dollar for dollar you will lose money.

As for the non-monetary benefits, you will see rapid growth. You can expect fresh greens even if its snowing outside. The fine print on that is you must regulate the room temperature from 60-75F. Most importantly, the biggest factor ... its fresh!