pros
- attractive designs
- Easy app control
- Fresh vegetable!
Defect
- Exclusively developed shell
- No spacers around the lid (a problem on boats!)
Living on a boat with the kids is fun, as long as you can deal with giving up some creature comforts. I’ve longed for a garden, and in the dark days of the pandemic, I’ve felt it deeply.
With our new boat (well, 1944 but new to us) we finally have some space to work with and top of the list is setting up an indoor garden. (Okay, pizza oven may be at the top of the list, but the garden is second.)
I had my eye on two distinct types of indoor gardens: the space-conscious counter model and the larger hydroponic floor system. There are several options for each, but when it comes to the counter version, one of the most underrated options is Smart Garden 9 Pro by Click & Grow.
In the midst of frantically moving in and selling our old boat and getting Lindy into her new dock, I jumped in and prepared for the fresh. How does boat farming work? Read to find out.
specifications
| Form name | Smart Garden 9 |
|---|---|
| Bark capacity | 9 |
| product width | 604 mm (2′) |
| product height | 396 mm (1′4″) |
| Product depth | 184 mm (7″) |
| Product weight | 2.4 kg (5.29 lb .) |
| Energy consumption | 13 W |
| Power consumption per month | 6.2 kWh |
| cable length | 2800 mm (9′2″) |
| Water tank capacity | 4 liters (1.06 US gal) |
| Material | ABS |
Design
The form factor is an important consideration for a product meant to last on your counter. The garden is meant as a central element and designed as a functional addition to your diet and routine.
Obviously Click & Grow has spent a lot of time tweaking Smart Garden 9 Pro. The Estonian company was born after founder Mattias Lepp read a NASA report on growing plants in space. What grew out of that experience is what Click & Grow describes as the first indoor garden that automatically takes care of plants.
Also: 5 best indoor gardens
Taking a cue from Apple, Click & Grow chose a white minimalist design with no buttons for Smart Garden 9 Pro. The device looks a bit like a futuristic toolbox with a row of grow lights instead of a handle. The body of the device contains water, the water level is indicated by a bubble that rises when there is enough water. There are nine round holes arranged in a zigzag pattern to accommodate the growing fruits.
Conveniently, the garden cord slips into a slot on the side of the assembled unit, keeping it free from vibrations. All in all, it makes a great centerpiece if you have a larger table or some counter real estate. Remember that the footprint is quite large (24″ x 7″) and plan accordingly.
The kids love it! Between this and the in-house composting machine, they’re taking a real look at the life cycle of food. Greg Nichols / ZDNet
Begin
Setup is very easy. You plug the grow light into the base, plug the cord into its dedicated channel, and that’s most of the work for the hardware.
The smart garden comes with 9 spaces for groups, which must be ordered from Click & Grow. Each pod holder has a flexible little tag to note down your vegetables (I didn’t do this and it took me a couple of weeks to realize I had grown cherry tomatoes!).
Seed pods are available from Click & Grow in a variety of species and varieties. It would be great if you could plant your own seeds, but for a few dollars per order from the company that’s not bad. The pods contain all the plant food the plant needs, which is part of what makes the process almost fully automated.
Also: 5 best lawn mowing robots
Once the hardware is set up, you add water to the base, put the seed box in, and plug it in. The light cycle on the device is automatic, so if you’re not using the app, it’s a good idea to plug it in early in the morning so the cycle mimics the daylight cycle. I kept forgetting to do this on time for over a week.
Luckily, the app allows you to set a custom schedule, so it’s a good push to set that up. Once you have the free app, you connect to your device via Bluetooth. The light blinks cleverly to indicate the pairing was successful. You can enter your plants on the app to track them, set lighting schedules, order new plants, etc.
I appreciate simplicity. Like I said, I’m in the middle of a migration frenzy setting up the garden and I find the whole system very simple to understand.
Creates a pretty impressive centerpiece as the sprouts begin to grow. Before that it may take some explanation. Greg Nichols/ZDNet
Plants are anywhere
One of the interesting things I learned doing this review is that I am not the first boat resident to use the garden. Smart Garden 9 was recently taken on a long boat trip to the North Pole by a group of company compatriots from Estonia. Here are some pictures from their trip. And there are several US Navy aircraft carriers that are using our gardens to grow fresh food during their long voyages.
That makes a lot of sense for a few reasons. First, it’s nice to have fresh plants around when you’re in a marine environment. Marinas tend to be pretty sparse, and when you’re out at sea, the best you’ll get is kelp.
Also: The best botanical subscription boxes
But it also makes sense because fresh vegetables and growing plants carry a sense of belonging, something nurturing and comforting. What could be more important when you are taking a trip away from home? Add to that the fact that the garden is barely occupied and you have a perfect addition to any boating setup, as long as you have the space, of course. We didn’t have room on our old sailboat (at least not without some reorganization) but the garden feels just right to Lindy.
Just as plants can help beachgoers feel connected to their family, growing fresh vegetables and flowers in your apartment can help bring life to a space, giving it a little extra life. magic and truth.
Okay, but don’t water the Pellegrino. Greg Nichols / ZDNet
Result
I’ve had my garden gone for about a month. This is great.
Everything germinated, although the garden was moved quite often during the move to make space (and was randomly unplugged during those moves). I come looking forward to seeing the trees every morning, a little bigger each time. It took a while for us to get used to the lights being on when we went to bed, but now it’s like an upstairs night light.
So far we have harvested basil and lettuce. Lettuce I wouldn’t do again…it’s not a big enough event to eat it to secure the garden estate. More herbs I think, and maybe mix it with some flowers for bright colors. Basil is a great ingredient to approach and I really expect cherry tomatoes, which have to be very small to fit in a grow light.
bottom line
Highly recommended. It’s easy to understand when a device brings fresh plants into your living space and takes very little time and relatively small space.
It’s also a great addition to non-traditional spaces (boats) or a way to grow crops in spaces, climates or seasons that wouldn’t normally allow for a fresh garden. Groups are easy to rearrange and the device is sleek. All in all, a new thumbs up.
Alternatives to consider
Adjustable grow height gives plenty of room to grow.
Nice wooden details and smart features, but comes at a price.
Remarkably stylish, the bronze finish is stunning.
