Customer Reviews

AeroGrow AeroGarden 6 Elite Plus with Ruby Heirloom tomato seed kit and a trellis system

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm an aerogarden lover. One thing I particularly love about aerogardens is that it is a fairly green product. The nutrient tablets are organic(according to the makers of aerogarden) and the system uses CFL bulbs as opposed to traditional lightbulbs. The makers say it costs under 3 dollars to run an aerogarden per month. Someone who reviewed this one said it smells. Personally, I noticed it getting it out of the box, but never again after that and I do have a particularly sensitive nose. It's plastic, it will have a plastic-y smell for a day or two.

We love to cook and really enjoy the herb kits most. I kill plants/flowers/veggies otherwise, but I easily figured out the aerogarden and it takes VERY little time to keep it flourishing. Now I realize my review is long, but there were a lot of things to consider for me in picking my new aerogarden and hopefully they will help you in your decision!

I have previously owned an aerogarden classic 7 pod for about a year - I thought it was great, but with a pretty significant problem which lead me to make an upgrade.
My issue with the classic 7pod:
- some of the herbs grow so high they grew into the light and burned. They have rectified this with your choice of the deluxe, pro200 or this model I choose, the elite 6+ which goes another 12 inches or so higher then the original 'classic' model. But for people who bought the original, You had to pay $109 or so dollars for a upgraded light arm, which was ridiculous and spending way more $$ then just selling my classic and upgrading. If you feel you'll 'tend' to your garden more, you can prune it more often to keep it under the light, but I'm the type who just lets it grow and grow.

So, I decided to upgrade, but I had to make the choice between the 3 models with the extra tall light arm. I did a lot of reading up, including visiting a popular aerogarden forum and seeing what other people thought about the different models. In the end, based on price, I eliminated the 'deluxe' model($209) and made a choice between the pro200 and the elite 6+. The reason I ended up going with this one is for a couple of reasons.

both models are equipped for a trellis system(though it does not come in the box) and have the 36 inch light arm. They both also have the updated lighting system with 3 flat CFL bulbs instead of 2 rounded ones, so they pack a larger punch with delivering light.

these were the big differences that I noticed:
- what comes in the box. This model has less, coming with just 2 seed pods with mega cherry tomatoes, the actual aerogarden, manual, and 3 CFL bulbs. The other one had a few kits with it as well as the other things.
- The elite 6+ has a new style pump. It's an air pump instead of a water pump. They say it's more reliable then the water pump and also doesn't require as much maintenance and cleaning. With the water pump the roots can weave their way in and when your seed kit is at the end of it's life cycle and you're cleaning, you do have to dig in that and it's not fun.
- having had the 7 pod, I felt it was a bit crowded. So in my opinion the 6 pod will allow the herbs, etc to flourish and have enough space to grow nicely without overshadowing the smaller plants as much. Also it seems the 6 pod seed kits are more easily found in stores these days, and I like not having to hunt things down.

Something I didn't realize is that the elite 6+ does not have "adaptive growth intelligence" aka AGI like the pro200. In conversing with people who have multiple different models(one with AGI and one without) they all say it doesn't really make any difference at all.

I have noticed that with the 6 pod model compared to the 7 that the actual seed pods are shaped differently and are longer, going into the water more, as well as having a peet moss type material to house the seed vs. what seemed more like grey sponge material in the 7 pods. Really no difference with the growth. The new pods will work in the older style aerogardens, but the old pods won't work in this aerogarden(why? not really sure).

Some great things about aerogarden that keep me feeling secure in the $$ I'm shelling out for seed kits which are usually about 20 dollars a pop. If a seed doesn't grow in the reported time span, they will send you a replacement. Recently I had a kit that just wasn't performing to my expectations -- I sent one small email and they immediately sent me a new kit with some tips to help my aerogarden grow well. There's a 1 year warranty on your aerogarden and they also warranty the bulbs for 6 months. Once you learn to use your garden and get really comfortable with it, you can branch out by getting a master gardener kit and choosing your own seeds to plant.

UPDATE: Wanted to make a quick note for those with well water. Well water and the aerogarden do not mix. I'm now learning this thru my mom - we got her an aerogarden for xmas. We had thought filtered well water was fine, it isn't. So you either need to be using city water -- most people seem to do fine with it. Or if you do have well water, you've got to buy distilled water(not spring water either). I've heard it's not a huge expense, anywhere from 79 cents to 1 dollars for a jug of it.

This is my third Aerogarden. (I have a space saver 6 and a Aero3) and I love the continued success I have with these products. I am growing the Mega Cherry Tomatos from the seed kit that accompanied the garden and can't wait for them to be ripe to go with the Salad I am already growing and the herbs (all in seperate gardens of course. Set up took less than 10 minutes while I was multitasking. I love being able to garden on the 3rd floor of an apartment building! This is great product.

I bought this for my wife for christmas, It came with a tomato plant but she does not like them so she used a tuscan herb kit I got her from kohls. after almost three weeks only two of the six plants have sprouted. the two that are growing are growing very well. I have written aerogarden about the faulty pods but not yet received a reply. I have read that the water type (ph level) has an effect on the plants growing. The ones that are growing look too good for it to be a ph issue though. I think it is more an issue with the seed kit from kohls then the aerogarden itself.
The unit is very quite. and has been working properly (turning on and off as set.) It had alerted that it needed more water and minerals after about 14 days. I have not gotten an electric bill since she plugged it in so i can not say what effect it has had on the bill. Makes a great night light (lights up the whole house) My wife likes it so i am happy with the purchase.

I got my aerogarden as a much anticipated birthday present. It's been less than two weeks since I planted my seeds and turned it on for the first time, so these impressions are preliminary. I'll come back to this review later with an update.

Taking the aerogarden out of the box, I found it to be well packed. The product feels durable, constructed of high quality materials. Setup was a snap, the biggest difficulty being transporting the bowl full of water from the sink to the base unit. I spilled some water on myself, but I'm a pretty clumsy person. The aerogarden really is as easy to use as they claim. You drop the seed pods in where the instructions tell you to, turn it on, drop in the 'nutrient tablets', and let it go to town. The only other thing to do is a quick press of the button at the time when you want to set the light to turn off. Lights come on to tell you when to add water or nutrients, removing all guesswork on that front.

Turning on the aerogarden for the first time, I was stunned by how bright the lights are. I purposely placed it in a corner of my dark apartment that doesn't get a lot of light, but the lights illuminate not just that corner, but the entire living room with cheery, full spectrum light. I may get a second aerogarden just to illuminate my computer room.

People have complained about the noise that the air pump makes, and it -is- audible, but not much more so than a computer fan. I'm very noise sensitive, and I've fallen asleep on the couch directly under the shelf where my aerogarden sits.

My plants are growing incredibly fast. The seeds sprouted only a couple of days after planted, and in less than two weeks, the plants are well established, with several leaves.

The major problem that I have with my aerogarden is the hidden costs involved.

First, there are the seed kits, which are extremely expensive, as well as limited in selection. Adventurous gardeners can re-use the plastic baskets and buy peat plugs designed to fit them in bulk from another company, as well as liquid nutrients, but many won't be willing to try that.

The lights are proprietary, designed so that you can't screw in your own bulbs. In order to train vining plants, a special trellis kit must be bought. In addition, if you have very hard water in your area, you may need to use distilled (not filtered) water, bought at the grocery store. These costs, combined with the energy costs necessary for running the unit, mean that you probably won't save money growing vegetables in your garden. I have also heard bad things about the production of the 'mega cherry tomatoes' that come with the garden. I chose to take the seeds out and substitute my own, however.

But for those looking for a gardening experience and the taste of home grown vegetables, but without the space, skill, or time to grow them, the aerogarden is the perfect choice. I would buy this product again, and indeed may purchase a second one.

I love it I have tomatoes growing on my counter right now. It works great I have no complaints!!!!!

This product has unbearable smells from electronic or plastic. It also has to turn on power all the time that waste a lot of energy. I returned it. I will just buy a upside=down planter that only cost about $10, it would be true environmental friendly and can enjoy natural plant smell, not the electronic smell.