Customer Reviews

Prepara Power Plant Mini

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just purchased this mini to go with my existing Aerogardens. I was pleasantly suprised at the quality of construction -- it is very good.You do get your money's worth, and an extra sponge is included free. Yes, it is small, but that has it's advantages -- it is easy to find a spot for --and fits almost anywhere. And the small size makes it perfect if you only need a few herbs or greens. It is relatively quiet and my seeds sprouted quickly. The ability to pick your own seeds is very nice, and helps lower the long range cost. Like the other reviewer - I would suggest small/short plants. And replenishment supplies are very affordable -- $20 for three sponges and mix for 10 gal nutrient. If you want to try your hand at hydroponic growing without investing a lot, this is an excellent way to go. I think it would make nice fun educational project for children. One thing that caught me by suprise was the suggestion to use distilled water. For now it uses very little though. If it later uses a lot as mentioned by the other reviewer I may switch to regular tap water.

I wanted to try to do a little indoor gardening over the winter but didn't have the space for an Aerogarden, so when I saw the Power Plant Mini I was intrigued and had to check it out.

Like the Aerogardens, the Power Plant Mini grows plants in a soil-free environment using aeroponic technology, however with the Power Plant you aren't locked into buying expensive, proprietary seed kits - just buy ordinary seed packets for whatever you want to grow. It has holders that fit "competitor's seed pods" if you'd rather use them, but a packet of seeds is so much cheaper!

It doesn't come with a grow lamp, but it fits on a windowsill so if you have a sunny, south-facing window in your kitchen like I do you're good to go. The pump which sprays the water at the roots is fairly quiet - about as noisy as a small aquarium pump.

Would I try to grow something heavy or tall in a Power Plant Mini? No. (Though I might give it's larger "cousin", the Power Plant Pro, a try). But for herbs, greens, etc. it does what they say it does at a very affordable price.

this is an okay product but by "mini" they mean very small. it works fine but when your plant has a large root system you will be adding water every day, and you will need to tape the plant in place to support it. Herbs are okay but I don't recommend trying to grow tomatoes in it! Its small size does make it easy to move from place to place for better light.

This was great, it germinated my seeds in like two days, its been growing for so far, it is alittle noisy depending on what its sitting on. Thanks!

I own both the power plant mini as well as the power plant pro. The Mini is constructed as well as the power plant pro, and looks nice as well. It is easy to set up and I had seedlings within a week. I'm overall very pleased with the unit and consider it a good buy.

My only real concern is that unlike the pro, there is no way to take the unit apart to clean it when there are plants growing. The lid would have to go over the plants to be taken off. If there was any clogs in the water tubes coming from the pump, there would be no way to clean it out without destroying the plants in the process. This could be easily remedied by changing the way the lid attaches to the unit (I will be doing this myself in-between plants.) Note (as far as I can tell after two months, there have not been any clogs, but I don't want to loose a crop because I couldn't fix it if there was one. You also cannot tell if there is a clog because of the lid system)

Other then that, its a great buy and I'm Happy.

The bottom line is this: you MUST purchase a timer for this product (otherwise the water pump runs continuously). If you are not growing on a sunny balcony or window, you must also purchase a light and ANOTHER timer for that. That's where the main competitor, Aerogarden, has a distinct advantage as an all-inclusive package. However, all of these products, without exception, are overpriced.

The main drawback of this product is the narrow opening in the plastic cover. Given this, the most appropriate plants are indeed small herbs and perhaps lettuces. I am currently growing very small tomato plants (micro toms) but I do not know if they will be able to reach maturity in this container (I've not grown this variety before).

Having said all that, I do think that it is a decent product for those who are curious about hydroponics. Shop around for a good price, though (to make up for what you will pay for a timer).

Absolutely fabulous for growing basil, a real treat to have fresh herbs on hand all year. It is a no-fuss unit, totally easy to set up, to take care of, to clean, it's all great. My basil grows the best, but this grower also does a great job on cherry tomatoes and parsley. The only trouble I've had is with cilantro... it never really matured. It had strong roots and strong stem, but it didn't grow any leaves for me to use. The whole plant consisted of stem, branches and tiny shoots that never matured into leaves. When I finally decided to give up and grow basil again, I found the root system had totally taken over the sponge. In short, there are some herbs that flourish in this sponge growing environment, but some that don't. If you like basil and mini tomatoes, this is splendid and fun to have around. Makes a bit of sound, but it's a nice water-flow circulating sound. Nice gift too.

Bought this as a gift for my husband the chef. He loves growing his own herbs. They started growing right away as promised. Now we are just waiting for them to grow big enough to cook with.

I planted too many seeds for my basil plant. Problem is --I have left about 5 messages wanting advice at the number Prepare supplies with product - I can't get a response.

Try growing (seedless) tomatoes indoors with the Power Plant Pro MMMMmmmmm!!
... I was recently diagnoses with diverticulitis and seeds are killers on the colon, I found seedless tomato seeds on "Burpee" and now growing my own seedless tomatoes... NO STORE I could find, sold, carried, or knew anything about seedless tomatoes so I did some research for myself and all the more wiser now :)