Click and Grow Review
Summary
Click and Grow is a smart garden that helps you grow fresh herbs and vegetables indoors. There’s no need to dirt, fertilizer, or even watering – the garden does all the work for you! All you have to do is insert a cartridge of seeds into the machine, select your desired plants, and let Click and Grow take care of the rest.
Overall
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Ease of Use
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Variety
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Prices
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Support
Pros
A companion app to enhance the growing experience.
Adjustable LED lamp height.
Comes in three different color versions.
Highly energy efficient and high-water tank capacity.
Includes complimentary plant seed pods.
Space-saving and highly convenient.
Free shipping in the continental USA
Cons
It can be more expensive than other brands.
The Click and Grow light bar may limit the size of plants you can grow.
There are many reasons to integrate an at-home garden into your daily routine. Whether you want a little protection from the supply chain uncertainty that seems to be hitting the market or simply love the taste and scent of freshly grown vegetables, there are many advantages to in-home growing.
We thought our review team should show our support for the live-in green thumbs in the crowd and offer a detailed review of the easy-to-use Click & Grow Smart Garden. This setup removes any confusion or lack of experience you may have with home gardening and turns out delicious produce.
While our review office is big enough for all our team members, and we do have a small backyard area, we do not have an outdoor garden situation. So this was the perfect device to try out and a solid produce option for those living where space is a luxury. Let’s dive in!
Click and Grow Overview
Click & Grow was founded in 2009 in Estonia after reading a NASA report about growing food and plants in space. This led to logical thoughts that if astronauts had the room and lighting available for growing a garden, even in such a restrictive resource area, then surely people on earth could do the same.
The team at Click & Grow began working with universities and plant technology experts to devise a system that would allow minimal maintenance efforts on the user’s part while growing incredible plants and food for any purpose. The result is the Click & Grow Smart Garden launched in 2012.
What is great about this company is not just their fantastic pods product but how they market it to everyday consumers. They tug on the emotional needs of people who may be stuck indoors for long periods and want a bit of nature in their homes.
We do our best at our product review team to have fun and integrate activities into our work, but we have to admit having the Click & Grow Smart Garden hanging out with live plants and low lights in our office did make things feel better.
Click and Grow Smart Garden Review
Let’s get into the meat of our product review for the Click & Grow Smart Garden. None of us are plant scientists, but we all enjoyed the plants and the many snacks we created from what we grew.
We should also quickly say we’ve heard many people swear by the Click & Grow Smart Garden for on-the-road living, like in a converted bus or RV. As far as well can tell, the electrical requirements are minimal and should work efficiently in that living situation.
How does the Click and Grow work?
At its core, the Click & Grow Smart Garden is just that – a miniature garden. It works with built-in lighting and water so you can grow flowers, herbs, and vegetables.
There are various sizes of boxes that hold different seed pods. These plant pods are self-watering and irrigate the seeds for around a month at a time. Over the top are timed LED grow lights that simulate the sun’s energy.
All you do is set up the Click & Grow Smart Garden, insert the seed pods into the holes, fill up the reservoir, and you are good to go. There are clear instructions from the Seed & Grow company to grow whatever type of plants you want in your home.
What are the features of the Click and Grow?
Automatic Watering
You do not have to double-check the Click & Grow Smart Garden daily. Instead, an automatic watering system uses the built-in water reservoir with a water float indicator to keep the plants and seed pods healthy and happy. This provides the perfect amount of nutrients and oxy at the root level.
Advanced LED Technology
The Click & Grow Smart Garden utilizes LED lights based on the specific spectrum sure to boost how your plants grow. This provides all the natural energy while not making your electric bill skyrocket from the incredibly energy-efficient LED technology.
Companion Smart Mobile App
You also get access to a companion application that will help you monitor how your plants are growing in your garden. This could be the schedule of your lights, water in your pods, or if it’s running at home while you are away on vacation, so you’ll have freshly grown plants when you get back.
Complimentary Pods
Depending on the model of Click & Grow Smart Garden you select, you’ll receive some complementary seed pods to get started. For example, the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 comes with (3) mini tomato pods, (3) green lettuce pods, and (3) fresh basil pods.
Biodome Lids
Some models of the Click & Grow Smart Garden include small plastic lids that snap into place over the plants being grown. This helps them grow faster and creates a biodome environment where more humidity is trapped inside. Once the seedlings touch the ceiling of the lids, you can easily take them back off.
Extraordinary Convenience & Space Saving
Perhaps the convenience factor is the Click & Grow Smart Garden’s biggest feature. The home garden company’s largest model is only 7” wide and up to 5.29 pounds when full. That is tiny compared to an outdoor home garden and doesn’t require any maintenance beyond setup and occasionally checking the mobile app.
Click to Purchase Your Click and Grow
Click and Grow Subscription
Click & Grow did a smart thing by integrating a subscription feature for consumers. This allows you to quickly get the seed pods you need for future growth efforts without having to go back online and visit the website to place a new order.
You start by selecting the product. So if you want tomatoes in every shipment, you opt for the pods you would need, and those are shipped out in subscription-style increments.
You can customize your subscription anytime you want. The company is extremely flexible about their plant subscription model. This is another reason we had such a positive review experience; Click & Grow is great to work with!
There are more than 75 varieties of fresh herbs, flowers, leafy greens, and more available for your Click & Grow Smart Garden. We mostly did basil, green lettuce, and tomatoes. We did try the wild strawberry, but we had to be a little careful because one of our review team members was allergic.
Different Click & Grow Models
We ended up trying Click and Grow’s three different models. Our goal was to place them in high-traffic areas of our review office to ensure they were convenient and space-saving. Spoiler alert – they were!
Everyone on our team only had to walk by the device to monitor the vibrant health of the plants. We also had the Pro model on screen with the app.
1 | Smart Garden 3
This is our suggestion for anyone living in extremely small spaces like a dorm room, efficiency apartment, or with roommates. It fits 3 seed pods and uses minimal LED lighting, so you could have it in your bedroom at home without losing any sleep. It also doesn’t push out so many plants that a single person couldn’t eat them all.
2 | Smart Garden 9
Think of the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 as the “family” version of garden models. As you guessed, this provides 9 different seed pods for you to grow all kinds of variety of plants. It takes up a little more room than the Smart Garden 3 and puts out enough LED light that you would want this device in a garage, kitchen, or utility room to not interrupt sleep. This is great for a family of 3 to 7.
3 | Smart Garden 9 Pro
The major difference between the Pro version of the Click & Grow Smart Garden and any other model is the integration of the mobile app. Our review team loved this version for anyone who travels a lot or cannot be at home during the daytime but wants to actively monitor their plants and grow schedule.
In addition, it is the best model for convenience because you can adjust lights, water, and more through the app without being present.
Pros and Cons of Click & Grow Smart Garden
How is the Click & Grow Different from Other Gardening Systems?
Alright, now that we’ve covered all the ins and outs of the Click & Grow Smart Garden, let’s make a few comparisons to other at-home options for growing your favorite veggies and plants.
AeroGarden Harvest
Like the Click & Grow Smart Garden, the AeroGarden uses seed pods and LED lighting for at-home growing. The differences are related to energy use and the number of pods.
You require about 20 watts for the AeroGarden and only 8 for the Click & Grow. However, you get twice as many pods at the entry-level model size. The AeroGarden is heavier, but that is because it has a 12” adjustable LED arm, which means a greater variety of taller plants.
Gardyn
When you try out the Gardyn at-home systems, you get a boost in technology. The Click & Grow is far easier to use and manage in your daily life, but you don’t get cameras or as in-depth a mobile application as you would with Gardyn.
Besides that, you are looking at similar products, with the Click & Grow being a little less expensive and easier to manage for those who want a more straightforward system.
Tower Garden
This is probably the home garden system you have seen all over social media. It is a tall cylinder sitting in a large base that fits a significant number of seed pods. This is a much more expensive model than the Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 Pro and will require significantly more space.
We suggest this model for serious at-home gardeners who are looking to replace their vegetable intake completely with this hydroponic solution.
Overall, the major benefits of size, convenience, and simplicity are what make the Click & Grow Smart Garden the obvious choice for our review team. However, the other products are good. You just need to make sure they fit your current lifestyle choices.
What Plants Can You Grow?
Here is where Click & Grow shines! There are over 75 varieties of herbs, flowers, leafy greens, and more available for the Click & Grow Smart Garden. These are available by subscription, singles, 3-packs, 9-packs, and 54-pack pods.
You can choose from anything from dwarf basil, chili peppers, romaine lettuce, fruiting plants, and other veggies where you can skip the grocery stores and make your own salad!
We chose to grow the complimentary pack included with the at-home gardening systems as well as wild strawberries and had no issues at all. If you are going to go full steam and get all the seed pods you can manage, we suggest the “Try Everything” 54 seed pod package. The provide you with all the different plants and flowers you can handle.
You also get a discount if you use the subscription feature. Our review didn’t last long enough to fully explore this potion, but from our research, this looks great for people that want a reliable growing session on a schedule.
A quick word of caution: if you think you can grow anything in the Click & Grow, you may be surprised. Anything that is taller than around 11” may be hard to grow inside the system because of the LED arm.
That being said, one of our more garden-oriented review team members suggested using the device as a starter system for larger gardens as well. This means you grow something tall up to a certain level and then transplant it. The Click & Grow will ensure the seedling is strong and healthy before being moved to a more appropriate space.
Is the Click and Grow Worth It?
If we were looking purely at convenience and speed of delicious plant growth, then we would say 100% yes! This is worth your time and money.
However, if we look at the price, there is a 5% chance you may not want this system. The Click and Grow retail anywhere from $75 to $289, depending on the model you select. The Smart Garden 9 is set at $172.45, and that is a decent deal considering how much you can get from a single grow session.
Overall, we think this will be a financial benefit, especially for those savvy shoppers that prefer fresh, organic, or extremely healthy plants for meals.
The other part that makes this system so worth it is the size. You cannot go wrong with an at-home garden that fits into your smaller apartment or takes up minimal space in your recently renovated kitchen.
The pod subscription feature makes it easy to remember when you are changing to a new pod, and there is a loyalty program that rewards people who stick with the company for a long time. This includes exclusive birthday gifts, extended warranties, priority support team service, and much more.
You also get fantastic service overall. We had a blast testing out the various service, shipping, and delivery systems of the company. At every corner, they provide extraordinary customer support that is worthy of a 5-star resort. It is clear Click & Save cares about its brand image and customer interactions.
Click and Grow Testing
During our testing, we realized we couldn’t grow the plants in just one day. That said, we tracked the growth over several weeks to see how fast our plants grew. Below is the progression and to our surprise, they grew much faster than expected.
Day 1
Week 2
Week 5
Wrapping it Up
Overall, this is a fantastic at-home garden option for anyone (even if you don’t have a green thumb), regardless of living space. Click & Grow’s Smart Garden provides the average consumer with a wide variety of plants to choose from to grow your own food anywhere and uses advanced LED technology and complementary apps to lower maintenance needs so anyone, regardless of age, can take advantage of the system.
As far as our product review team is concerned, this is an excellent opportunity to supplement your regular meal planning. We purchased the Click & Grow Smart Garden for our office and have it set up in the break room area by the kitchen. This way, we can get all kinds of fresh items for our salads and snacks.
The Click and Grow is ideal for beginner gardeners although even the most experienced gardener will find this to be an amazing product. If you are looking for a gift, the Click and Grow 3 is a great idea for anyone who doesn’t have the space to support a garden. With great customer service and a great product, you’ll be happy you bought this.
