GardenCube 8 hole unit

[JayneR13]

So my 7 hole IDOO unit went on the fritz, and I decided to replace it. The pump had been replaced and I had to turn on the lights 3x yesterday before they'd stay on, and the unit was making strange unaccounted-for noises. It was 2 years old and I was never very fond of that unit anyway, so I bought a Garden Cube 8 hole unit on sale.

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As you can see, it has a nice window up front to take the guesswork out of watering. The stuff you see behind the plastic are accessories, which interestingly enough, didn't include any pre-made seed pods. Baskets and sponges, yes. Seeds, no. Which is fine, I have plenty. Besides, the AG seed pods all molded. Who needs that?

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The control panel is integrated into the light. Oh well. I'm thinking this unit isn't meant to have its parts replaced. Their store on Amazon sells consumables and whole units, not replacement parts. At this price point ($40) no surprise there.

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Nice baskets, compatible with my IDOO and AG units. This was one of the things that frustrated me about the 7 hole IDOO: no cross-compatibility. I notice that unit is no longer available for sale, so I'm guessing I wasn't the only one frustrated with it.

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Very nicely balanced nutrient solution that tested at a solid pH 7. At $10 for a reasonable amount of replacement solution, I'll consider it. My home brew is cheap and complete but tests a bit more acidic.

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All set up and ready to go! I've planted this one with herbs, since I have greens in the larger unit and just replanted the AG with tomatoes. Two kinds of basil, arugula, molokhia, sculpit, and rosemary. Yes I left two holes empty. I've found over the years that planting all of the spots yields over-crowded plants. All of these seeds came from the MMMM swap.

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My 12 hole IDOO, which is producing plenty for sandwiches! Not quite free but not as expensive as store-bought, and no worries about E. coli or Listeria recalls.

Has anyone ever tried the GardenCube units? What did you think of them? Pointers or things to look out for?

[ddsack]

Interesting! Thanks for posting. So far I have not been tempted to try one of these, but you are pushing me close to the tipping point! Would love to hear from others who have had one for a while, pros and cons and how long you have had your units.

[JayneR13]

I've had my IDOO units for almost exactly 2 years. I bought the Aerogarden a few months ago. I'm finding all of them easy to set up and use, and easy to maintain. There's truth in the idea that greens are cheap at the farmer's market however. I can buy a bag of lettuce or spinach for $2, but I'm one person and half the bag ends up in the compost pile. Not only that, but where do I get fresh greens in winter? These produce enough that I just cut & come again when I'm ready, and they produce through the winter.

Each brand has its pros & cons. Aerogardens are expensive, but the parts can be replaced albeit not cheaply. The off brands I've tried have been much cheaper and have held up well. My 12 hole IDOO has been going for 2 1/2 years. My Garden Cube turned on this morning without a problem. The 7 hole IDOO was always a bit of a problem that way. I purchased small aquarium pumps for the IDOO units for $10 each, while AG sells theirs for $15. They were likely both made in China. Consumables are another consideration. AG and IDOO nutrient solutions are more expensive than GC, and making my own is the least expensive option. However, my own solution is a bit acidic so I have to buffer it myself with baking soda. But it works.

I too would love to hear other's experience. What's the fun of a gardening board if we can't share experiences?

[Labradors]

I always thought AG's were silly - until Black Friday when I bought my first Aerogarden Harvest and grew some fantastic lettuce! Hubby loved it and harvested a few leaves every day for lunch. We also had enough for a weekly salad.

I now have 2 Harvests, 2 Bounty's and lots of Kraty jars. Lettuce, Basil and Cilantro were easy to grow. Spinach was tricky, even after pre-germinating the seeds in damp paper towel in a baggie. The leaves were too skinny. Perpetual Spinach did ok, but I probably planted too many pods as the leaves were small. I planted them out in the garden and they did a lot better.

I think the AG's are great units, and have heard that they are more reliable than other brands. However, I've heard that people love Mufga units and there are some amazing sales - if you live in the US.

Kratky jars are fun for growing basil and other stuff that has out-grown the AG. I grew two "House" tomato plants, one in a glass gallon-sized jar, and the other in a quart-sized mason jar. They are still going strong after 6 months. I also tried cucumbers in gallon jars, but was hit with spider mites so, although two of them grew 4' tall with lots of flowers and little cukes on them, I only got to harvest one mingy little cucumber. This will be a project for next winter!

[JayneR13]

@Labradors do you have any issues adding nutrients to your Kratkys and having the plants immediately die? I've grown a number of things that way, but only through the first round of nutrients. I'd add the second batch and the plants would shrivel and die. I'm a believer in bleach too so I don't think I had a microorganism problem. ??

[Labradors]

JayneR13 I wonder if the water level was too high? When first setting it up, the water level should be about 1/4 inch over the bottom of the net cup. For the first fill-up, depending where the roots are, I usually allow a two inch gap between the bottom of the basket and the water level. I found it difficult to figure out at first, so I worked out where the level should be and applied masking tape to the outside of the jar to make it easy to see. Something that hydroponic plants don't like is to get their air roots wet. I always lift them up, and I use a waterer with a thin spout so that I can aim the water/nutrients away from the air roots. I don't use bleach, but I use covers to keep out the light. A couple of jars have been painted. Green doggy bags don't work . HTH.

[rossomendblot]

The containers I use for Kratky basil are 5 litre mayonnaise tubs from a local cafe. They are white plastic, so they let a bit of light in. I've wrapped them all in foil, including the lid, and it works really well to prevent algae.

[JayneR13]

Indeed, I've never had an algae problem in Kratky jars. A good cleaning to begin with and a bit of peroxide in the solution, and problem solved! And of all of the opinions I found on the Internet while researching the matter, I never saw anyone mention keeping the air roots dry. I'll have to try that, if I ever try Kratkys again. Right now the three hydroponics units are keeping me in greens, herbs, and micro-tomatoes!

One problem I've had with my Harvest is that crusty, yellow mineralization all around the outer edges. I just replanted that one after giving it a good cleaning and haven't seen it so far (fingers crossed) but it didn't seem to bother the plants. An unbelievable number of my sponges molded though, which does cut into production. I cover them with tape and they still molded. This morning three of my five planted pods are up, so we'll see what happens. That's two micro-tomatoes and one choy sum up in five days, which is better than the original free herb kit did by a long shot! I use bleach to clean out the units, baskets, etc between plantings, then a shot of peroxide in the nutrient solution at each refill. Unlike in-soil gardening, microorganisms are NOT a good thing!