Are you a person with a passion for greens indoors? And not having a green thumb for maintaining your own indoor garden and growing plants? Then, you have a number of hi-tech, fully automated indoor gardening systems that are capable of satisfying your passion for green. Here, we have two top-rated indoor planters on the market: iHarvest and Gardyn.
These smart indoor vertical planters are two trending vertical gardens with a lot of takers and fanbases across the US. Some other alternative models you can find over there are from brands like AeroGarden, Click and Grow, Rises Gardens, and more.
In this quick Gardyn and iHarvest comparison article, I would like to have a detailed look at the two famous smart vertical planters for indoors. Let us see how these planters, or, better say, gardening appliances, help you grow greens, fruits, and vegetables inside your home with no worries about watering and sunlight.
iHarvest Smart Garden At a Glance
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Gardyn Smart Garden At a Glance
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Gardyn Indoor Garden
Gardyn is an advanced, AI-powered vertical indoor planter.
It is a highly sophisticated 30-plant gardening system that is engineered to help you nourish plants indoors even if you don’t have a green thumb.
The technology behind Gardyn is very simple. It works on a hydroponic system, which, as you know, doesn’t need soil or fertilizer other than what is included in the ready-made seedpods.
The roots mostly collect nutrients from the water, which gets pumped up from the bottom water tank and trickled down from the top.
Branded as yCubes, the ready-to-use seedpods come in an assortment of a variety of seeds.
They include herbs, fruits, leafy greens, basil, cherry tomatoes, thyme, mint, and a lot more. All are indeed organic, non-GMO seeds, and you can pick the ones you want. Check out the link below to order a unit of Gardyn.
How Does It Work?
The workings of Gardyn are simple. You just need to insert the seed-carrying yCubes into their respective columns on the system and fill the reservoir with fresh water.
Once you plug it into a power socket, it starts to run by distributing the water required for the seeds to sprout.
Water is the medium that carries the required nutrients for the plant roots as they grow up.
You have the plants in a special rock wool medium, but their roots go beyond collecting the nutrients in the flowing water.
Gardyn has advanced grow lights that can mimic natural light so that the plants will be able to grow exactly as they do outside. The included AI-based sensor helps you track the operation of the garden by providing you with timely updates, warnings, and tips.
iHarvest Indoor Garden
iHarvest is yet another popular 30-plant vertical indoor garden.
It is also an ultimate, fully-contained gardening solution that will take up only 2.5 square feet of space to grow up to 30 plants. As a totally automatic system, it requires minimal effort from your side to nurture your favorite plants indoors.
At the same time, like all modern indoor gardens, it can offer up to 30 to 50% better yield than classic agriculture outside. As you can see, iHarvest also works on a hydroponic system for gardening.
That is indeed the best way to grow plants indoors, as it will ensure the right amount of water and nutrients for the plant roots.
Moreover, iHarvest highlights an elegant and sleek design.
It can ideally fit any space in your interior, and a fully-flourished iHarvest can be a stunning piece of attraction. That said, along with adding charm to your interior, it will also supply you with quality homegrown greens, veggies, and fruits throughout the year.
How Does It Work?
iHarvest has exactly the same working principle as Gardyn. Both are hydroponic systems.
But iHarvest is a rather simple solution with a modular feature to expand its size further to accommodate more plants.
It also pumps up the water from the bottom tank to the top and trickles down to nourish the plant roots. A pair of 36-watt LED bars provide the essential lighting for plants to survive and thrive indoors.
Of course, the system has harnessed the advancements in lighting and pumping technologies to realize an ideal atmosphere for plants to grow as they do outdoors, or rather efficiently.
Overall, it consumes a total of 72 watts, and so what you get is a highly energy-efficient system for indoor gardening. The automated lights turn off and on at the right intervals to mimic the sun and give a real boost to the plants.
Gardyn and iHarvest: Features
As you can see, both Gardyn and iHarvest are hydroponic vertical indoor gardens for up to 30 plants. However, there are many notable differences between them. Let us check out some in our Gardyn vs. iHarvest article here.
When it comes to Gardyn, it is indeed the most sophisticated of the duo. The AI-powered gardening system has Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can have full control of it on your phone, thanks to the included mobile app.
The mobile app, with the help of the AI sensor, is capable of bringing you important notifications on requirements like when to refill the water, when to harvest the yield, and when to clean the tank. It certainly gives Gardyn a clear edge over iHarvest, which is a simple system with lots of other exciting features.
Yes, iHarvest is a simple gardening system but is unique with a better width, a large water reservoir, and a trailer system to support heavy plants like tomatoes, eggplants, and more.
iHarvest is 32 inches wider, while Gardyn is compact and sleek at 24 inches. Plus, iHarvest highlights a flexible lighting system. You can move it closer and further to regulate the desired lighting over your plants.
The pump of Gardyn is totally noise-free, while iHarvest produces a soothing sound when it works, but many of its customers are in love with the gentle sound. So, you can choose a model based on your preference for sound.
Gardyn and iHarvest: The Water Tank
Yet another advantage iHarvest has over Gardyn is its bigger 14-gallon tank with a big opening.
It is when Gardyn has a small 6-gallon tank and a small opening. But Gardyn compensates for this to an extent with its little water storage containers under each net cup for the roots.
Those containers help Gardyn contain a little bit of water underneath every plant.
In the event of a blackout lasting two or three days, plants can feed on the water, so there are no worries about the health of your plants. With the small cups for storage, the Gardyn pump needs to operate only once in a while.
However, refilling Gardyn with water and nutrients is not easy because of its small tank and opening. iHarvest has such a bigger tank and opening that you can even fix an oxygen pump in it to further boost your plant growth.
Gardyn and iHarvest: Specs Sheet
In terms of specs, Gardyn has a size of 24 x 12 x 64 inches, and it weighs 20 lbs. The LED lights are a pair of 60W units, and two 5MP cameras are also part of the indoor garden.
The tank is made of UV-stabilized, recyclable, and BPA-free plastic. Meanwhile, yCubes are made of compostable corn-based plastic. For connectivity, it has an 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless network that needs a band of 2.4 GHz.
Coming to iHarvest, it has a size of 32 x 14 x 60 inches. The two LEDs have 72 watts of power, and they can deliver up to 8000 lumens of brightness. You can adjust the lighting by moving the light bars closer and further apart.
Both systems offer attractive subscriptions for their customers to deliver the seedpods and other accessories. The brands have an awesome collection of organic seeds for you to grow and collect quality yields.
Gardyn and iHarvest: Price and Availability
Gardyn is the priciest of the duo. The starter kit comes at $899, and advanced options can be costlier as per your membership terms. It is when iHarvest starts at $849, which is $50 cheaper than its competitor.
Both brands deliver their products to the USA in two to three days.
iHarvest Vs Gardyn Reviews: Original Reviews on Youtube
In this part of the article, we would like to have a go-through of some of the most-watched original reviews on YouTube about iHarvest and Gardyn. Of course, this will help you choose the right product for your needs with more clarity and insight into the real features and user experiences.
iHarvest Vs Gardyn Comparison with Aerogarden Farm XL
A video comparing the three smart home gardens by Lynn on her channel Plant4Table is the most-watched video on YouTube about these products. Lynn has compared all the major aspects of popular home garden systems with real-world experience of over six months, and her video has been watched by around 60K people as of writing this.
She starts the video by ranking the home gardens based on their aesthetic feel. To her, Gardyn is the most beautiful one of the three, as it features a well-built and sophisticated design. Its warm yellow lighting and wooden tank cover are the two main points that strike her eyes.
She also notes the cool silver tone of the light bar, which, according to her, gives Gardyn a really plush look. Plus, the system is easy to use as it can be fully controlled on a mobile app, and it does not have many physical buttons.
Coming to iHarvest, Lynn has ranked the system second in the aesthetic part, but it is above Aerogarden, though. She was really excited to see her iHarvest like a green carpet of edibles when it was put to grow some lettuce and mixed greens. The white light of iHarvest and the movable lighting bar are other notable attractions to her eyes.
Notably, at the end of the video, Lynn recommends iHarvest as it leaves a customer with no ties with the vendor. The user doesn’t need to keep a subscription with the maker, like many other brands, for replacements and refills. Even if the water pump is broken, users can get a new one from Amazon for just $20.
Final Thoughts
That has been our take on Gardyn and iHarvest’s vertical home gardens. We have had a detailed look at all the aspects of the two incredible indoor garden systems. Both systems share a lot of things in common; however, Gardyn seems to be the pick for a tech-savvy person. Meanwhile, iHarvest is a simple system for growing your plants.
Liam Eck is a full-time blogger who is passionate about green and sustainable lifestyle inventions and products. At PureInvents, he covers the topics of green technology, alternative energy, solar energy storage systems, and other smart and green inventions. #Contact Liam at liameck@pureinvents.com – Twitter – Reddit
