But what exactly is a Smart Garden and do they work? The Gardens Illustrated<\/em> team tried them out for you and here\u2019s what we discovered.<\/p>\n Click and Grow\u2019s Smart Garden 27: can it feed the family?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Jump to<\/strong><\/p>\n A Smart Garden is an indoor garden, usually housed in a small-ish plastic box, which has an inbuilt grow light, space for growing \u2018pods\u2019, or soil<\/a>, and seeds. It will indicate when water is low \u2013 either by connecting to your phone via an app, or by visual means, with a counter. It provides the amount of light needed to grow your crops, and so doesn\u2019t need to be placed near a windowsill.<\/p>\n There are many varying sizes of Smart Garden on the market, including the family-sized Smart Garden 27 from Click and Grow<\/a>, which we have also tested. A smart garden can stretch to tomatoes<\/a>, but in most Smart Gardens you\u2019d grow herbs<\/a>, or salad leaves. Obviously no root vegetables \u2013 think crops that don\u2019t take up too much root space.<\/p>\n The answer to this depends a little on the type of model you have, but mostly a Smart Garden is a vessel of sorts, that is connected to a power source, which has space for growing \u2018pods\u2019 already containing seed \u2013 or space for soil (and seeds). You pour water into the chamber of the vessel and the water is fed to the plants as they grow. An integrated overhead lamp provides enough light for as long as is needed for your plants. Sometimes Smart Gardens don\u2019t use soil and just rely on water \u2013 hydroponics \u2013 but the new models mostly all use soil, or a growing media that isn\u2019t just water.<\/p>\n Several of the new Smart Gardens connect with your phone to provide easy care. You can be alerted when the water is low, for example. Many still simply use a way of telling you that the water tank needs a top up.<\/p>\n These are little pods of soil or growing media containing seeds, usually provided as part of your Smart Garden kit, that slot into the vessel. The pods proved with the Click + Grow Smart Garden are specially formulated to provide the maximum nutrients needed for your plants. Some Smart Gardens provide the growing media, but not the seeds, as with the Urban Plant Growers Indoor Smart Garden Combo kit below. You can select the pods (crops you want to grow) you want when you buy the Smart Garden, or you can buy them later, once you\u2019re initial pods have run out. There are also various pod subscriptions, so you can keep getting send pods in the post.<\/p>\n As you\u2019ll see in our product tests below, each Smart Garden does something slightly different. But overall Smart Gardens are created for those of us who have little or no access to outdoor soil for growing, who have little time available to grow your own, but would still like the benefit of homegrown crops. They can be good for starting out children on a growing journey, and for people who live in flats who have enough space on a worktop to house a herb area.<\/p>\n Some Smart Gardens come with an app, a little like the Click and Grow Smart Garden 9 tested below, but rather than alert you when your Smart Garden needs attention, it\u2019s more a guide on how to care for your plants. The Click and Grow Smart Garden 9 PRO, which we haven\u2019t tested, can be controlled by an app: you can adjust the light levels from your phone and set the light cycle up using it too. The app technology seems at its early days, however, so most Smart Gardens don\u2019t have an accompanying app as yet.<\/p>\n How we tested<\/strong><\/p>\n Each Smart Garden was tested by an individual on the team.\u00a0 <\/p><\/div> <\/section> What\u2019s in the box?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Pods\/seeds included?<\/strong> Yes Buy now<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Pros:<\/strong> stylish look, plants germinated successfully All of the seeds we germinated in the Click and Grow Smart Garden 9 and grew well (the company offers to replace any plants that do not sprout) and within around four weeks we had lettuce leaves to harvest \u2013 enough for one large salad. The basil was by far the most useful plant grown, as it could be picked from over a long period of time, when needed. The tomatoes took around eight weeks to produce any tiny fruits. They will probably produce a handful of mini tomatoes in total.<\/p>\n However the LED grow light is extremely bright and there\u2019s no on\/off switch on the lamp, so if you want to sync it with the sun you\u2019ll need to make sure you plug it in initially at the correct time (it is on for 16 hours and off for eight). The water tank holds enough water for a month, but it is difficult to tell when the tank is filled up fully \u2013 the floating ball does not seem to rise, even when several litres of water have been added to it.<\/p>\n At \u00a3195.95, this smart garden is not a cheap option, especially when you can buy the same produce all year around at the supermarket at a fraction of the price. This smart garden works best for growing herbs, which you can snip from as you need them, and would come into its own in winter when light levels are low. There is an accompanying app but it does not control the smart garden and instead aims to make you a \u2018plant expert\u2019.<\/p>\n Plants you can grow:<\/strong> 50+ options, including herbs, salad, lavender and wild strawberries. Looking for our full review of the Click and Grow Smart Garden 27?<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is a Smart Garden?<\/h2>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What can you grow in a Smart Garden?<\/h3>\n
How does a Smart Garden work?<\/h3>\n
What are Smart Garden pods?<\/h3>\n
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<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>Is a Smart Garden for you?<\/h3>\n
Do Smart Gardens work with an app?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The best Smart Garden to buy for your home<\/h2>\n
Click and Grow Smart Garden 9<\/h3>
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