AeroGarden Harvest 2.0 Indoor Garden Hydroponic System with LED Grow Light, Holds up to 6 AeroGarden Pods, Black

I’ll preface by saying I’m a senior and a gadget guy. A year ago, I bought the Aerogarden Harvest (another gadget) on sale, but didn’t set it up for another 10 months. Why? Well, I sometimes buy things on sale, but really want them as a gift down the road for someone. Then, as a senior, I forgot about it until after Christmas. A few months later, I realized that the Aerogarden has a 12-month warranty, so I figured that I better get started with it. Unfortunately, the included pre-seeded herb pods looks like they were all opened, so I had no idea what I was really planting until they started to sprout and I did a lot of juggling their name stickers. The unit was brand new in its original packaging, but the seed pods were definitely tampered with. I’ll call this Harvest model the 1.0 to avoid confusion. Four of the six pods sprouted and I was happy with that. I could have contacted Aerogarden to get replacements, but I planned to get another Aerogarden, and I’d have more than enough things to plant, especially after I bought a lettuce greens pre-seeded pod kit. My wife saw what a fun time I was having with the Harvest 1.0, that she figured that she’d surprise me a 2.0 for Father’s Day. I had read about and watched review videos about the Harvest 2.0 being a dog of a system. I writing here to explain that in my limited experience, that’s not the case. One review mentioned the inconsistent grow light timing to the point that I thought it was going to be on a random schedule. That’s not what I experienced. There are instructions on how to set the 2.0 grow light and the two Harvests I own have the same exact 15-hour schedule down to the minute, but are set up differently from each other. My only fear about opening this present and making the return more difficult was that this person was correct and my light schedule would be based on random times. Nope, it works fine. I believe that this person may missed this point in the directions or received a defective unit. The same reviewer mentioned that his 2.0 unit did not come with clear grow covers for holding humidity and didn’t know if that was an error or if the unit wasn’t supposed to have the grow covers. The 2.0 doesn’t have the grow covers included. Several reviewers have also pointed out that the 2.0 only puts out 15w of light compared to the 20w of the 1.0. I’m not experienced enough with hydroponic gardens to know if this will be a significant Achilles heel going forward. It’s plenty bright and if I didn’t already own the 1.0, I wouldn’t even notice. The Harvest 2.0 doesn’t come with pre-seeded pods. It comes with six grow your own pods and a pack of Black Seeded Simpson lettuce. This setup has given me the experience setting up my own pods that I only used one pod for the included lettuce seeds, and used the other five to start growing my own select herbs and tomatoes. I plan to never purchase pre-seeded pods ago as this was so easy. A new user will probably want to simultaneously order either pre-seeded pods with herbs and/or vegetables to gain experience with growing something other than the included lettuce. I also noticed that the water pump is smaller than the 1.0 pump and has a correspondingly smaller sponge filter. I didn't notice the filter until the first cleaning because it's on the bottom of the removable pump rather than on the pump's side like the 1.0. I have no reservations about recommending the Harvest 2.0 as an introduction to hydroponics or to add to an experienced user’s collection.

I used the original Aerogarden Harvest for 3 years until the light died. Overall I have enjoyed aero gardening so I immediately looked for a replacement. The Harvest 2.0 sounded like an improved version and it was half the price. Cool! When it came in I realized that the only thing that was improved was the cost of manufacturing. The water sensor is now mechanical and much less obvious when it needs watering. If you are busy like, well, everybody a flashing light that you can see from across the room is much better than a clear plastic window that you have to check every few days. Overall this just feels cheaper than the original. But it still works. Things you need to know. - Basil grows best. If you keep after the pruning a set of 6 basil will go for almost a year. If you typically buy the bunches at the supermarket, this will save you money. - Growing most other things will probably cost more than just buying them but it is a fun hobby. - Make sure to trim the plants below the lights. I think my original Aerogarden died because the leaves grew to the lights and they overheated enough to burn out. - Trim the roots. If you don’t, eventually they will grow into both the pump and water sensor. The plants don’t seem to be bothered. - Buy an extra packet of seeds. I have had some pods that don’t sprout and I have had good luck getting replacements from Aerogarden. BUT, by the time you go through the waiting period and process the other plants are too tall and you can’t put the light low enough to get the new seeds to germinate. - It probably says it somewhere in the description, but this version doesn’t come with seeds or maybe a “bonus pack” of lettuce seeds. Comon guys. The cost of 36 basil seeds at the wholesale level is almost nothing! I planted all the seeds before I realized that they were lettuce and then pulled them all out and planted my own basil. - Look up some how-to videos. There is a lot of info on what works and what doesn’t on YouTube. I am trying small hot peppers in a different brand of hydroponic garden. - Some of the negative reviews on this are hilarious. I loved the one where some seeds didn’t germinate and they threw it in the trash because it was too complicated. If this is too complicated, I don’t think gardening is your thing. - There are a lot of comparable of better units out there from unknown brands. This is pretty decent for the price.

Purchased as a gift for my daughter-in-law. She loves it.

Worked great, but herbs always got too tall for the light.

I took off one star since the directions included with this grower are extensive but not detailed in the sense that it doesn't explain some things I learned after reading Amazon reviews. First of all, the light and pump will not turn on until you put water in it. The steps in the booklet tells you to put water in first, but doesn't tell you if you don't do that first, the light and pump won't go on. It's built with a sensor that tells the pump to run, and if the sensor senses there is no water in the reservoir, it will not turn on and neither will the light. So, for anyone wanting to test the power on the grower to ensure it works before using it, you can't test this item until you put it together and add water to it. Secondly, like another reviewer mentioned, once you have the water in it and plug it in, and when you put the light on its adjustable arm, you have to almost use your fist on the top of the light, and do a quick pound on the top of it to get the entire apparatus to light up and run. Make sure the light and its arm "snap" into place. The only way I could do it was to pound on the top of the light and then the light and pump automagically started up. This kit does not come with seeds. You need to buy your own. I live in Florida and planted partial sun-loving herbs that don't do well in my western exposure yard: thyme, cilantro, dill and parsley. The spearmint is slowly starting to come up and isn't shown in the photo but others are doing well.