Smart Garden 9 – Full Review & Personal Experience

Disclaimer: I was provided this product, at no cost to me, for the purposes of reviewing and creating content. There were no strings attached and no caveat that I provide a “favorable” review. If you decide to purchase your own Click and Grow system based on this honest review, I’ll earn a small commission *thank you*.

Due to my interest in finding an uncomplicated, trendy, low-maintenance, intelligent hydroponic system, I came across Click and Grow. I want to clarify this with the necessary legal disclosure.

Now, let’s get into the product you came to learn about.

First Impressions: Click and Grow Smart Garden 9

I just unboxed my Smart Garden 9 (aka SG9) about 30 minutes ago, so these are truly my initial reactions.

• The build quality and enginerring were very thoughtfully done. Starting with the packaging and labeling and on to the actual unit itself.
• Assembly and setup was super easy. If I wasn’t recording the process, it would have taken less than 5 minutes to unbox, install plant pods, and fill the water resevior.
• The system seems super simple to operate and keep up with. There’s no on/off button and no special app you need to run the thing. There’s a built-in 16-hour timer that starts when you plug it in.

Questions I had:

These are just a few things I wasn’t sure about either because it wasn’t covered in the instructions OR I just glanced over and totally missed in the process. I’ll include the answers, but just know they were added after researching them.

• Do I need to add nutrients or plant food to the water in the Smart Garden 9? According to their Knowledge Base, they’ve added any minerals the plants need to grow, to the plant pods. So no need to fertilize the system with nutrients. We’ll see about that :).
• Should I arrange the plant pods in any specific order to allow for best growth?
• What are the plant pods made from? The grow medium in the plant pods is made from a “smart soil” nano-material that includes nutrents to feed the plants as they grow.
• Are the lights adjustable? Yes they are – now I just have to figure out how.
• How and how often should the resevior be cleaned?
• Can I use my own plugs (ie. Rapid Rooters) in this system?

Unique Features

What is it that makes this such a popular indoor smart garden? What attracted people to it?

Here are some of the highlights of this garden from my perspective and that of the company.

• Automatic Watering: Each grow cup in the system has a build-in wick that draws water up from the 1-gallon resivior. This waters the plant automatically.
• Pro Grow Lights: It’s nice that the grow lights are built into the system because that’s something new growers stuggle with – which lights…and how much light?
• Nutrients and Root Oxygen Levels: With the smart soil used and the design of the water resivoir, both of these are (theorietically) taken care of for you.
• Plant Pods: They have 50+ pre-seeded plant pods to choose from OR you can buy their empty pods and add your own seeds.
• Beautiful Design: Clean, simple, stylish. I love the design of this thing. I’m just hoping the results match the looks!

How The Smart Garden 9 Works

This is one of the things that attracted me to this growing system in the first place. It’s just so simple.

• Step 1: Unbox your system
• Step 2: Figure out the arrangement of the plants you want to grow
• Step 3: Label the plants to you remember what you planted (ha, been there before)
• Step 4: Drop your plant pods in and add the included germination domes
• Step 5: Fill with water (I used filtered water, but distilled water is probably even better)
• Step 6: Plug it in (remember to time properly since it has a 16-hour on, 8-hour off built-in timer)

The hardest thing for me was figuring out where to put the thing. You want to make sure it’s somewhere that won’t disturb you at night because the lights are pretty bright.

I started my timer (plugged the system in) at 5am. So it will run all day and turn off at 9pm.

But if you set it up somewhere like an office or the basement, the on/off schedule might not matter as much.

What’s Included

I decided to get the SG9, which has spots to grow 9 plants. When you order, you’ll first choose the color you want: White, Grey, or Beige. I went with White because it fits my style the best. Super clean and blends into any environment well.

Each box includes:

• Smart Garden 9
• Full-color instructions with simple illustrations for easy setup
• 9 plant pods to get you started (3 x mini tomato, 3 x green lettuce, 3 x basil)

System Specs

If you need more info, you can actually see the whole product manual here.

Quick Unboxing Video

What Do I Think?

Being that I just set this system up, I don’t have a ton to add here aside from what was said in my first impressions above. But I’ll be adding to this section and updating as I use the product more.

All Click and Grow Products

• Smart Garden 3 – Smaller footprint, same great features of the SG9, but only has 3 grow sites. Check it out here.
• Smart Garden 9 – Ths focus of this article and the product that put Click and Grow on the map. Check it out here.
• Smart Garden 9 PRO – Very similar to the SG9, but with the addition of App-controlled lighting. This gives you more control of the growing environment of your plants by setting your own light schedule. Check it out here.
• Smart Garden 27 – Take the SG9, multiply by 3, add a stylish stand, and you have the SG27. 27 grow sites in one great looking system. Check it out here.
• Wall Farm Vertical Garden – Alright, this takes things to the next level. But if you’re looking to grow yields of veggies indoors, this is a really cool option.

More Interesting Info

• BPA-Free – all of their products and materials used are BPA-free.
• Due to customs regulations for plants and seeds they don’t ship our products to Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and Brazil.

Updates

Day 0

I planted the pods for Strawberries, Lemon Balm, Holy Basil, Mint, and Tomato, filled the reservoir with water, and covered the plugs with their humidity domes.

Day 10

10 days after putting the plant pods into the system, the tomatoes broke through the surface and sprouted.

Day 30

After 30 days, the strawberries and mint are struggling with germination. At this point, I don’t expect the remaining 2 strawberry pods or the mint to germinate. The tomatoes, on the other hand, are looking great and super healthy.

I’ll be contacting Click and Grow about the strawberries not germinating and see if they’ll send a replacement plant.