Review: Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Harvest Wi-Fi—An easy-to-use, app-connected hydroponic garden.
WIRED—February 21, 2018
One of the enduring memories my New York years was seeing the blue glow of Times Square from 20 blocks south.
“That’s where the aliens land,” I’d joke. And now, for most of the day, my living room feels nearly that bright.
Under a tiny canopy of red, white, and blue LEDs, six “pods” have gone from plastic dome-covered plugs of peat to a miniature herb garden. It’s a little hydroponic setup that has become a glowing companion in Seattle’s maddeningly wet winter.
A veritable conversation piece, my Miracle-Gro AeroGarden is, in essence, an extremely well-lit plastic tub that now produces dill, mint, parsley, thyme, and two kinds of basil. It connects to the internet, there’s a little built-in control panel, and it uses a mobile app that would feel like overkill except that it’s fairly unobtrusive. During Seattle’s insanely gray January, my herbs got 17 hours of light—an hour more than the Emerald City’s longest summer day—along with a trickle of water pumped to each individual pod for five minutes every hour. The pods cost a couple dollars each, come in sets, and get customized treatment from the machine depending on if they’re flowers, lettuce, or herbs.
Are you ready for Times Square in your kitchen? Read on and find out in WIRED.
