The Hot list Part2: The Battle of the Towers

Originally published on July 13, 2022; Numbers 4 and 7 have been removed since they are no longer available

Quick Recap: LG = Lettuce Grow, TG = Tower Garden, AG = AeroGarden, C&G = Click and Grow

This Summer my LG produced tomatoes that reached the ceiling, my Gardyns delivered pounds of strawberries, my AG Farm churned out blue sweet corn and my Tower Garden showed that when it comes to peppers, it takes top marks.

The hydroponic towers on the market all make the same promises about growing your own food, feeding your family, and helping the planet. After owning several of the most popular systems for a while, it’s time to spill a whole pot of tea.

Be prepared for the good, the bad and the ugly. Okay kidding, it will be mostly good. Systems can receive up to 3 🔥 icons or none at all. A system that has missed the mark receives the ❄️ icon. To maintain objectivity and fairness, I will list the systems in the order that they were purchased.

Each system will be scored on the following 4 criteria:

1. Overall build quality and durability

2. Maintenance required to keep it pristine

3. Standalone (is it an all-in-one system) - Can it grow a variety of crops at the same time

4. Capacity - can it truly grow plants to full maturity in all available slots

𝟭. 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘆𝗻 🔥🔥

Overall build quality - 8 out of 10

Maintenance required - 6 out of 10

Standalone - 10 out of 10

Capacity - 9 out of 10

It’s iconic in its design, and it has a look that is timeless. It’s arguably the most beautiful of the towers. The Gardyn appeals to a lot of growers because the reservoir is 6 gallons, it’s 24 inches wide, and it can be placed against a wall. It’s the right size and it’s truly an indoor product.

The only tower with multiple columns, it’s my preferred system for vining plants like cucumbers and peas. The Gardyn is app controlled; a feature that makes it easy to check up on your plants. It’s a powerhouse for herbs and lettuce, and as I discovered this Summer, strawberries. It grows everything well enough, though some plants thrive more than others. The Gardyn is designed to be a one stop shop, a Farmer’s market that allows you to grow a variety of plants together. It delivers. It’s delightful. It’s calming.

Overall, it has one feature that most of the towers on the market lack. The Gardyn is the most intimate of the towers. Gardyners love their systems. It’s the user experience. The separation of the pods into their own slots, the height, and the naming of the AI all create a more user focused experience. If you comb through the Gardyners FB group, you will see a lot of “I love my Gardyn” posts.

I would like the company to focus less on the seeds and more on the AI. The AI should start talking like Alexa or something.  I need Kelby (that’s the AI’s name) to say “Good Morning Sophie, you can harvest your butterhead lettuce today. Enjoy your salad!”

Should you buy a Gardyn today if it’s on your list? Yes, but keep in mind that the company is young and still figuring out what works best. The Gardyn isn’t a big tank with holes on top for plants. It’s a bit more complicated in design, but it holds a lot of promise.

It has few flaws, but the few it has must be taken into account. Among towers, it is one of the higher maintenance systems. Depending on your climate, nutrient buildup and algae can become pain points. The company recommends a deep clean that requires taking the entire system apart. The constant handling of the Gardyn makes it prone to breaks and cracks.

Yes, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs with this product. But the Gardyn makes the hot list because it is disruptive.  I have more Gardyn towers than any other brand. I’ve never had the heart to sell one I created a listing and then deleted it  

𝟮. 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 🔥

Overall build quality - 8 out of 10

Maintenance required - 6 out of 10

Standalone - 8 out of 10

Capacity - 5 out of 10

The Rise Garden is quite pretty. Among the towers, it is unique because it is a multileveled horizontal system. Its biggest challenger has arrived on the market (see the C&G 25 below) and it will be interesting to see which one wins the race.

I think the plants in the Rise Garden are among the most beautiful. They take on a very lush shade of green. I like to call it the rainforest garden. It has an app, which tells you how much plant food to add. It’s also Alexa enabled.

The Rise Garden has a metal frame. The plants are in black trays and the water flows below them. The black trays mean algae isn’t an issue. But the trays are shallow. The plants grow beautifully, but over time the roots can become massive, blocking water flow.

Cleaning the Rise requires removing the plants and draining the trays. Then you have to clean the trays themselves. The tubing can get quite murky.

Like most horizontal systems, the capacity falls short. You won’t be growing 100 full sized plants, maybe 20 on a good day. It’s not a fault of the garden itself; it’s just the reality of how these horizontal systems with small net cups are spaced. But you can grow a variety of plants at the same time, which is equally as important as how many plants you can grow.

A pitfall in the design of the system is that you can’t stop the water. So, you can’t travel as much, unless you have someone to watch it. It only holds 7 gallons of water, and you will be refilling it very often when the plants are full sized. If water is always flowing, the risk of leaks is higher. Such is the case with this system. I’ve had several leaking episodes - on my hardwood floors.

I would like to see a smaller version, maybe 30 inches wide instead of 36. I would also like to see a stop switch for the water. But if you like systems that resemble furniture, it delivers. These gardens have a very commanding presence.

𝟯. 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 🔥🔥🔥

Overall build quality - 10 out of 10

Maintenance required - 9 out of 10

Standalone - 9 out of 10

Capacity - 10 out of 10

The LG not only physically towers over the other systems (it’s quite tall with the full 6 levels), it reigns supreme as the most reliable and efficient of all towers on the market. This garden is a powerhouse.

The photos on the company’s website need to be updated, because they don’t do the system any justice. When I first received it, I was absolutely shocked at how beautiful it is in person. The build quality is outstanding; it will grow old with me. On the website it looks like something from the Ghostbuster’s or a Pillsbury doughboy. In person it is a piece of modern art, a sculptural nod to simplicity. Stunning, stunning garden. If you don’t believe me, put it next to other systems and watch your guests fall in love with it. Children adore this system.

The LG is a low maintenance system. It has a 20-gallon tank, and each level can hold up to 6 plants. This is the “bigger is better” garden. Everything gets bigger than it’s supposed to when grown inside it. The plants grow rapidly in the LG. It’s my favorite system for lettuce, and my favorite system to harvest from because of the 360 designs.

There aren’t any flaws to the design of this system, and I say that with all honesty. It has some drawbacks/cons, but they are not design flaws. One could argue that not having a water level indicator or alarm is an issue. But I imagine that the designers didn’t want to allow light into the tank. Despite being all white, this garden has no algae.

First drawback is that it needs an open area; it can’t be placed against the wall. The second drawback is that it gets very heavy when the 20-gallon tank is full; you can’t really cart it around. The third drawback is that troubleshooting (nutrients, parts) etc. can be painful because of the large tank of water. The final drawback for indoor growers is that the lights can be restrictive for some plants. But considering that I have tomatoes touching my ceiling, you should take that last comment with a grain of salt.

It’s a pricey system, but it’s worth every penny. The bonus is that it can be used both indoors and outdoors. There’s no tech, no app, no bells and whistles. It’s just a master of what it promises to do, which is to grow a lot of food. In fact, it grows too much food.

𝟱. 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 🔥🔥

Overall build quality - 9 out of 10

Maintenance required - 8 out of 10

Standalone - 9 out of 10

Capacity - 9

Tower Garden systems are a good investment … but they are more suited to the outdoors. These are 360 gardens that cannot be placed against the wall. They’re well suited for basement and garage setups.

What I have experienced is exceptional growth, but they’re just too big.

The Flex model is 30 inches wide at the base. It looks great on a patio. But when you add the lights, which are adjustable and away from the tower itself, it’s just too big. The Home model is 6 inches narrower at the base measuring 24 inches, but with the lights added it takes up too much space. The Flex holds 20 gallons of water, and the home model holds 13 gallons.

They’re not the prettiest to look at, but they rival the power of the LG. These systems can also produce too much food. I was blown away the cauliflower I grew.

They’re generally low maintenance. The lid of the Flex can get dirty from leaves and flowers that fall from fruiting plants. Also, the creases between levels can suffer from nutrient buildup. Otherwise, no complaints.

The company offers an interest free payment plan to all buyers. It would be nice to see other companies do the same.

Love the TGs for the patio, basement, porch or backyard. As an outdoor hydroponic system this system is just as good as the LG.

𝟲. 𝗔𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺 (discontinued) 🔥🔥

Overall build quality - 10 out of 10

Maintenance required - 8 out of 10

Standalone - 7 out of 10

Capacity - 5

The AG Farm is like a best friend you’ve had since childhood. It really is one of the best hydroponics systems on the market. It’s well-built, reliable, low maintenance, and easy to use. This is a system that will always perform well, producing high quality food.

It’s a very well-engineered system, having some of the best lights on the market. My only complaint is the discontinuation of the white models. The white with grey trim elevates the design. The black systems are beautiful, but perhaps they should use a more matte finish to make it look more modern. Looks matter because these are big systems, and if they’re in your house you also want them to look nice.

Looks aside, its performance is among the best. There’s nothing it can’t grow. It’s heaven for peppers and tomatoes. Lettuce gets deeply pigmented in these systems. It’s my favorite system for growing red lettuce.

The XL models have 36 inches (3 feet) of grow height. This is ideal for cucumbers, dwarf corn and the quinoa and sesame plants I’m currently growing.

So what’s the shortcoming? The Achilles heel of the Farm model is capacity. The reality is that an AG 24 can grow 8 plants maximum without massive overcrowding and constant refilling. This means you would need 3-4 of these to match the capacity of a single vertical tower.

The other consideration is that because the plants share a reservoir for every 12 holes, you can’t grow a variety of plants in the same unit. In other words, peppers must be grown separately from tomatoes and so on.

My overall recommendation is still highly favorable. Why? Because it works. Plant your favorite peppers and tomatoes in them and you’ll have a constant supply for months or even years.

𝟴. 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺 (tbd)

𝟵. 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝟮𝟱 🔥🔥🔥

Overall build quality - 10 out of 10

Maintenance - 10 out of 10

Standalone - 10 out of 10

Capacity - 9 out of 10

Click and Grow is the Apple of the hydroponics market. The design, the quality and even the packaging is a clear cut above the rest. While some companies ship their products in cardboard boxes with very little branding, C&G products arrive in perfectly designed and customized packages.

Out of the box, their systems stand out in terms of their build quality and durability. They are built to last and the beauty - a mix of minimalism and Scandinavian design - is immediately noticeable.

This garden is designed to solve your leafy green needs. Each week you plant 5 new plants, and you slide the previous trays to the right. At week 5, you harvest your first 5 plants and start another set of 5. From that point onwards, you will harvest 5 plants per week. I’ve done it, it works. I’ve used it for 2 grow cycles now. I had arugula, red lettuce, green lettuce, romaine lettuce, and green chard. And for the tech lovers, this system can be app controlled.

This is the other disruptive system in the list. This garden is a complete game changer. Like all C&G systems, it’s pump free, and you just add water. If you’re just adding water, there isn’t really much maintenance required. Pour some hydrogen peroxide in the reservoir weekly and you will generally be fine.

The garden itself is solid. It’s a mixture of a metal frame with beautiful hardwood and plastic components. It mimics the Rise Garden in looks, but that’s where it stops. There’s no pump, so there’s no leaking. The garden is stackable allowing you to create a plant wall. So each unit in a stacked setup will have its own reservoir.

Is it a standalone system? For greens, yes, it is. That’s what it was built for. Herbs would also be wonderful.

However, I will say that the lights are quite powerful. So, I will definitely be filling it with fruiting plants at some point in the future.

Last but not least is the issue of capacity. It gets a solid 9, because you have to keep up with the harvests otherwise it will get crowded. Like all C&G products, it uses 2-inch pods. You will refill at least weekly when the plants are mature, but all you’re doing is adding water.

C&G products have always been picked up by the fancy stores like West Elm and Nordstrom. This one will be no exception. It’s worth saving for.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 💭

I feel like I wrote a book. This isn’t meant to bash or promote any systems. I love almost all of my towers. What I hope is that these descriptions help you to see the differences between the systems, so that you can weigh the pros and cons of each.

Well, I’m waiting for a few new systems to ship. It will be interesting to see how they compare to these OG systems.

And in case you’re wondering where I keep so many systems, I’m actually a minimalist. I don’t keep floor lamps anymore; these systems have replaced them. The same for side tables and so on. I’d rather have living decor.  These gardens feed us both literally and emotionally, while functioning as showstoppers and conversation pieces. I really believe that homes of the future will have dedicated grow rooms built into the floor plans.

As Always,

Happy Gardening 🌱💚🌿