inbloom Hydroponics Growing System 10 Pods, Herb Garden Kit inoor with Pump System, Germination Kit with LED Light, Automatic Timer, Black

This item ships from the US with no modification for UK market. I had to buy a power adaptor in order to be able to plug it in. Doesn't quite have the build quality I'd hoped for - having bought a branded item rather than a cheap clone - and the instructions are rather confusing. But having said that it seems to be working fine so far.

This hydroponic setup is literally the easiest and most functional compact gardening solution I have ever heard of, let alone bought for less than $100! I’ve always struggled with gardening because I inevitably get the soil balance wrong, mess up the watering schedule or just generally have no idea what I’m doing. But not with the Inbloom! I managed to grow a decent stock of oregano, some really nice parsley and cilantro, and a truly monstrous amount of basil. The light is pretty bright, so be sure not to leave it near anything that could be damaged by UV exposure. The pump is surprisingly quiet, though nose sensitive people will still notice it. (It’s easily blocked out by pretty much any set of headphones on a low volume.) I got the largest model and it’s the perfect size to sit on a 50 inch desk next to my computer. Thus far I haven’t had any trouble with needing to replace parts, etc. – in fact it seems pretty sturdy!

Not had a chance to use the machine because it came only with a US plug, which I believe is a breach of the Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1987.

So where do I start. First of all I have no green thumb whatsoever, I’ve killed a cactus okay let’s get real here. I’ve been wanting to grow a garden at home but either wild life gets to my seedlings or I’m just to involved in my own life that I forget to take care of them so there’s that. The ladies I work with have their own hydroponic systems in their office and told me to get one and try it out. So here I was looking on Amazon searching high and low reading reviews etc. I came across this company, InBloom, and honestly what caught my eye was the super adorable rounded design of the whole system and the nice wood accent at the bottom with white and black color options, also couldn’t beat the price. So I placed my order and sat around staring out the window when it’ll be delivered, okay not really but I’m sure yall can relate. The day finally came I unboxed it all and it was super easy to put together mix all the plant food. It was great it came in with everything but the seeds, no biggie. So the pictures you see within a couple of days my seeds popped greenies, then within a week I had plants, then another week they grew taller the last few pics you see is all within a week they shot up so quickly I had to raise the light, yes it goes up and down! The buttons are easy to read and I just pushed the power on button and pressed vegetables setting and off these little seedlings went. Also I have to say the silent pump is awesome, it threw me in for a loop at first because I didn’t know it was working as you can’t hear it. Overall I am so satisfied with this product and also their customer service is on point! I was having issues registering my product warranty and they were like no problem send us your screen shot of order and email phone number and we got you covered. So needless to say I am DEFINITELY purchasing from inbloom and probably going to get another hydroponic set up from them! 5 stars all day!

I’ve tested both the 5-pod and 10-pod Inbloom smart gardens and they both offer great value for anyone not wanting to spend a lot of money on tabletop hydroponic gardens. The 5-pod garden is cute and well-designed. It feels like a step ahead of the larger garden in some design aspects, but the 10-pod garden fills an important role, too. The LED light panel and extending arm in the 5-pod garden are better than the 10-pod garden. The range of heights goes from zero (really!) up to 17 inches. The 10-pod LED panel only provides a minimum of 7” from the deck, which is a disadvantage for seedlings. When starting seeds, the ability to lower the LEDs to a few inches above the plants may make the difference between leggy plants stretching for light and bushy plants. They’ve also designed the extending arm of the LED panel with all the wiring inside the arm as opposed to the slightly unsightly wires outside the arm of the larger garden. The maximum height of the arm in the 5-pod garden is 17” so herbs, lettuces, greens, and most flowers will be fine, but I wouldn’t use this for fruiting plants like tomatoes, peppers, or cucumbers. There are some varieties of dwarf plants that would fit under the 17” maximum height, but I would suggest the larger garden, with the larger reservoir, for that type of plant. I grew shishito peppers in the 10-pod garden and was glad to have the 21” of space that garden provided, as the plants reached that height easily. The small reservoir in the 5-pod garden will need to be refilled regularly and they recommend adding nutrients with every top-up. This is a good workaround for the lack of a “add nutrients” automatic reminder found in the name-brand gardens. The water-level indicator in the small garden is more elegant than the one found on the 10-pod version but both do the job. The 5-pod garden does not have a drain plug, so you have to tip out the water in this model. One concern I have with both gardens is how they use the pump to stir the nutrient water rather than actively oxygenating it. Plant roots need oxygen and the AG name-brand gardens pump the nutrient water over the roots, giving them water, nutrients, and oxygen. The dissolved O2 level in the water increases as the water splashes. Some hydroponic gardens use an air pump and air stone instead of a water pump to increase the oxygen levels. Inbloom has chosen a more passive approach and while this makes for a very quiet garden without any splashing sounds, I don’t think the dissolved O2 level in the water will be much higher than in stagnant water. So far, the plants I’m growing in both gardens don’t seem to be suffering, but I think they would thrive with even more oxygen. The 90° elbow on the pump of the 10-pod garden is removable which will increase splashing. If the sound doesn’t bother you, I recommend pulling this elbow off as it will slightly increase the dissolved oxygen level of the water. Both the 5-pod and 10-pod gardens take a low-tech approach to the “smart” features. The lights come on in a repeated 24-hour cycle based on when you first turn them on; they aren’t programmable to come on at a specific time of day. There are no on-screen setup instructions. There is no “add nutrients” reminder every 2 weeks, as mentioned previously. However, these extras aren’t needed for plants to grow and the cost savings may be worthwhile for many growers. The instructions and reference card for the 5-pod garden are excellent, a little better than the 10-pod garden, in fact. All the extra supplies (domes, covers, fertilizer, etc) are high quality. The big-name brand gardens ship with pre-planted pods and Inbloom’s pods are ready to add your own seeds. If you want to purchase the overpriced pods from the other brand ($2-4 per pod), they’re interchangeable with the Inbloom pods, but it’s more cost-effective to plant your own seeds and purchase the replacement pods in bulk (about 25¢ per pod). This also allows you to grow the infinite variety of plants available in seed packs as opposed to only the varieties that AG produces. I use these hydroponic gardens as seed starters; once the seeds germinate and have a few leaves, I plant the pods in my outside garden which is less expensive than purchasing six-packs at the nursery. It’s great to see competition in this market. Inbloom is offering a high-value alternative for indoor hydroponic gardens. They have made some cost-cutting design decisions that will not affect plant growth and may make these gardens more accessible to more people. The gardens look great and perform well.