Can a home robo-garden REALLY grow you tasty tomatoes out of season?
With mornings still chilly and skies often grey, it can be difficult to believe spring has actually sprung.
But the days are finally getting longer, prompting home gardeners to start sowing their tomato seeds and other planned veggies.
i don’t mean to show off but, this year, i’m ahead of the curve. i got mine going in the depths of January and now have three lush green plants covered in yellow flowers and green tomatoes. i popped the first ripe one into my mouth this morning and it tasted deliciously sweet.
What’s more, my kitchen surfaces are heaving with salad leaves galore, fragrant basil plants and a lush selection of herbs that look so healthy they could have been growing in bright Mediterranean sunlight.
Any gardener in the know will cry: ‘Liar!’ the lack of sunlight and low ambient temperatures at this time of year would normally mean the best i could hope for from seeds planted so early would be weak, leggy seedlings with pale leaves. A ripe tomato sounds too good to be true.
My secret? the latest indoor hydroponic gardening kits. hydroponics means growing without soil — instead, the roots grow in nutrient-rich and perfectly phbalanced water, typically faster and producing a higher yield.
And the LED growing lights that come with all of these kits mean you can grow seasonal plants — such as my tomatoes — all year round.
Fancy a go yourself? We review six of the best . . .
BEST FOR TRENDY URBAN GARDENERS
Akarina 01 Starter Pack, £169.99, akarina.uk
WHAT’S INCLUDED: A pack of gourmet, loose-leaf salad seeds and liquid feed. PLANTING TO PICKING: i was snipping off baby leaves for fresh salads within three weeks and, by six weeks, each plant was huge.
the Japanese design of this kit is meant to appeal to millennials — such as my daughter and her fiance — who are keen to make a style statement when growing their greens.
it was easy to set up, each seed grew, and the light can be used as a natty lamp in the evenings, too. Younger plants needed watering once a fortnight but, later, that went up to once or twice a week. VERDICT: Great for trendy urban gardeners who like their salad super-fresh with minimal effort.
BEST FOR SMALL SPACES
Plantpak Hydro-pod with LED Grow Light, £69.99, hayesgardenworld.co.uk
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Just the grow kit. Seeds, vermiculite (a growing medium) and liquid fertiliser must be bought separately. PLANTING TO PICKING: this has two self-watering chambers — i planted loose-leaf salad seeds in one and they were ready to eat in four weeks. the spinach i planted in the other chamber didn’t germinate — the vermiculite developed furry white mould.
But this kit was cheaper than many and the chambers have segmented covers to space out the plants as they grow. VERDICT: Smaller than most other kits, this is great for a desk or a windowsill. the salad success made up for the spinach failure.
BEST FOR HOME GROWERS
Ikea Vaxer grow kit, £49.50, ikea.com
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Liquid fertiliser and growing medium. You have to buy the seeds separately. PLANTING TO PICKING: it took six weeks for just a few baby leaves. this was the trickiest system — i had to start my seeds off in a separate tray, then move them to the actual kit once two true leaves had grown from each of the seedlings.
i bought an ikea seed pack containing Garnet Amaranth, Red Garnet Giant and ‘Frizzy Lizzy’ salad leaves.
the Red Garnet and Frizzy Lizzy all died, leaving me with only four pods of vibrant and healthy plants.
i think it was just too cold for them to grow at this time of year. in fact, ikea is not currently selling any seeds — this may be because of that. VERDICT: Since testing this kit, i have removed the growing inserts, leaving just a tray in which i can start off seedlings for my allotment under the grow lamp. i’d recommend it to any home growers for that purpose.
BEST FOR KIDS’ GREEN FINGERS
Click & Grow Smart Garden 3, now £89, cuckooland.com
WHAT’S INCLUDED: three plant capsules — i grew tomatoes.
PLANTING TO PICKING: i worried my tomato plants were doomed from the start when i lifted my capsules out of their packaging and found two seeds floating loose inside. i pushed them into two of the pods — which are packed full of nutrients — and hoped for the best.
i needn’t have worried, as i ended up with two extra seedlings, which i transplanted into compost in pots on my kitchen windowsill. they died within the week, while the ones left in my kit continue to thrive, proving how effective it is.
i’ve got at least a dozen baby tomatoes, which i think will be ready to eat in May. VERDICT: Great fun for children — my 12-year- old has enjoyed watching these plants grow. this is no-mess gardening that should encourage youngsters down the healthy, fresh food route.
BEST FOR TALL PLANTS
Akarina 15 Starter Pack, £74.99, akarina.uk
WHAT’S INCLUDED: A pack of gourmet, loose-leaf salad seeds, plus liquid feed. i went rogue and used basil seeds instead. PLANTING TO PICKING: With this, it took six weeks to grow the basil seeds i picked up in Spain at the end of last summer. i had been praying for another heatwave this year, as that’s the best chance i would have of them germinating outdoors here.
But the adjustable height of the light in this kit made me wonder if i might have some early success indoors. i did. My only mistake was not raising the lamp quickly enough, which meant a couple of leaves got burnt. VERDICT: ideal for tall plants that need lots of light. You can hang this on a wall, too, so it’s a good space-saver.
BEST FOR BEGINNERS
Veritable Smart Indoor Garden Kit, £159.99, lakeland.co.uk
WHAT’S INCLUDED: Four organic seedpods called ‘ Lingots’. i got basil, chives, parsley and thyme. PLANTING TO PICKING: it took me five weeks to grow these. this was by far the simplest system. i placed each pod into one of four slots, filled the reservoir with water, plugged it in and then switched it on. i didn’t need to add fertiliser, as Lingots — made from coconut fibre and peat — are full of the nutrients my plants would need.
the seeds all germinated within ten days. the plants were neatly laid out, like a mini garden. When it was time to add more water — two weeks after planting — the grow light helpfully flashed blue to alert me.
VERDICT: Foolproof. this indoor window box will provide fresh herbs for months to come.