All prices in Canadian dollars.
News
Indoor Herb Garden: Best Benefits & Reasons to Grow
Ask anyone at Click & Grow and we’ll tell you the same thing: our community is the reason why we exist! Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Your passion for indoor gardening inspires us to keep innovating and moving forwards.
We recently spoke to some members of our community, asking them about their experiences of growing with us. The responses were heartwarming and we’d like to share a few of our favourite quotes with you.
Why indoor gardening?
We all have a story to share about what led us to indoor gardening. Perhaps you tried it out of curiosity or maybe you’ve always wanted to grow your own food. Whatever the reason, we believe it’s one of the healthiest decisions you’ll ever make. Here are just a few of the many reasons why Click & Growers decided to get an indoor garden:
Kristina: “I live in an apartment so I can’t have a garden outdoors. I started looking at some options and the two that really came up were Click & Grow and Aerogarden. The Aerogarden just seemed really daunting; you have to consider nutrients and timing and it just seemed like too much, especially as I’ve never grown anything before. With the Click & Grow, everything just comes in the pod and you put it in and then things grow. I thought: that’s what I’m looking for!”
Dayna: “I grew up gardening with my grandma and, now living in the city, wanted that to be available to me, not just during the summertime. It’s so simple and accessible for living in an apartment.”
Image: @annie.vtrann
Suzanne: “I live in Northern Canada in the sub-Arctic so I can’t do a lot of growing up here. For my own benefit, I wanted to be able to grow some stuff from home. We don’t have reliable sun cycles here and most of my windows are not really great for getting sun. In order to grow something, I needed a grow light and Click & Grow seemed like a really good system for that. Also, fresh herbs up here are really hard to come by. All of our produce is flown in from the south and it’s not always the best. So, to have really good quality food has been a game changer.”
Salynn: “I wanted to do gardening as a hobby but I live in an apartment so I don’t have space for a garden. After researching different options, I decided to go for Click & Grow. I chose the smart indoor garden because I wanted to start growing my own food.”
Jose: “Last year, as we were sent home for the first lockdown, I decided to take the plunge and ordered a Smart Garden 9. I decided on that because I saw it as sort of a hobby and, since I like to grow plants, it was perfect. Since then, I’ve added two more Smart Garden 9s… I love them!
Yujing: "I really like to grow plants but in my house I have no balcony and there’s not enough sunlight. I got a smart indoor garden because I really wanted to grow edibles. Smart gardens are clean and kids can use them too."
Benefits of indoor gardening
We’re always curious about the way indoor gardening impacts peoples lives. According to the Click & Growers we spoke to, here are some of the biggest benefits of using a smart indoor garden:
Dayna: “When we first got our Click & Grow (we got the Smart Garden 27 so we have a tower of them), my seven year old helped me set up the entire thing. Within two weeks everything was sprouted and luscious and in a month we were eating our food so it was amazing. It’s extremely easy!”
Suzanne: “It’s a foolproof growing system. You basically pop the plant in, water it when you need to and the system does the rest.”
Image: Salvatore Cerullo
Dayna: “One of the benefits is having the food available right there and knowing who has touched it and what has gone into growing it. Another benefit is that all day long my 10 year old will go to the smart garden and snip off little bits of mint or basil or whatever she’s in the mood for. To see that passion instilled in my children for fresh and healthy food is really amazing as a mother."
Sophie: “The biggest benefit is fresh food. It’s fresh, it’s right there, you can walk into the kitchen and grab some lettuce and put it on your sandwich. You can also grow flowers to cheer you up, especially when it’s cold. The aromas make you want to be in the kitchen and cook something instead of going and buying something else. It makes you want to try new foods”.
Suzanne: “Fresh food, for sure. Being able to go from my kitchen to my smart indoor garden and just clip a few pieces that I need is great. I don’t have to worry that I’ve purchased something and it’s already gone bad. The smart garden has also increased my skills and helped me branch out into growing more plants outside. You can always tell when I’m using Click & Grow plants in my cooking because it’s just got that little bit of extra pop and I really enjoy that. Levelling up my cooking game has been a success story for me.”
Salynn: “It’s small so it fits really nicely on my kitchen counter and it’s really good for small apartments. I’ve also travelled with it too! It encourages me to be healthier. I can grow my own herbs and use them in my cooking.”
Caroline: “I only see benefits, especially during a pandemic and living alone. Caring for something really helps your mental state. I usually add a Facebook picture every Sunday. I’m very proud of my gardens.”
Image: @studioplants
Jose: “To me, the biggest benefit is to have fresh herbs for when I cook. It’s just very convenient. Buying them from the store isn’t always easy and with a smart indoor garden you know what you’re growing… you know you’re not using chemicals and other nasties. I’m still working on my eating habits but growing my own fresh greens has certainly helped. There have been a ton of times that I’ve bought lettuce from the store only to have it go bad because I’m the only one eating it. Having my own fresh supply in my kitchen, I can cut off as little or as much as I need. I definitely add some to every meal.”
Kristina: “Mental health is the biggest benefit for me. It’s exciting, it gives you something to look forward to.”
Martynas: “One of the benefits is a healthier lifestyle for kids. They know what we are growing. They see this natural food being grown and it’s a good example for them to follow. When you grow your own food you know that there aren’t any fertilizers or anything dangerous for your health. Now I know what healthy basil looks like. I know that growing food at home is environmentally friendly.”
Yujing: “It’s started a big interest in gardening. I like how, when I go on holiday, I can leave the system for a week and I don’t have to ask someone to water my plants everyday. If you don’t have an outdoor space or you lack sunlight indoors, a smart indoor garden allows you to do so much more with plants.”
Plants, plants and more plants!
We all have our favourite plants, whether they’re herbs, salad greens, fruiting plants or flowers. Smart gardens make it possible to grow the plants you love indoors. Here’s what our community members had to say about their favourite Click & Grow plants:
Sophie: “Moss rose is great, snapdragon is gorgeous. The lettuce is super easy to grow and tastes good. I also like the way lettuce looks. I actually think it’s very pretty. When you see it, especially in a smart garden and you grow multiple lettuce pods, it’s really quite pretty. You walk into the kitchen and it’s green and really pretty. My absolute favourite is the collection of basils because they get so tall and they’re so good.”
Dayna: “I wanted to be able to have some herbs, some greens and some sort of fruit or vegetable. I think that has dramatically helped us, even by reducing the number of trips we make to the grocery store because we have it right here in our home.”
Image: @micki.morris
Suzanne: “I really enjoy growing dwarf basil. It’s a gorgeous little plant. The herbs are great too and the peppers have been really pretty as well as they grow into their flowering stage.”
Salynn: “I like Thai basil and chili peppers. I’ve used the herbs for beef and chicken curries that I make often.”
Caroline: “Hands down, green lettuce is my favourite, likely because I use it the most. I really love the painted nettle flowers, as well. SO beautiful!!!”
Jose: “I use more herbs now, which is great because it’s also a way to cook using natural products and lower the salt quantities you use. Using more herbs, food can get tastier and you don’t find the need to use more salt to intensify flavours. I’ve also been drinking more infusions using fresh herbs.”
Kristina: “Polka dot flower plant is really exciting. As soon as it sprouts it gives colourful leaves. In a sea of green plants, it adds some extra colour. Also, I have two lavender pods right now and they smell amazing!”
Yujing: “Most fun are fruiting plants such as tomatoes and sweet peppers. You get to pollinate them and watch them grow. I also like the Click & Grow rosemary because it’s very compact but it grows quite large. I had a rosemary plant that I started growing in 2018 and it lasted more than two years in the Click & Grow system. Now I’ve moved to a new house with a garden so I planted it outside. That was my longest lasting plant. Lavender is also really great because of the fragrance. Click & Grow has lots of flowers that last very long. I also like to grow my own plants in the system using Click & Grow’s experimental pods. I like to transfer the plants from my smart gardens to my own pots after a while.”
Visual appeal
Dayna: “That’s one of my favourite parts. I love a very simplistic, minimalist look and I feel like it really flows with that style.”
Sophie: “The smart indoor garden lamp makes the place brighter. You don’t need an overhead light in your room, it’s very pretty. The smart garden 9 is just so beautiful and everyone who sees it is curious. It’s just so clean and modern.”
Image: @marijaanus
Yujing: “The Click & Grow system is nicer to look at than other smart gardens out there. So, if you want to entertain a lot of people at your house, the Click & Grow system is better.”
Kristina: “The Smart Garden 27 plant stand is perfection. The system just looks so nice and sleek.”
Caring Facebook Community
When you own a Click & Grow smart indoor garden, you become part of a caring community. A great way to hone your indoor gardening skills and connect with other like minded people is to join our buzzing Click & Growers Facebook group. Here’s what some of our Click & Growers had to say about it:
Dayna: “I love the Click & Grow Facebook community. I love that people can share little updates with each other. You get tips and you get to see what other people are up to. That’s really interesting because we’re all coming from different parts of the world too. It’s really amazing to be able to connect with people who are so like-minded.”
Suzanne: “It’s exciting to see new people join the group and it’s nice to see their excitement.”
Image: @urbanfarmerly
Salynn: “I’ve used the Click & Grow community a lot. It’s easy to use thanks to the search feature. People there are pretty helpful. If you ask them questions and they know the answer, they’ll tell you. You can also see what other experimental things people have done by searching the group.”
Caroline: “I love seeing all the photos and reading all the tips and tricks people add.”
Jose: “I use it quite often and I try to help others as often as I can. It’s very useful and gives you a sense of community.”
Who would you recommend a smart garden to?
Dayna: “Oh, my goodness, I've basically already suggested it to everybody. I got my sister one and my mom, my mother in law and my grandma!”
Sophie: “I bought one for my mom for Mother’s Day because she saw it and she wanted one. I would recommend this to anyone, especially people with kids. Kids don’t usually like vegetables but if they see them growing at home, it’ll make them want to taste them.”
Jose: “I would recommend this to someone who loves to grow plants and doesn’t always have access to an outside garden. Also to people who usually say they 'kill plants': the system is so easy to use that even they will be growing plants in no time! I would also recommend it to people who like to cook and use herbs.”
Caroline: “I’ve recommended it to my friends several times. They mostly ask about it via Facebook after they see pictures of my gardens. I tell them how I was never one to plant things or grow things and how Click & Grow pretty much took my life by storm. It’s an absolutely great investment. All in all, Click & Grow has been a wonderful addition to my world. I continue to recommend it to everyone.”
What advice would you give to newcomers?
Caroline: “Get excited! Try all the pods and see which ones you fall in love with. Get the pruning shears (they are wonderful) and have chopsticks on hand to help support your plants.”
Sophie: “The app is good for guiding you, especially the first time you plant something. Also, don’t give up if something doesn’t sprout immediately. Just give it a chance to grow.”
Dayna: “Be patient. Some pods grow so quickly and, when that happens, we become accustomed to thinking every pod will be like that.”
Salynn: “Be willing to read the plant information that’s available!”
Yujing: “Show other people what you’re growing and get ideas from them too. ”
Jose: “Read the instructions, watch some YouTube videos, join the Facebook group and the “Ask a Gardener” forum and enjoy!”
A big thanks to the Click & Growers who shared their testimonials with us. So, what are you waiting for? Choose the perfect Click & Grow smart garden for you and begin your indoor gardening adventure today!