My Gardyn Review After One Year

I’ve been using the Gardyn Hydroponic System for just over a year, and enjoy it, but it can be expensive to keep up. My Gardyn review in a nutshell: I feel like it’s one of the easier, but pricier systems to maintain. However, I have found ways to make it cheaper and more economical. Read on for my Gardyn review, and tips on saving money while using it.

And if you are interested in purchasing a Gardyn or Click here to save $100 on the Gardyn website! The system I have is the Gardyn Home size, but they also have a smaller Gardyn Studio.

Why Gardyn Makes Hydroponics Easy

The Gardyn is great for a beginner in hydroponics. It’s very easy to set up and get going. The parts snap together, the tank is small and easy to fill, and it comes with a supply of plant pods to get you started.

If you are currently trying to decide on a hydroponic system, I recommend reading this article: Comparing the Gardyn and Lettuce Grow Farmstand.

When you purchase a Gardyn system, you’re investing in a self-contained indoor garden that uses advanced sensors, LED lighting, and automated watering and nutrient delivery. The membership is built around getting the most out of this system.

They supply you with everything you need, then you just hook it up to your Wi-Fi and let the Kelby system tell you what to do. However, the monthly membership required to keep the Kelby assistant going starts at $39/mo. I thought it was a bit silly to spend an extra $40 a month to grow my own lettuce, as I was hoping my hydroponic garden would actually be saving me money.

The Cost of Membership

The membership starts at $39/mo for monthly, but they do discounts for 1 and 2 year plans at $34 and $29/mo., paid upfront.

The monthly membership does come with 10 free credits a month, which you trade in for “plants” which are yCubes with seeds. Different plants cost different amounts of credits. Simple ones like most lettuces are 1 credit, but others, like strawberries that come rooted, are 3.

Members can purchase additional plants at the discounted rate of $1.99 per yCube plus flat-rate shipping, or it’s $4.99 per yCube plus a flat rate shipping fee of $9.99 for non-members.

And this doesn’t include the $20 plant food or $50 HydroBoost they recommend.

You can see how it might get a little expensive!

However, I do recommend starting with the membership for at least a few months. It’s a good way to get to know your system, get you off to a good start, and get you squared away with plenty of plants.

Once you know what you are doing, you can use my tips to save money while using your Gardyn.

How to Save Money on the Gardyn

First, you can save money on a Gardyn system using my link to save $100: Click here to save $100 on the Gardyn website

Then, once you get going, use this tip to get the most of your system: don’t throw away your yCubes and don’t toss out your pruned plants!

Reuse Your Gardyn yCube

When you harvest your plants, there’s no reason to toss out the used yCube. Just push the planting medium out from the bottom, wash the cube and it’s ready to use again.

You can usually get 2 – 3 uses out of one cube before the bottom pieces become brittle and break off. Click here to read more about how to reuse your Gardyn yCubes.

Reseed with Your Own Growing Medium and Seeds

Purchasing your own seeds will save you tons of money. Each yCube comes with about 5 seeds and gives you one plant. You can purchase a pack of seeds for a couple dollars and get 50 plants for less.

To reuse the yCubes, you’ll need your own growing medium. I use Rapid Rooter plugs, which are on Amazon for around $20. Click here for Rapid Rooter plugs.

Make Your Own Seedling Nursery

The Gardyn sells their nursery for about $80. It fits their yCubes perfectly, but if you are starting with your own plugs and reusing old yCubes, you can also start them in your own nursery.

I got a 5 pack of these for just $10. They work great and are reusable. They also fit at the bottom of the Gardyn. In my photo at the top, you can see the Gardyn nursery next to one of these seed starter kits.

You just start your plants in there, then stick them in a yCube and put them in the Gardyn. Click here to find these on Amazon.

Use ALL Your Plants

When you start your yCubes that are sent by Gardyn, each one will sprout several plants. They advise you to prune out the smallest ones and only save 1 – 3 sprouts depending on the plant. But why waste good plants?

I take the pruned sprouts and put them in their own starter plug! So, for each single Gardyn plants started, I get 3 – 5 plants (sometimes more) off each one! I can fill my entire Gardyn up starting with only about 6 of their plant starters.

Use Your Own Caps

You might have noticed the bright green circles on my Gardyn. They send you a few caps to get started, but you’ll need more than that and can purchase extra. The caps are for spots that don’t have plants yet and keep the water in and pests out.

But you don’t need fancy Gardyn caps! I use plant cloning collars to fill the holes that don’t have plants yet. You can get a 30 pack for $12. Click here to see them on Amazon.

Get Your Gardyn Growing

I absolutely love having fresh lettuce and veggies year-round! I highly recommend getting a hydroponic gardening system if you want more fresh greens in your life.

We always have lettuce, herbs and vegetables. Sometimes I even grow flowers just for fun.

And one more time- when it is warm outside, you can transplant your Gardyn plants to your outside garden! Sometimes they get a little big, and rather than harvest them, I just move them outside and let them grow big.

So go check out the Gardyn and click here to save $100 on the Gardyn website!

A Unique Gardyn Bonus

One of the neat things about the Gardyn is that it has cameras and when you have a membership, it automatically creates time-lapse videos of your plants growing!

Watch the lettuce growing on the right. You can see that one growing the best. It gets smaller and then bigger because I harvest as it grows.