AeroGarden Harvest review: real grow results, and is AeroGarden still around?

We bought an AeroGarden Harvest with the gourmet herb starter kit and ran it for a full grow cycle. This review covers what actually happened, including the two problems nobody mentions until you hit them.

A note on timing: our hands-on testing was done on a Harvest unit we bought in 2019, and this page was updated in August 2026 with the current lineup and prices. The Harvest hardware is unchanged in its essentials, six pods, a 20W LED on a timer and a circulating reservoir, so the grow results below still describe what you get. We have not separately tested units sold since the relaunch.

Buy from the official store, not the one that looks official

Before anything else, because this one can cost you money rather than a crop.

ScottsMiracle-Gro has issued a consumer alert about a site at aerogardenindoor.com that presents itself as the official AeroGarden store and is not connected to the company. In their words it “may even appear in search results claiming to be ‘official’”.

The only official destinations are aerogarden.com, which redirects to ScottsMiracle-Gro, and the AeroGarden section of scottsmiraclegro.com. Do not enter card details or account credentials anywhere else. If you already have, the company’s advice is to contact your bank, watch your statements, and change that password anywhere you reused it.

What the AeroGarden Harvest is

A tabletop hydroponic unit occupying about 11 by 7.5 inches of counter space, growing six plants at a time. Hydroponic growing produces higher yields in smaller spaces using less water than soil.^[1]

A built-in 20W full-spectrum LED runs on a timer for 17 hours a day. A pump circulates and aerates the nutrient solution. Your only job is keeping the reservoir topped up, and an LCD panel tells you when.

Plants go in as pre-seeded pods: a sponge-like growing medium in a plastic basket with a cardboard collar. Ours came with Genovese basil, Thai basil, curly parsley, mint, thyme and dill.

Setting it up

Genuinely plug-and-play. Unpack it, put it on the counter, plug it in, drop the pods into the slots, snap the humidity domes on, fill the reservoir to the line, mix in the nutrients, set the timer.

Use pH-neutral water. If your tap water is very hard or heavily chlorinated, use filtered or distilled. If you are unsure where yours sits, our guide to testing pH covers how to check.

Three buttons: grow light control, plant food indicator, water level indicator. The light control matters more than it sounds, because the LED is extremely bright.

Take the domes off as soon as the sprouts nearly touch them. Leave the pod labels on, because they are there to reduce algae and mold around the pod surface, and ours confirmed why.

What actually grew

The dill outran everything else in the tray, to the point that it shaded its neighbors and needed cutting back constantly. If you are combining pods, put fast growers together rather than mixing them with slow ones like thyme.

The curly parsley never germinated. Parsley is slow and erratic from seed even in soil, which our parsley guide covers, so this was not a surprise, and it left an empty wet pod under a bright light for weeks. That is what started the algae.

The basils and mint performed well and kept producing for months with regular pinching.

Maximum grow height is about 17 inches, so stick to herbs, salad greens and other low-profile plants. Kale and most vegetables will hit the light.

The two problems you will actually hit

Mold on the pod surface

White fuzzy mold on the seed pod surface is the single most common AeroGarden complaint. It is generally harmless to germinating seedlings, and most people still want it gone.

We got small amounts on two pods. A cotton bud dipped in hydrogen peroxide, swabbed carefully around the seedling, cleared it within days. Taking the dome off earlier to improve air circulation prevents most of it. Our houseplant mold guide covers the same problem in soil.

Algae in the reservoir

Algae is the more serious one. It happens when light reaches standing water, and it competes with your plants for oxygen.

Ours bloomed at about four weeks, around the empty parsley pod. With no plant in it, light hit the water surface directly. Cleaning with hydrogen peroxide and adding a very small amount to the reservoir resolved it.

Prevention is easier than treatment: keep every slot either planted or covered, and do not leave a failed pod open to the light. For a serious bloom, ditch the plants, run a vinegar or bleach solution through the pump and lines for five minutes, flush, dry and restart.

Two smaller annoyances

The LED is bright enough to light a room at night. Schedule the cycle so it powers down during your evenings, or put the unit where it is visually shielded.

Pods sometimes fail to germinate, as our parsley did. The germination guarantee covers replacement of pods that never sprout. It does not cover pods that sprout and then fail.

Moving AeroGarden plants into soil

You can transplant into soil, and it is easier while the plants are small and the roots are less tangled. You can plant the whole basket, or cut the basket away if you do not plan to reuse it.

Introduce natural light slowly, a few hours a day at first, and use good potting mix kept consistently moist until new roots establish. Expect droopiness for the first 48 hours.

Harvesting

Pinch stems just above a growth node once plants reach six inches. This forces multiple stems and increases yield substantially. Do it with herbs only, not vegetables. The technique is the same one in our pruning guide.

If you outrun what you can use, dry them or use one of the other preservation methods.

The current lineup and what it costs

The range came back larger than it went away, and it is confusingly named, so here is what actually differs. List prices below, with the August 2026 discount where there is one.

Sprout. Three pods up to about 10 inches tall, the smallest and cheapest. $49.95, currently $29.97 in cool gray, and it ships with a gourmet herb kit. It is also on Amazon. Earlier versions of this review said the Sprout had been discontinued. It has not, and at clearance price it is the cheapest way to find out whether you like this kind of gardening at all.

Harvest. Six pods, 20W LED, about 17 inches of grow height. The model we tested and still the one most people should buy. $109.95, currently $76.97, and also on Amazon.

Harvest Lite. Six pods, sold as an Amazon exclusive, so this is the one to take if you would rather buy there. $99.95, in black or cream.

Harvest Elite. The same six-pod format in a stainless finish with a better control panel. $124.95. Worth it only if the look matters to you.

Harvest Elite 360. The six-pod format in a round column rather than a rectangle, in platinum or white stainless. $124.95, currently $74.97. The platinum version is also on Amazon.

Harvest XL. Six pods again, but a bigger bowl holding more water, more space between plants, and an adjustable grow height of 18 inches, which is what makes full-size vegetables realistic. $139.95, currently $83.97. If the 17-inch ceiling on the standard Harvest is your objection, this is the fix rather than jumping to a Bounty.

Bounty Basic, Bounty and Bounty Elite. Nine pods and more grow height. $179.95, $229.95 and $274.95 respectively, with the first two currently at $107.97 and $114.98. The Elite adds wifi. Step up here if you want vegetables rather than only herbs. The Basic is also on Amazon, though it goes in and out of stock there.

Farm 12XL. Twelve pods, a touchscreen, and a light you can raise, dim and put on a sunrise and sunset cycle. $349.95, currently $209.97. The 24-pod Farm covered in earlier versions of this review is gone. In practice 12 pods is already more than most kitchens comfortably hold.

Seed pod kits run $13.95 to $21.95. Plant food is $11.99 for a season’s worth, or $50.95 for a five pack.

One thing to know before you go looking. Amazon stock on these is patchy and moves week to week, so a model can be there one day and out the next while the official store still has it. If a link below shows nothing available, check the official store before assuming the model is gone.

Cutting the running costs

Seed pods are the ongoing expense and the most common complaint after mold. You do not have to keep buying them.

The Grow Anything Seed Pod Kit is $13.95 and gives you empty pods, domes and labels to fill with your own seed. AeroGarden also sells a Seed Starting System, $27.95 for the Harvest models and $21.95 for the Sprout, both currently half price, which does the same job with more parts.

Either way, save and sterilize the domes and grow baskets after each grow in hot soapy water or the dishwasher, and replicate the cardboard collar with anything that shades the pod surface early on.

Amazon is also full of third-party pod and grow sponge kits sold as compatible, at a fraction of the price. We have not tested any of them, so treat that as a route that exists rather than a recommendation.

You can also substitute general hydroponic nutrients such as MaxiGro or the General Hydroponics Flora series for the branded plant food, at a fraction of the cost.

Is it worth it over a windowsill?

If you have a bright south-facing window, a few pots and a bag of decent potting mix will grow better herbs for a fraction of the money. Our easiest herbs guide is the cheaper starting point.

The AeroGarden earns its place when you do not have that window. Apartments with poor light, north-facing kitchens and winter in northern states are where it genuinely outperforms soil, because it supplies the light rather than depending on yours. It is also the low-mess option if soil indoors is the objection.

On nutrition, hydroponically grown produce tests equal to or better than soil-grown on nutrient content, so there is no compromise there.^[2]

The honest summary: it works, it is close to foolproof, and the mold and algae issues are real but manageable. Buy it for the light, not for the novelty. If you want microgreens rather than full-size herbs, our Hamama kit review covers the closest equivalent at a much lower price.

Questions & answers

Is AeroGarden still in business in 2026?

Yes. It announced a shutdown in October 2024, stopped selling, and returned in spring 2025. It is sold and supported through ScottsMiracle-Gro’s store, with seed kits, plant food, accessories and warranty support all current. Buy only through aerogarden.com or the AeroGarden section of scottsmiraclegro.com.

Which AeroGarden should I buy?

The standard Harvest for most people: six pods, enough for a working herb supply, and the cheapest model that does not feel cramped. Take the Sprout if you only want to try the idea, the Harvest XL if you want full-size vegetables and the 17-inch ceiling is the problem, and a Bounty if you want nine pods and more height.

Why is there white fuzzy mold on my seed pods?

It is the most common AeroGarden complaint and it is generally harmless to seedlings. Swab it away with a cotton bud dipped in hydrogen peroxide. Taking the humidity domes off earlier improves air circulation and prevents most of it.

How do I get rid of algae in the reservoir?

Algae grows where light reaches standing water, so it usually starts around an empty or failed pod. Keep every slot planted or covered. For a small bloom, clean with hydrogen peroxide and add a very small amount to the reservoir. For a bad one, remove the plants, run a vinegar or bleach solution through the pump and lines for five minutes, flush, dry and restart.

Can I use my own seeds instead of AeroGarden pods?

Yes. The Grow Anything Seed Pod Kit is $13.95 and supplies empty pods, domes and labels for your own seed. Save and sterilize the grow baskets and domes between crops, and shade the pod surface early on the way the cardboard collar does.

Can I transplant AeroGarden plants into soil?

Yes, and it is easier while they are small and the roots are less tangled. Introduce natural light gradually over a few days, keep the potting mix consistently moist until new roots establish, and expect the plant to droop for the first couple of days.

What can you not grow in an AeroGarden Harvest?

Anything tall. Grow height on the standard Harvest is about 17 inches, so kale and most vegetables will hit the light. Stick to herbs, salad greens and other low-profile plants, or move up to the Harvest XL at 18 adjustable inches, or a Bounty.

Is aerogardenindoor.com the official AeroGarden site?

No. ScottsMiracle-Gro has published a consumer alert warning that it is an unauthorized site impersonating the official store and that it may appear in search results claiming to be official. Do not enter payment details or credentials there.

References

1. Barbosa, G. L., et al. (2015). Comparison of Land, Water, and Energy Requirements of Lettuce Grown Using Hydroponic vs. Conventional Agricultural Methods. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6879–6891. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4483736/ ↩︎

2. Treftz, C. and Omaye, S.T. (2015). Nutrient Analysis of Soil and Soilless Strawberries and Raspberries Grown in a Greenhouse. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 6, 805-815. https://doi.org/10.4236/fns.2015.69084 ↩︎