InstaFarm Automated Indoor Microgreens Garden Review: Easy Being Green

InstaFarm’s patented 4-by-4-inch compostable trays come pre-filled with about a half-inch of soil (sourced from Amish country in Pennsylvania, according to InstaFarm) and organic, non-GMO seeds, with nutritional information for the final product microgreens listed at the top. They come in more than a dozen varieties for a nine-pack for $23, including individual varieties, smoothie- and salad-specific blends, and even plain trays for growing your own greens or starting a garden. It is worth noting that the trays are easily saturated paperboard that are designed for one-time use.

For comparison, Wego’s Hydroponic Microgreens Planter, which I used last year, is only $60 for two units, while Gardyne’s is $100. InstaFarm doesn’t produce greens in large quantities anywhere near them, but then again, a lot of store-bought microgreens can be purchased for under $500.

Instafarm does have an app, but it doesn’t add much to the experience, other than the ability to activate Night Mode (which then turns off the lights for up to 10 hours). More useful is the button on the top of the unit which comes with a sticker telling how many presses you need to perform for any given function.

Every 90 minutes, a metal nozzle arm reaches out and moves along each shelf, sensing the height, humidity and temperature of each tray and its plants. Once the nozzle senses action, it delivers a proper blast of water, much like the spray heads in the produce section of the grocery store. If you have cats, they may be very interested when they first hear the nozzle whirring and moving slowly on the shelves. (The first quick, unexpected spray was an amusing occurrence in my household.) Sometimes, this sensing was more accurate in theory than in practice – for some reason, the sensor consistently overestimated the amount of water for red beet greens (but only beet greens), causing the tray to overflow daily.

After a few weeks, I noticed that the nozzle was making a slight mechanical noise after completing its rotation as it slowly returned to its resting position. It wasn’t loud—it reminded me of the sound made by the bullwheel at the top of a ski lift—but because the Instafarm was sitting on my dining room table, it was noticeable. And I should also note that it was on my dining room table because, despite the website’s claims that the unit can fit under most kitchen cabinets, it was a little high for me. This made it difficult to determine location, as it takes up an approximately 6-by-18-inch footprint. Given how easy it is to chop greens for salads, smoothies, and other meals, its most natural habitat is probably the kitchen, so you may want to measure more than once to make sure it will fit in your space.

greens galore

Photograph: Kat Merk

As the instructions claimed, I had lush, usable microgreens in about five days. For my first growing round (I’ve gone through four rounds now), I was super excited and placed a tray in every slot. Unless you have a large family that eats microgreens at every meal, I don’t recommend this. I tried my best to use them all, but after the painful experience of putting a tray’s worth of radish microgreens into a strawberry smoothie (so spicy, so radishes), I decided to share some of my first-grown tray with friends.