Category Archives: Product Reviews

Get the full honest picture on food growing products and paraphernalia. Learn about real customer experiences. Be fully informed before you decide to buy.

Garden Tower Project Review (Garden Tower 2 Review)

I’ve always found maintaining vegetable patches a bit annoying. Turning over a vegetable patch then weeding as the plants grow takes a lot of time.  All that bending down can be back breaking work. Many people  don’t have the space to grow their own crop either. They are limited to a patio or balcony.

With this vertical garden the maintenance is significantly less. No digging or weeding is required and very little space is needed.  You can grow fifty plants in just 4×4 feet of space. Please continue reading our Garden Tower Project review ( Garden Tower 2 review) to see why so many people are tuning to this highly  innovative tower.

Garden Tower 2 Made By Garden Tower Project 

  • Overall Rating 9.0/10
  • Retail Price: $499
  • Discount HereGarden Tower 2
  • Outdoors: Yes you can
  • Indoors: Yes you can
  • Area required: 4 SQ feet
  •  Material: food grade plastic, UV protected, made in USA
  • Growing capacity: 50 plants (can be extended)
  • Good to Go: Can Assemble At Home
  • Extras Required: Earth and Worms
  • Warranty: Full 3 years warranty
  • Lifetime: 7-12 years expected
  • Usability Rating: 9/10
  • Looks Rating: 8.5/10
  • Price: Rating 9/10
  • Fun Rating:9/10
  • Over All Rating 9.0/10

Why Garden Tower Project (Garden Tower 2) ?

No Digging Or Weeding: With  Garden Tower Project (also known as the garden tower 2) you don’t have to dig or weed at all.

Easy Maintenance: Ongoing maintenance is really easy with watering just  every week or two. You don’t really need to bend down either.

Tiny Space Required: The tower is only 4 feet by 4 feet so very little space is required. You can grow 50 plants in a very small space. A patio or balcony will be more than enough.

Popular: These guys have actually grown from a really small company to a massive national company in just a few years.  They started with their original tower, then recently released the garden tower 2.

Incredible New Features: Many new features make Garden Tower Project’s new product way, way better than their first.

food_ready
More Great Images on Their Website

What Are The Benefits?

Grow Organic: You can grow fresh organic food at home. No pesticides.

Easy Assembly: Assembly is very simple. Many videos are provided. Not that you’ll need them, but in case you do there are many on their you tube channel.

Video Help: They actually even have a complete set of short videos taking you through every stage of set up and use. From assembly to filling with soil, right through to the composting process, everything is covered.

Complete Assembly and Use Videos

Small Space Required: You can grow in a very small space on a patio or garden. The towers is 43″ tall and only 25″ wide. With fifty slots that’s potentially a lot of fruit and vegetables in a small space.

Grow Many Vegetables: You could maybe have a continuous supply of vegetables or fruit for you and your family. This is because of the fifty growing slots that we keep banging on about.

Extendable: If that’s not enough for your appetites, you can even buy more plastic rings to extend the tower.

Rotates on Rollers: The new rotating function allows for even sunlight distribution and easy access to all parts of the tower. You can turn the tower to make sure all plants get an even share of the sunlight.

Compost Creation: You can create your own compost using the tower. Just put your kitchen scraps in the top. Worms from the earth section will do their work.

Please Note: don’t put the worms in the middle core. They go in with the earth.

How the Compost Works

Inside the core of the tower, worms with your food scraps work together to create the compost which helps feed all the plants in the tower.

From this a run off liquid falls into a tray at the bottom and is collected for later use.  This is called “Compost Tea” or “Nutrient Tea”

tower_center

You can easily access this nutrient dense fluid from the bottom of the gardening system. You then just feed it back into the top giving extra nutrients to the soil and the plants. Some customers say they put this in other areas of their gardens also.

Further Benefits

Easy Watering: Watering is minimal, as due to the design, run off is retained inside the system. Water can be recycled as it is also caught in the tray at the base of the tower.

compost tray

No Electrics or Pumps Required: There is no need for electric water pumps or electricity like hydroponic garden towers. Also as compared with hydroponic tower systems, there is no need for grow stones or grow medium. (Just soil and worms).

Plant from Seed: Plants can be planted from seed. There is no need to have starter plants.

Use Kitchen Waste: You can make use out of kitchen waste as part of your composting material.

Easy Maintenance: Minimal looking after. No weeding or turning beds like conventional gardening.

Food Safe Plastic: Food safety is guaranteed with the 100% UV stable food grade plastic.

Solid Warranty: The company gives a three year warranty. The manufacturer claims the device can last twelve years.

Garden_Tower_2_most

What are the  Improvements on last time??

Better Nutrient Flow: 265% more minute holes in the core centre mean that nutrients will get to your plants much faster.

Less clogging is likely to happen. The compost goodness created by the worms and food waste can be transported more efficiently to plant roots.

Stacking & Nesting Planting rings: You can build planting layers which house the plants. These layers are easily stacked on one another vertically.

This means that the soil is not all in one big column lying on top of itself. It is in layers each supported by the plastic rings.

The soil is therefore less compacted and the roots can grow more comfortably. Roots can penetrate the soil better and more easily venture into the compost column

Rotating Tower: The tower can turn 360 % as it has a set of bearings that allow it to be turned around.

This lets you turn the tower whenever some plants aren’t getting enough sunlight.  Very handy for differing times of year. Also a great benefit if your garden doesn’t allow for the tower to  get sunlight on all sides.

general

Removable compost tea drawer and compost screen: Collecting “compost tea” from the bottom of the tower has just been made a whole lot easier.

Simply pull out the tray at the bottom and then pour the nutrients back into the soil or use in other parts of your garden.

100% Recyclable, Food-contact grade plastic: Specific plastic types have been left out including – No plasticizers, no BPA, no PVC, and no phthalates.

Only food-grade dye, antioxidant for long-term UV protection, and high quality USA made HDPE and polypropylene plastics have been used to make the Garden Tower 2.

You can be assured of safe vegetables and fruit grown in this structure.

Wider, Heavier, More Stable Feet: You can firmly attach the tower to any surface you like including a rooftop for example.

Each foot weighs nearly a pound a piece and gives far greater stability than the previous version.

Before feet were only sticks of wood and had to be stuck into the ground.

Now you can place the tower wherever suits you best. On a patio, on decking, on a roof, inside your house or on a lawn. Anywhere you fancy really

Far Sturdier and More UV Resistant: The Garden Tower has been built stronger and tougher than last time. It’s five pounds heavier than before and now contains the highest amount of food-grade UV protection available in the industry.

The company warranty is for three years.  It is expected to have a minimum of seven years usage according to the company.

They also claim that the seven years is a minimum expectancy even in very harsh climates.

What Can You Grow?

Actually almost anything. Smaller vegetables and leafy greens are best suited however. Bigger vegetables and fruits like squashes and melons can be grown on the bottom layer and allowed to trail onto the ground. Here is a selection of some vegetables that can be grown in the garden tower 2.

Here are Some Examples!

  • Tomatoes: People often choose to grow tomatoes with the garden tower.  They will need to be provided with extra support and plenty of water. However, if properly managed tomatoes flourish well in the tower. You can have a number of vines going at once giving you a huge supply of the red, juicy fruit.
  • Peppers: Peppers are a very popular vegetable and grow well in the tower. Like tomatoes, they need support and lots of water.
  • Cucumbers:  Salad vegetables are very well suited to the tower.  Cucumbers can be placed in the middle of the tower.  Add these also to increase your selection of tasty salad items.
  • Lettuce:  These grow nicely in the middle of the tower.  With some planning you can make sure you have a constant supply of these highly nutritious, leafy salad items.
  • Spinach: This grows best in the side pockets of the tower.  Get your daily dose of iron with readily available leaves.
  • Kale: One of the most nutritious plants available, this should be planted in the middle of the tower.
  • Radishes:  These fresh, tangy vegetables should be planted in the middle of the tower. They are a great addition to any salad to give it a light crunch and a slightly stronger flavour.
  • Carrots:  Great for soups, salads and stews. Plant near the bottom of the tower.
  • Beans: A great source of protein. These should be planted in the middle of the tower. They will need support though.

For more information on what you can grow see here. 

garden_tower_2_grow

Things like tomatoes can be grown. Although, providing a bit of support with a couple of canes and netting would help them out nicely.

What Are Customers Saying?

As usual we had a look at all the major merchant sites and some forums to see what customers are saying about this product. This way we can give you a rounded perspective of opinions and not just our own.

Amazon – 18 reviews – 4.5/5 stars

Almost all customers are giving the Garden Tower 2  full marks with a  5/5 star rating.

Out of 18 reviews 16 people gave 5/5 stars. The two critical reviews were only giving 1/5 star rating.

It turns out one of the negative customers was actually reviewing the wrong product! The other negative reviewer had made a mistake in the use of the tower.

Customer service had actually replied to the comment on Amazon and were already offering to take him through the issue and get it sorted for him.

A good sign that the company wishes to help people with issues. We couldn’t find comments on Home Depot or Costco.

Yes there were testimonials on the Garden Tower Project main website, but of course they would all be positive.

Here are some other quotes from customers on Amazon.

“Live in an Apartment? Get this tower!!!”

“The G2 is far better in many ways”

“New gardener and I love this product”

“Beautiful Garden Product”

Garden Tower Project Review (Garden Tower 2 review) Verdict

The Garden Tower Project have made a great job of improving on their first product. The Garden Tower 2 in a vastly better vertical garden with all sorts of extra functions from the previous version.

Rave reviews from customers on Amazon about both the product and the back up service from the company give us great confidence in recommending this item.

Yes, it is quite expensive but if you can afford it and use it properly, it should pay for itself in the first year.

We stand by our own 9.0/10 rating.

Best Place to Buy the Garden Tower 2?

There are a few merchants selling this product. Full retail price is set at $499.

Although their own site often has the best deal it’s easier to order with soil and other extras from amazon. This way you can order everything you need from one place.

Have a look for yourself and see what the current best offers are.

Best Price: Website Here

Most Convenient: Amazon

What do you think?

If you have any extra questions about this product please ask in the comments below.

If you love it or hate it please let us know.  Any experiences you would like to share or any other products you would like us to review get in touch through the comments below.

We’d love to hear from you and are always happy to help.

Best Strawberry Planters

Usual methods for growing strawberries have always been to grow in the ground or in raised beds. The trouble is that the plants can be more exposed to the elements. Wind and rain or lack of sunlight can be detrimental to your budding harvest.

With our best strawberry planters you can place your strawberries anywhere you like. You can move them to the best spot any time you like to avoid harsh conditions.

This way you get the best amount of sunlight and escape wind and rain at the same time.

Continue reading Best Strawberry Planters

Grow Up Hydrogarden Review

Growing food and plants in soil is great but it has a few problems. Tonnes of weeding needs to be done, pests are a serious  problem and in winter you can’t grow anything at all. This is why thousands of people are turning to Hydroponic gardening.

There’s no weeding, pests are almost completely gone, and it’s easily done indoors. This means you can grow all year round and you really don’t need much space either. In our Grow Up Hydrogarden Review you’ll see why this tower is a great way to get started in hydroponics.

GrowUp4weeks

Grow Up Hydrogarden  Overview

  • Over All Rating 9/10
  • Retail Price: $299
  • Best Price: Amazon.
  • Outdoors: Yes you can
  • Indoors: Yes you can
  • Area required: 4 SQ feet
  • Dimensions: 2.15-Feet by 4-feet
  •  Material: food grade plastic, UV protected, made in USA
  • Growing Pots: 5 pots with a total of 20 growing slots
  • Water Reservoir: 20 gallon capacity with lid – terracotta coloured
  • Water Pump:  submersible Jr 1100
  • Nutrient Solution: 1 Carton of Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro
  • Grow medium: 2 9-Liter Bags of Growstones
  • Grow Medium: 2 9-liter bags of Growstones Mix This
  • Growing capacity: 20 plants (can be extended with more growing pots)
  • Good to Go: Yes – easy assembly with user manual provided
  • Usability Rating: 9/10
  • Looks Rating: 7.5/10
  • Price: Rating 9.5/10
  • Fun Rating: 8.5/10

(Deluxe Kick Starter Pack)

We think Grow Up Hydrogarden compares very well with other hydroponic towers. It has all the features you would expect yet comes at very reasonable price.

Its not the Rolls Royce of hydroponics but it’s a great way to get started in this method of growing plants or food at home.

Why Grow Up Hydrogarden?

  • Grow 20 plants
  • Easy Assembly
  • Everything you need to get started in Deluxe Starter Pack
  • Great PriceGrow_Up_Deluxe_Kit
    Easy and Fast

What Are The Benefits?

In this starter Deluxe pack you really have everything you need to get going in the world of Hydroponics.

It’s not so pretty as the market leading Juice Plus Tower Garden, however at a $200 saving for practically the same system we consider it a great bargain.

The full kit includes all nutrients and growth medium. (growth medium is what supports the plants instead of soil). The medium and nutrients could potentially last you all of your first year, this is good value.

Growth medium, according to some users, can be washed in fresh water with some vinegar and used again.

The system can be used outdoors or indoors as suits you best.

growup_patio
On a patio

Five growing pots give you a growing capacity of twenty plants. (The same as Juice Plus system.) A great way to start.

The growing pots are all food grade plastic. They are simply stacked on top of each other.

Buying more growing pots will allow you to increase the growing capacity. However you would need to upgrade your pump and tubing.

Growup_full3

Plants will get plenty air and water because of the supplied specialised growing stones and pump.

Because of the small size you can get started on a small patio, porch, balcony or even inside your home.

The pump is submersible so it can be stored in the twenty litre water tank and not be seen. This also makes it quieter.

A twenty litre water tank means you are only watering the plants once a week or fortnight.

Of course all the usual benefits of hydroponic gardening still apply.

Compared to many systems, assembly is extremely simple.

Some Things To Note

You do need to get your own seeds or starter plants from a nursery. Seeds do not fair well in the growing stones.

seedlings_grow_up
Seedlings and Starter Plants

There is no timer for the water pump. (You don’t necessarily need one though)

Customer service through their Facebook page has a very quick response time.

Grow Up Hydrogarden In a Nutshell

  1. You can grow up to twenty plants
  2. You can grow them in as little as three weeks.
  3. You can grow organically.
  4. You can grow all year round.
  5. You can grow inside or outside.
  6. You can grow in a small space.
  7. Plants can be ready in three weeks.
  8. The unit is durable.
  9. The unit is food safe.
  10. You can assemble very easily.
balcony
Grow in the City

What Are Customers Actually Saying?

We scoured the internet and read different reviews on many merchant websites and forums. We saw that all of the benefits above are supported by many forum discussions and customer reviews on the top merchant websites.

Costco, Amazon, and home Depot for example all have good customer reviews on this product.

Amazon: 4/5 star rating is given – From 40 customer reviews

Home Depot:   4/5 star rating – From 1 customer review.

Costco: 4.75/5 start rating – From four Customer reviews.

As with all products some customers say good things, some say bad. In this case however the vast majority have good things to say.

Reviews from customers who have both the Grow Up Hydrogarden and the Juice Plus Tower (sorry for always bringing that one up) actually say this product is better despite being $200 cheaper.

“I own both. The only difference I see is the shape, color and of course the price. I’m getting ready to order my second Grow Up HGTC”

“Good for beginners”

“Great for indoor gardening”

“much better quality than expected”

“This unit is the best hydroponic as far as quick assembly”

“Still looks like new after three years”

“Customer service is great”

are some of the many positive comments.

Aubergines Taking Shape

There are some negative comments on these sites but they really are few and far between. Negatives were from people who had problems getting their plants to grow.

“Not enough growing medium” and “The Grow Up started out good but turned out to be a POS”.

The last customer, calling it a “POS”, claims to have followed all instructions correctly.

Personally, we think that judging by all the other positive comments the chances are this person had made a mistake somewhere along the line.

As over 95% of the fifty or so customer reviews that we have read are very positive we believe this to be genuinely a very good product.

Grow Up Hydrogarden Review Verdict

This product is well worth it’s price tag. You are ready to go, set up is fast and easy, and customer service gets a big thumbs up too.

All the benefits of Hydroponic gardening still apply. No weeding, no pests, grow in doors if you wish. Grow all year round. All this for way less than may Hydroponic kits.

It gets a solid 9/10 from us.

Best Place To Buy?

Buying form merchants other than the official website is far cheaper. The official Hydrogarden website prices it at $299.

Get The Best Price Here

That would be nearly $300 cheaper than the Juice Plus Tower Garden, for essentially the same product. (whoops we did it again!)

If you have any extra questions about this product, any experiences you would like to share or any other products you would like us to review please get in touch through the comments below.

We’d love to hear from you and are always happy to help.

Tower Garden Growing System Review

I’m guessing you’re on the hunt for some kind of vegetable growing system? Namely the Tower Garden by Juice Plus. (pictured above).

Before you jump in and read other websites, you really should be aware of the many problems surrounding some of the the Tower Garden growing system reviews.

Here are a few words of warning prior to buying a new vertical growing system from this company.

tower12Continue reading Tower Garden Growing System Review