Growing vegetables and herbs indoors has become so much easier since the Aerogarden was created in 2006. Since then, it’s gotten much more advanced and they have multiple different Aerogarden models to choose from.
And based on their website alone, it’s kind of confusing to decide which one is best for you.
Do you need the stainless steel finish for an extra $30? Well, maybe because that isn’t the only difference like some sites lead you to believe.
I put together this Aerogarden comparison to help you decide between the Harvest and the Harvest Elite and choose the right indoor garden for your family.
Let’s start with a quick summary breakdown.
- Stainless Steel Finish
- LCD Screen
- Vacation Mode
- Plant Food Countdown Timer
- Days Since Planted Timer
Aerogarden Harvest
The Aerogarden Harvest is a great choice for anyone just getting started with indoor gardening.
You can grow up to 6 plants at one time, and these systems come with the perfect lighting, plant food, and watering system for even the worst gardener to be growing healthy plants in no time.
Aerogarden Harvest Elite
The Aerogarden Harvest Elite is the more advanced model with additional features that the regular Harvest does not include.
Pros
- Stainless steel finish – the stainless steel finish will match a kitchen with multiple stainless steel appliances.
- Vacation mode
- Plant food countdown timer
- Ability to customize how long the grow lights should be on
- Days since planted timer keeps track of how long your plants have been growing
Cons
- Typically runs around $30 more than the basic Harvest model
Let’s dive a little deeper into both of these systems.
What’s the Difference Between the Harvest & Harvest Elite?
The main difference between the Harvest and the Harvest Elite is the more robust digital screen, as well as the stainless steel finish. There are a few other differences which I’ll get into below, but those are the main ones.
Size and Dimensions
Both of these Aerogarden models are the same in terms of dimensions. They hold 6 seed pods, meaning you can grow 6 different kinds of vegetables and herbs at the same time.
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LED Grow Lights
One of the most important pieces of indoor herb gardens is the grow light. Since the plants are inside, they aren’t getting natural sunlight, so you need something to mimic that for your plants to grow properly.
Both models in the Aerogarden Harvest family come with the same light system made up of LED lights, similar in everything from the size to the wattage.
Both models have the same lights, strength, and light hood.
Wattage
Both the Harvest and Harvest Elite come with LED grow lights running at 20 watts.
Wattage is good to know based on the size of the growing space, but more wattage doesn’t always mean it’s a better product. It’s generally advised to have 20-40 watts per square foot of growing space, so the 20 watts in both of these models is just right.
Brightness
Both models have pretty bright lights, so you want to keep the placement of your Aerogarden in mind.
You can also get an Aerogarden cover to help dim the brightness a bit if you live in a studio apartment, or if your bedroom is the only viable place for it. It might be hard to sleep otherwise, this LED light is no joke.
Light Height Adjustment
This is not one of the Aerogarden Harvest features that is widely talked about, but it’s important to note.
The basic Harvest model has 5 settings for height adjustment. There is a push button on the back of the bar that allows you to adjust to one of those 5 height settings.
The Harvest Elite model is a fluid adjustment level, meaning you can set it at any level along the bar. This is much more customizable and provides a more fluid experience.
Seed Pods & Capacity
Seed pods are the separate areas that allow you to grow different types of vegetables and herbs at the same time.
The Harvest and Harvest Elite both come with 6 seed pods, giving you the ability to grow up to six plants at once. Typically, the Aerogarden comes with a fresh herbs starter kit to give you something to grow.
The herb kit comes with:
- Genovese basil
- Curly parsley
- Dill
- Thyme
- Thai Basil
- Mint
This offers a great variety to get started with, but you can order other kinds of seed pod kits (i.e. cherry tomatoes, peppers, salad greens, etc.) if you prefer. You can also create your own DIY seed pods and plant your own seeds with anything you’d like.
WiFi
Both the Harvest and Harvest Elite do not have WiFi compatibility. If you’re looking for an Aerogarden that will send you push notifications for reminders to water your plants, check out the Aerogarden Bounty and Bounty Elite models.
Control Panel & Digital Screen
The control panel and button system for these two is quite different.
The Harvest model has 3 buttons and no screen readout.
The Harvest Elite model has an LCD screen that includes more settings.
The Harvest Elite control panel lets you set the system for different kinds of herbs and vegetables so they get the right amount of light. The settings you have are:
- Herbs – 17 hours of light
- Salads – 16.5 hours of light
- Veggies – 16 hours of light
- 24 hours of light
The LCD screen control panel also does a few other things:
- Reminders to add water
- Countdown to the day you need to add more nutrients and plant food
- How many days your plants have been growing
- Vacation mode
Vacation Mode
Vacation mode is another big difference between these two. Vacation mode is a setting that turn off the lights earlier than normal so they need less water while you’re away and don’t dry out.
This is a great setting if you travel quite a bit – otherwise this system is going to be hard to maintain. Aerogarden systems usually need water added every 2-3 days.
Noise
The water pump is usually the noisiest part of an Aerogarden system.
Your plants don’t just sit in the water well all the time, there is a pump that actually brings water over the top of them so they get a drink when they need one.
Water & Nutrient Reminders
Both the Harvest and Harvest Elite will remind you if the water level gets dangerously low, or it’s time to add plant food. The difference is in how you’ll be reminded.
With the Harvest model, the buttons will light up red.
The Harvest Elite model will show you on the LCD screen that it’s time to replace either one. This screen also gives you a countdown timer to when nutrients should be added, which gives you a little heads up before that time comes.
Plant Food
As with growing any plants indoors, eventually they’re going to need some extra plant food. Aerogarden makes their own liquid plant food you can buy, but there are alternatives as well.
The seed of any plant holds enough nutrients for it to grow its initial leaves and get to a few inches tall. But once it reaches that stage, it needs a little help and for you to add plant food.
Thankfully, the Aerogarden comes with some plant food, and has reminders to let you know when its time to feed your salad greens and plants.
Production
The Aerogarden system says that it grows plants 5 times faster than soil alone. Both of these models should provide the same plant yield and production.
Ease of Use
As with any technology, both systems have a slight learning curve to get started, but after your first session, you should get the hang of it pretty quickly.
These are made for beginners and those with black thumbs, so no worries here. There are plenty of YouTube videos that help you see these up as well.
Cost
The Aerogarden harvest models vary usually around $30, with the Harvest Elite coming in as more expensive.
Is the Aerogarden Harvest Elite Worth It?
This is a question you’ll need to answer based on your budget and situation, but let’s recap the differences for you.
With the Harvest Elite model, you’ll get:
- Stainless steel finish – the stainless steel finish will match a kitchen with multiple stainless steel appliances.
- LCD screen – gives you more customization for how long the lights should be on depending on what you’re growing.
- Vacation mode – to keep your plants from drying out while you’re away
- More useful method for raising the lights – slider bar vs a push button
- Plant food countdown timer (how many days until you need to add food)
- Days since planted counter – lets you know how long it’s been since you started growing your plants.
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For some, those features are well worth the $30 – especially being able to match it to your other stainless steel appliances.
But for others, the more basic Harvest model is just right.
No matter which model you choose, indoor gardening and being able to watch plants grow in your home, is an exciting experience…especially if you’ve never been able to grow plants and keep them alive before.
