iDOO Hydroponics Growing System Review (2023)

If you are looking for a way to have fresh produce in your house all year long, you should check out the

iDOO Hydroponics Growing System

Hydroponics growing kits are easy to use because they have everything you need to get started. The iDOO hydroponics indoor growing kit is no different. This system is perfect for beginners because it doesn't require a lot of experience or knowledge to get started.

But let's start here: What does hydroponics mean? Hydroponic indoor gardening kits allow the roots to hang in the water, and nutrient mixes are added directly to the water, eliminating the need for soil to grow plants. Multi-colored LED lights act as the sunlight.

The system has a water pump that recirculates the water and nutrients to the roots of your plants.

iDOO Indoor Garden Starter Kit (7 Pods)

If you don't want to dive into the deep end, dip your toe in the water instead, with the iDOO starter kit, featuring seven pods.

It's a basic system but would be perfect as an herb garden kit. The normal mode is very suitable for germination, but the other light modes offer versatility.

iDOO Indoor Garden Premium Kit (12 Pods)

If you are ready to step beyond herbs and start growing your produce, the premium kit has room for 12 pods instead of 7.

We like this as an option if you want to grow lettuce varieties. Romaine gets a little old, but you can develop quite a nice little salad if you start mixing in arugula and other lettuce plants.

If salad is not your thing, pick your favorite pepper varieties.

iDOO Indoor Garden Flagship Kit (20 Pods)

The 20 pod kits make it easy to get a little more advanced. Start with the herbs, simultaneously grow lettuce and peppers, and add tomatoes.

Twenty pods are plenty of room to grow a wonderful indoor hydroponics garden.

Indoor Hydroponic Garden

Of course, that begs the question: Do indoor gardens work? A home garden is a fantastic way to add fresh nutrition to your diet, but it can be a hassle to deal with. We've failed at an outdoor garden in the past when weeds and insects took over. Growing plants is difficult when you need to leave town for a week and come back to find that the weeds have taken over.

While we failed at an outdoor garden, we've had wild success with a hydroponics growing system. The iDOO hydroponics indoor garden is perfect for people who want a garden but don't have the time or space for an outdoor garden.

If the thought of large plants growing on your counter is a little overwhelming, an indoor herb garden is a perfect place to start if you just need to dip your toe in the water before diving into the deep end.

Water Circulation System

The beauty of an indoor garden kit is that you don't need soil. It seems a little counterintuitive, but the nutrient mix is added directly to the water, making the soil unnecessary.

In some ways, the indoor hydroponics garden is better than an outdoor garden involving soil because the iDOO indoor garden includes a water pump to circulate the water.

As the water circulates, the root system is exposed to increased oxygen, promoting faster growth. The normal cycle for the water pump alternates between 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off, but you can temporarily go off-cycle if you need a break from the low-grade noise.

The water circulation system will feed your plants plenty of oxygen, but the pump system won't keep you awake. In the unlikely event that the circulating pump bothers you while you are in the same room, simply put the unit in sleep mode, and you too will hit deep sleep quickly.

LED Grow Light on Sunlight Spectrum

The hydroponics growing system simulates real-world exposure to the sunlight spectrum through the intelligent use of an LED light system.

The high-performance grow lights have three different modes that align with the various growth stages. The combination of blue light, white light, and red light offers the full spectrum of sunlight elegantly.

The Grow Mode enables the lights to stay on for 16 hours to promote the fastest growth possible. The Normal Mode offers illumination for 14 hours a day, which is excellent for a while your plants are still growing and before they reach full maturity.

Once your indoor garden kit reaches full maturity, you can reduce your usage to the Enjoy Mode, which only offers 12 hours of illumination per day.

The different light modes make it easy to manage the light spectrum your veggies are exposed to and how much the grow lights impact your everyday living environment.

Nutrient Solution

If you have ever tended to an outdoor garden, you know that proper plant food is essential. While the plant food for an indoor garden may look a little different, it is still a necessary part of promoting healthy growth.

The nutrition kit comes with two nutrients. Simply follow directions to properly mix the nutrients with water before adding them to the water basin below the plant pods.

When first planted, the seeds sit in smart soil sponge pods, and the pods hang in the nutrient water. This combination, along with the LED lights and water circulation system, enables the plants to grow much faster than they otherwise might be grown.

Different Growth Stages

We love hydroponics growing systems because they are extremely practical for anyone trying to lead a healthy lifestyle, but they are also a great educational gift.

If you want to teach a kid about photosynthesis or hydroponics, what better way than something like an iDOO growing system? You can teach about the various growth stages of plants in a real-world way.

Height Adjustable Garden Kit

The iDOO is a height-adjustable growing kit, so you can grow plants as tall as 14 inches, which allows for near limitless teaching opportunities. The fact that you can produce such a variety of vegetables and lettuce is precious.

Growing your lettuce varieties and cherry tomatoes is a gratifying way to produce your salad. The adjustable height makes this possible.

How Do You Plant Seeds In iDOO?

The iDOO growing system comes with growth sponges like pre-made pods of soil that you can drop your seeds down into for germination.

Once you drop your seeds into the soil pods, the nutrient water will help properly feed the seeds and eventually help them grow through the different growth stages until they hit full maturity.

The entire process is straightforward. While a hydroponic system might seem daunting, in some ways, it is easier than buying produce at the grocery store.

Does iDOO Come With Seeds?

The iDOO indoor hydroponic garden kit does not come with seeds. You will need to choose and supply the seeds, but the good news is that the sponges make it very easy to drop in your seed of choice.

Some might prefer the convenience of something like the AeroGarden system, which includes pre-planted seeds, but the iDOO indoor hydroponic garden offers maximum versatility.

Plant what you want to plant. If you wish to experiment with different lettuce and greens varieties or test out the Carolina Reaper or jalapenos, you can do so in the iDOO.

Indoor Garden Kit For Herbs

A hydroponics growing system works exceptionally well for an indoor herb garden. If you've never grown an indoor herb garden before, you might be surprised how strong and refreshing the flavoring is compared to the dried herbs you might buy at the local grocery store.

A hydroponics growing system makes it incredibly easy to experiment with multiple herbs at once, even if you haven't historically used herbs in the past.

We like using our hydroponic system as an indoor herb garden because it encourages us to look up new and healthy recipes so that we can use our ever-growing supply of fresh herbs.

Enjoy Fresh Herbs at Home

The best fresh herbs to enjoy at home are basil, oregano, mint, and thyme. If you have a kitchen garden or are thinking about starting one, consider the iDOO hydroponics growing system for your indoor plants.

It's an affordable and easy way to get started with hydroponics, and you can grow a variety of herbs, vegetables, and lettuce indoors.

Herbs are incredibly versatile, so growing your herbs makes complete sense rather than purchasing them at the local grocery store. We recommend that you try using your herbs for cooking teas, and some people even use them for home remedies.

Basil is a great herb to grow indoors because it's easy to care for and has a wonderful flavor. You can add fresh basil leaves to pasta dishes, pizza sauce, or pesto. Oregano is another excellent herb to grow indoors and goes well in Italian dishes like spaghetti sauce and lasagna.

Mint is a refreshing herb perfect for making teas or adding to cocktails. Thyme is an essential herb in French cuisine and pairs well with chicken, fish, and vegetables.

Year-Round Fresh Veggies

Vegetables might take up a little more room, but they are fantastic to grow indoors as well. Our favorite vegetables to grow indoors include :

1. Lettuce
2. Tomatoes
3. Cucumbers
4. Peppers

These vegetables can be grown in the iDOO growing system, and they will provide you with fresh veggies all year long! The iDOO system is perfect for people who want to eat healthy, home-grown veggies but don't have a lot of space.

We eat almost entirely vegetarian in our household, so having fresh vegetables and lettuce around is extremely important. If you assume that vegetarians only eat salad, you would be very wrong.

Vegetables are the perfect complement to add flavor and nutrition. We eat a ton of mushroom dishes, pasta, and Mexican-inspired dishes. And when we want to add on a side salad, adding vegetables adds variety there, too.

The iDOO growing system is also great for beginners. It's easy to set up and use, and it doesn't require much maintenance. You will be able to harvest your veggies in no time!

So, if you're looking for a way to grow your vegetables indoors, the iDOO system is worth considering. It's affordable, easy to use, and it will help you eat healthy all year long!

Hydroponics Growing System Promotes Significant Growth

The LED grow lights provide around-the-clock sunlight simulation, promoting veggies photosynthesis in a way that you could never accomplish in an outdoor garden.

Extra oxygen is circulated with the independent water pump, promoting growth, and the combination of all of these factors means that plants grow much faster than they would otherwise.

If you or your family are high vegetable consumers, utilizing hydroponic systems and hydroponic gardens to grow your food just makes too much sense to ignore.

iDOO Hydroponics Growing System Alternatives

Of course, iDOO makes air beds and electric mops in addition to their hydroponic systems. It's a bit of a weird combination, but the reality is that iDOO is a cheaper, near knock-off version of the more established brands.

That doesn't mean it isn't a good option. iDOO is much more than just a fun science project. You can start a legitimate home garden.

Still, if you are serious about starting a hydroponics garden, it is important to understand the alternatives.

iDOO vs. AeroGarden

iDOO looks eerily similar to an AeroGarden. Some might even suggest that one is mirrored off of the other. The brand doesn't matter so much when growing plants, but quality and ease of use do matter.

In our opinion, AeroGarden offers a better overall system. This includes pods that already contain planted seeds. Hydroponic gardening isn't hard, but there is no reason to overcomplicate the process, either.

Developing a hydroponics garden kit under a weird iDOO umbrella is one thing. On the other hand, AeroGarden's entire brand identity makes it easier for people to grow healthy food at home.

The enhanced focus makes the AeroGarden system worth any extra money that it might cost.

Will AeroGarden Pods Fit iDOO?

AeroGarden pods are explicitly designed for the AeroGarden system, so they will not fit in an iDOO. You might be tempted to try because the AeroGarden pods include seeds, while the iDOO sponges do not, but don't even try.

Either order seeds online from Amazon or your local box store, or go with the AeroGarden system if you prefer the convenience of the seeds being included in the pre-packaged pods.

iDOO vs. Click & Grow

Click & Grow is a self-sustaining garden, like the other options here, that will enable the growth of nearly any plant.

In function, the

The single bar has mostly white LED lights built-in, along with red lights and blue lights so that the LED grow light provides the full spectrum of sunlight.

The result is that the Click & Grow looks a little bit like a basket. The iDOO and AeroGarden systems have high-performance grow lights built into the much more bulky and less conspicuous platform.

While Click & Grow is a little more expensive than iDOO, we prefer the appearance of Click & Grow as an addition to your kitchen or living area.

iDOO vs. Gardyn

In comparing iDOO vs. Gardyn, you might notice that the Gardyn system is much larger. iDOO, AeroGarden, and even Click & Grow work well for herb gardens and can be built up over time.

The Gardyn system isn't really for herbs. Sure, you could grow herbs with Gardyn, but the system is much taller and more open.

This makes Gardyn an exciting system for anyone looking to produce enough produce to eat nightly. Plus, the Gardyn features the LED grow light on a vertical column that is less restrictive than the alternatives rather than a bar or platform featuring the LED grow light.

One unique consideration for Gardyn is that the system includes an assistant named Kelby that watches over your plants. Like it or love it, the added AI monitoring is a differentiator against iDOO indoor gardens or any other competitors.

iDOO vs. Lettuce Grow

Like Gardyn above, in comparing iDOO vs. Lettuce Grow, you will notice that Lettuce Grow is for much more serious indoor gardening considerations.

You could grow herbs, but the Lettuce Grow system is designed to grow lettuce and other greens, as the name suggests. Each of these brands has something that sets them apart from the rest.

For Lettuce Grow, their differentiation is that they sell pre-sprouted seedlings. The pre-sprouted seedlings not only speed up the harvesting process but also reduce the likelihood that you might fail.

Watching the different growth stages is fun, but skipping the initial seed planting definitely saves time. If you plan to keep the Lettuce Grow system indoors, be sure to purchase the add-on ring lights, which are responsible for helping veggies absorb energy and grow.

Which Hydroponics System to Choose?

At the end of the day, the iDOO systems come with everything a hydroponics garden needs, including sponges, nutrients, LED grow lights, and a plants germination kit with a pump system.

Still, the iDOO system looks like a knock-off of some of the most prominent competitors. It is good enough to get your seeds sprouted and facilitates growing medium-size plants.

But if you are serious about learning with an indoor garden kit, we recommend that you consider AeroGarden or Click & Grow for an herb garden and Gardyn or Lettuce Grow for more frequent produce needs.

Is iDOO Indoor Garden Worth It?

The kit comes with everything you need to get started, and it's effortless to use. You just hang the plants in water and add nutrients directly to the water.

No soil required! The LED lights act as sunlight, and the water pump recirculates the water and nutrients to the roots of your plants.

Simple Indoor Gardening Solution

The idea of using a hydroponic system to start an indoor garden might sound overwhelming, but it is pretty simple. Hydroponics systems work by suspending the plants' roots in water and feeding them a nutrient mix.

Hydroponics systems are easy to maintain and use. The water and nutrient solution is circulated through the system, so there is no need to worry about over or under watering your plants.

The iDOO hydroponics growing system was designed with the beginner gardener in mind. This compact and easy-to-use system comes with everything you need to get started, including a built-in grow light and a water pump.

The iDOO hydroponic system is perfect for growing herbs, greens, and flowers indoors. The built-in grow light ensures that your plants get the right amount of light, and the water pump keeps the roots suspended in the nutrient mix.