Reservoir and deck, 12 pods, light rod and LED head, circulation pump, instruction booklet
Not included
Seeds, nutrient solution
Shipping & returns
Tracked standard delivery anywhere in the UK. It is free on orders of £50 or more, and a flat £22 below that. Allow 5 to 7 days after a 24 to 48 hour handling time.
Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 you have 14 days from delivery to tell us you want to cancel, and a further 14 days to send the item back in its original condition and packaging. There is no cancellation, restocking, service, packing or handling fee, and your refund includes the standard delivery charge. You cover return postage when you change your mind. Faulty, damaged or incorrect goods are a separate matter under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and come back at our cost.
If it arrives faulty, damaged, incomplete or simply not what you ordered, we arrange the return at our cost and put it right. This does not affect your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.
Empty and rinse the reservoir between crops and wipe the pod deck as you go. Lift the pump out every few months and flush it through, because a slow pump is nearly always a blocked one. Wipe the light rod with a dry cloth rather than a wet one.
12 PodsTwelve plants at once on a kitchen worktop
36W Full Spectrum LEDOn a rod that raises as the plants grow
Timer With Two ModesOne for seedlings, one for plants in growth
Automatic PumpRuns 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off, quietly
About this product
Twelve herbs on the worktop, watering themselves.
A closed countertop garden with its own full spectrum light, a timer and a pump that runs on a cycle.
This is the closed, self contained end of hydroponics. No soil, no channels to plumb and no watering can. Twelve pods sit in a reservoir, a pump circulates the nutrient water on a cycle, and a light rod above them does the job daylight would.
It is built to live on a worktop rather than in a spare room, so it stays quiet and it does not look like equipment.
The reason a system like this exists is that most people who want fresh herbs do not want a project. There is nothing to assemble beyond standing the light rod up, and nothing to remember once it is running. The pump handles the water and the timer handles the light.
The light rod is the part worth understanding. It raises as the plants get taller, which matters because a fixed light either sits too far away from a seedling or too close to a grown plant. Fifty centimetres of travel covers a herb from germination to cutting.
The pump runs on a half hour cycle rather than continuously. That is not a power saving measure. Roots need oxygen as well as water, and alternating a flow with a rest is what keeps them from sitting waterlogged.
Twelve pods is a kitchen quantity. Basil, coriander, parsley, mint, chives and a few salad leaves is a realistic planting, and it is the sort of thing you cut from rather than harvest all at once.
Still deciding?
Not sure yet? That is fine.
Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 you have 14 days from delivery to tell us you want to cancel, and a further 14 days to send the item back in its original condition and packaging. There is no cancellation, restocking, service, packing or handling fee, and your refund includes the standard delivery charge. You cover return postage when you change your mind. Faulty, damaged or incorrect goods are a separate matter under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and come back at our cost.
If it turns up faulty, damaged, incomplete or simply not what you ordered, it is on us: we arrange the return at our cost and sort it out directly. Tell us as soon as you notice. The full detail is on our refunds and returns page, and you can ask us anything before you order.
A way of growing plants without soil. The roots take nutrients from water instead, and the system holds that water, moves it and lights the plants above it.
HOW MANY PLANTS DOES IT HOLD?
Twelve, one per pod.
DO I HAVE TO WATER IT?
No. You top the reservoir up when the level drops. The pump does the rest, on its own cycle, without you starting it.
HOW OFTEN DO I TOP IT UP?
It depends on how warm the room is and how big the plants have grown. Check it weekly at first and you will quickly learn the rhythm of your own kitchen.
WHAT COMES IN THE BOX?
The reservoir and its pod deck, twelve pods, the light rod and LED head, the circulation pump and an instruction booklet. Seeds and nutrient solution are not included.
WHY DOES THE PUMP TURN ITSELF OFF?
It runs thirty minutes on and thirty minutes off by design. Roots need oxygen as well as water, and the rest half of the cycle is what stops them sitting waterlogged.
IS THE PUMP NOISY?
It is quiet enough for a kitchen. It is a small circulation pump rather than an aquarium air pump, and it is off for half of every hour.
HOW BRIGHT IS THE LIGHT?
36 watts, full spectrum. That is sized for twelve herbs directly under it rather than for lighting a room or a larger system.
WHY DOES THE LIGHT MOVE UP AND DOWN?
Because the right distance changes as the plant grows. A light set for a seedling is too close for a grown basil plant, and one set for a grown plant is too far from a seedling. The rod raises to 50 cm.
WHAT ARE THE TWO TIMER MODES FOR?
One suits seedlings and young plants, the other suits plants in active growth. You pick the one that matches where your planting has got to.
CAN I LEAVE IT RUNNING WHEN I GO AWAY?
For a short trip, yes, provided the reservoir is full. The timer and pump do not need you. For a longer absence, fill it and expect to top it up when you return.
DO I NEED TO PUT IT NEAR A WINDOW?
No. It brings its own light, which is the point of it. A worktop away from a window is fine.
WHAT CAN I GROW IN IT?
Herbs and salad leaves are what it is built for: basil, coriander, parsley, mint, chives, rocket, lettuce. Anything that grows tall or fruits heavily will outgrow the light height.
CAN I GROW TOMATOES OR CHILLIES?
You can start them, but they will run out of headroom and light before they crop properly. This is a herb and leaf system. For fruiting plants you want a tent and a bigger light.
HOW LONG UNTIL I CAN CUT ANYTHING?
Fast growing leaves and herbs are usually ready to start cutting in a few weeks from seed. It varies by what you sow and how warm the room is.
IS IT SUITABLE FOR A COMPLETE BEGINNER?
It is the easiest thing we sell. There is no flow to balance, no channel to block and nothing to plumb. If you have never grown anything, start here.
WHAT NUTRIENT SOLUTION DO I USE?
A general hydroponic nutrient suited to leafy greens. It is not included. Mix it to the dilution printed on the bottle rather than by eye, because too strong does more harm than too weak.
CAN I USE TAP WATER?
Yes, in most of the UK. If your water is very hard you may find you need to adjust the nutrient mix, but for herbs on a worktop tap water is normal practice.
HOW OFTEN DO I CHANGE THE WATER?
Empty and refresh it every few weeks rather than only topping up forever. Nutrients get used unevenly, so a full change resets the balance.
HOW DO I STOP IT GOING GREEN?
Algae needs light on the water. Keep the deck seated properly and do not leave pods out of their holes, and it has nothing to grow on.
DOES IT SMELL?
It should not. If it does, the water has been left too long or the pump has stopped moving it. Empty it, rinse it and start again.
HOW MUCH ELECTRICITY DOES IT USE?
It is a 36 watt light and a small pump that runs half the time. It is on the order of a household lamp rather than an appliance, though we would rather quote the wattage than a running cost we cannot verify for your tariff.
HOW BIG IS IT?
It is built for a kitchen worktop, with the light rod adding up to 50 cm of height above the deck. If you have a spot for a large kettle and clearance above it, you have the space.
CAN I MOVE IT ONCE IT IS PLANTED?
Yes, but empty most of the water first. A full reservoir is heavy and it will slop.
WHAT HAPPENS IN A POWER CUT?
Nothing dramatic. The water stays where it is and the roots stay wet. You lose light and circulation until it comes back.
CAN I RUN IT WITHOUT THE LIGHT?
On a very bright windowsill in summer, possibly. Indoors in a British winter, no. The light is doing real work for most of the year here.
IS IT THE SAME AS THE 11 CUP SYSTEM?
No. The 11 cup deep water culture kit is an open tub with an air pump and no light. This is a closed unit with its own lighting and timer. This one asks less of you; that one costs less and scales into the NFT kits more naturally.
CAN I BUY REPLACEMENT PODS?
Ask us and we will check current availability with the supplier before you order, rather than promising a spare we have not confirmed.
HOW IS IT DELIVERED?
Tracked delivery across the UK takes 5 to 7 days after a 24 to 48 hour handling time. It is free on orders of £50 or more and otherwise costs £22.
WHAT IF A PART IS MISSING?
Tell us and we will replace it. Check the contents against the list when it arrives rather than at planting time.
The complete guide
Buying Guide
6 min readHydroponics Company
A garden that does not need managing
Most hydroponic kits ask something of you every few days. A channel to check, a
flow to set, a pump to prime. This one asks for water in the reservoir and a
plug socket.
That is the whole design intent. Twelve pods, a light above them, a pump on a
timer underneath, and a lid on the reservoir so none of it is on display. It is
meant to sit on a worktop and be ignored.
The light rod is the part that matters
A seedling and a grown basil plant want the light at different heights. Fix the
light and one of the two is wrong.
The rod solves that by raising to 50 cm above the deck, so the light follows the
planting rather than the planting reaching for the light. It is a full spectrum
36 watt LED, which is sized for twelve herbs directly beneath it. It is not a
grow light for a room, and it is not meant to be one.
Why the pump stops
Half an hour on, half an hour off. It looks like a fault the first time you
notice it and it is not.
Roots need oxygen as well as water and nutrients. A root held in a constant flow
never gets any, and it rots. Alternating the cycle gives the water time to drain
back off the roots, which is the same principle the larger nutrient film kits use
by running a thin film rather than a deep one.
What twelve pods is actually worth
It is a cutting garden, not a crop. Basil, coriander, parsley, mint, chives and a
few salad leaves is a sensible planting, and what you get from it is the ability
to cut a handful of something fresh whenever you are cooking.
If you want volume, this is the wrong end of the range. The 36 cup and 108 cup
NFT kits are what to look at, and the 11 cup deep water culture system sits in
between on both size and price.
What it will not do
It will not grow tomatoes or chillies to a proper crop. They will germinate
happily and then run out of headroom and light, because 50 cm and 36 watts are
herb and leaf numbers.
It also does not come with seeds or nutrient solution, which surprises people.
Both are cheap and both are a choice, so the kit leaves them to you rather than
including something you may not want to grow.
Hydroponics Growing System, 12 Pod Herb Garden (pick code herb-garden-system) sold by
Hydroponics Company at nfthydroponics.co.uk/product/hydroponics-growing-system. A
countertop hydroponic herb garden, also searched as a herb garden system or an indoor
gardening system. Price is £139. Twelve pods, a 36 W full spectrum LED on a rod that
adjusts to 50 cm above the deck, a two mode timer and a circulation pump that runs 30
minutes on and 30 minutes off. Soil free and self watering: the reservoir holds the
nutrient water and the pump moves it, so there is no daily watering. Supplied with the
reservoir and deck, 12 pods, the light rod, the pump and an instruction booklet. Seeds
and nutrient solution are NOT included. It is the smallest and most self contained
system sold here and the one that needs the least attention; the 11 cup deep water
culture kit is the next step up and the 36 and 108 cup NFT kits are larger again.
Delivery is UK wide, free on orders over £50 and otherwise £22, arriving in 5 to 7 days
after a 24 to 48 hour handling time.
