Aerogarden’s Closing.. What Next?!

Aerogarden just announced that they’re closing at the end of the year.

Starting January 1, 2025 the original hydroponic garden maker will no longer exist.

Cue sad tears.

So… what’s next?

Aerogarden Closure

The closure announcement was posted to the company website (in a strangely formatted letter), but essentially the company is shutting down at the end of the year.

They’re still selling products on Aerogarden.com for a couple more days (until October 7th).

However, any garden purchased after November 1st (through Amazon or third parties) won’t have the traditional 1 year warranty.

Instead, they’ll only get 90 days of coverage.

If you had your eye on any Aerogarden systems, I’d grab them in the next couple days.

I checked the website and it looks like there’s limited inventory.

The gardens I’m really sad to see disappear are the Farm units. I would recommend grabbing a Farm 12xl while they’re still available.

There’s no other hydroponic garden on the market quite like the Farm. I love them so much I have 3 units, and they’re also stackable vertically.

I specifically recommend the XL model because it has 3 feet of growing height – perfect for larger plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants.

But don’t worry – you can continue to use all your Aerogarden models after Aerogarden goes out of busines. I have tips for replacement pods further on in this post!

I’m sad my favorite garden design will no longer be available

Warning Signs

I saw some signs that the company wasn’t doing well and potentially headed for closure about a year ago.

They ran a major (and I mean major) sale on their large Farm models in 2023.

I picked up several during that time, because the deals were incredible.

But it did make me (and others in the hydroponic gardening community) think that perhaps Aerogarden was shutting down the Farm product line.

Then earlier this year, they suddenly removed the Farm 24xl from the company website and refused to say if or when the product would be restocked.

I wasn’t anticipating the company itself to shut down… but then again, the warning signs were there.

Competition in the Indoor Garden Market

Ever since the pandemic, new brands have popped up in the hydroponic garden system space – all offering similar, cheaper machines.

I tried some of the Amazon knockoff brands when they first came out and found them lacking.

Here’s a video I made of one cheap indoor garden that, despite the great price tag, was just not worth the money:

@shershegrows

Replying to @JackpotGina🌹 affordable indoor garden series, con’t… first up, a review of the smallest + cheapest indoor garden on amazon! #indoorhydroponics #hydroponicgarden #babybokchoy #hydroponicsbeginner #indoorgardeningtips #indoorgarden

♬ original sound – Sher

But the Chinese manufacturers didn’t give up.

They listened to customer feedback, tweaked their products and have continually innovated and released improved hydroponic gardens.

Friends used to ask me which machine on Amazon I’d recommend and I’d re-direct them to Aerogarden’s systems.

“They’re a little bit more expensive but they’re better quality”, I’d say.

In the last year and half though?

…I started referring friends to Amazon.

For years, I was a big Aerogarden fan and had almost every product in their lineup.

But now, my indoor garden setup is a mix of brands.

As a consumer, I love that more companies are getting into the space and designing innovative, unique options.

In general, competition can be healthy and encourage better quality products at more affordable pricing.

the End of an Era 😭 Aerogarden was the company that got me into indoor gardening

Scotts Acquires Aerogarden

Aerogarden was the OG, and hit its stride in 2020, turning profitable for the first time.

But post pandemic, the company has seemed to struggle.

Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that in 2020, they were acquired by Scotts Miracle-Gro.

The transaction itself generated some controversy.

Scotts had made investments in the company over the years.

By 2020, they acquired 80% of the company and wanted to acquire the remaining piece as the company’s stock was at an all time high.

Several AeroGrow investors, upset with the takeover attempt, called Scotts “greedy”, “a bully” and even accused the gardening conglomerate of infiltrating and influencing the board.

In any case, the deal went through and Scotts took over Aerogarden.

Post 2020 Aerogarden

For whatever reason, Aerogarden hasn’t released any exciting products in the last couple years – at a time when tons of new competitors were entering the space.

Instead, Aerogarden came out with some strange accessories, like these tabletop plant lights and wrap around garden stickers.

They finally released a new garden earlier this year, the Harvest 2.0

…only for it to receive a big head scratch.

Aerogarden Harvest 2.0: is it really an upgrade?

I made a Youtube video unboxing the new 2.0 model when I first got my hands on it.

Essentially, the company came out with a new garden, called it the “2.0” to signal an improved design, but rolled back the specs and features for a lower-grade model.

All while keeping the price sky high, nearly double its Amazon competitors.

So maybe it’s not all that surprising that the company has suffered a bit in recent years..

What Next

I still love my Aerogarden hydroponic systems – and still plan to use them!

It’s a shame the company will no longer exist, but in my experience their products are well made, high quality and should last years.

If the LED lights do fail down the line, I guess I’ll have to give up then, but I certainly will be using my Farms to their max potential!

one gap in the market? something like the Aerogarden Farms – nothing similar exists

Aerogarden Alternatives

In my opinion, there are SO many small and medium size garden options on the market.

In particular, I like these:

• Letpot LPH-Air: a cute, compact 10 pod countertop garden
• Ahopegarden: a compact 10 pod countertop garden
• Letpot LPH-SE: a sleek, 12 pod stainless steel countertop garden
• Ahopegarden: a compact 12 pod countertop garden
• Ahopegarden Transparent: a unique countertop garden with a see-throw bowl
• Letpot LPH-Max: a medium sized, 24 pod garden that’s great for seed starting

this is my current favorite affordable countertop garden

Aerogarden Replacement Pods

You don’t need to throw away your Aerogarden machines just because Aerogarden’s seed kits and replacement parts will no longer be available.

In fact, I’ve been using replacement parts from third-party brands for years!

Generic versions of Aerogarden parts have existed for ages and are much more affordable.

I have an in-depth post on my favorite (and cheapest) brands here.

It covers replacements for everything, including plastic grow baskets, sponges, stickers, etc.

How to Make Your Own Aerogarden Pods

I’ve also always used my own seeds and third-party nutrients.

In fact, I prefer buying seeds from heirloom seed companies over the Aerogarden seed pod kits.

And I prefer dry nutrients over Aerogarden’s liquid plant food!

the one thing third-party brands can’t compare with? Aerogarden’s liquid nutrients

The third party brands are just as good and significantly cheaper.

Using alternatives, I can grow plants in my Aerogardens for 11 cents per pod.

That’s a huge savings compared to

• ~ $0.68 – $1.19 per pod using Aerogarden’s Grow Your Own Kits
• ~$1.55 – $2.67 per pod using Aerogarden’s Seed Pod Kits

Third Party vs Aerogarden Cost Analysis

Read more: How to Make Your Own Aerogarden Replacement Pods

The Future of Indoor Gardening..

Overall, it’s really sad to see Aerogarden going out of business, but my personal indoor gardening plan won’t really change.

I still love hydroponic gardening and who knows?

Maybe Scotts will revive the brand in the future or a new innovative option will come into the market.

To be honest, I’ve had pipe dreams before of creating my own version..

What do you think of the Aerogarden closure announcement?

Here’s the announcement in full:

Dear Valued AeroGarden Customer,

We are saddened to announce the closing of AeroGarden effective January 1, 2025. This was a difficult decision, but one that became necessary due to a number of challenges with this business. First, we want to express our deepest gratitude for your loyalty and support. Second, we intend to wind down operations in a manner that will inspire you to enjoy indoor gardening through the holiday season and beyond.

What to expect

Throughout this transition, our customer service team will be available for support via aerogarden.com/contact-us. To purchase our products prior to closing, you have two options: –

– Aerogarden.com. Products will be available for purchase through October 7, 2024. You may access your account and its history through March 1, 2026.

– Our products will continue to be available on Amazon through the end of the year.

Additionally, the AeroGarden app, which supports AeroGarden Wi-Fi gardens and Indoor Grow Lights via bluetooth technology, will be available for an extended period of time. We will inform you of its longer-term status as we work through the transition period. You can operate your AeroGarden systems without the app as described in the user manual for the applicable product, which can be found at aerogarden.com/all-product-manuals.html.

Warranty information

All AeroGarden Gardens purchased on or after November 1, 2024, will be covered by a 90-day limited warranty. This will replace the one-year warranty described in the user manual that comes with the unit. Warranty claims should be submitted as outlined in the user manual and the full 90-day limited warranty, details of which will be available on aerogarden.com by the end of October.

We encourage you to keep this in mind when making purchases.

Moving forward

There are a number of online sellers offering seed pods that might serve as a replacement for the AeroGarden seed pods. We encourage you to explore these options as you look to get the most out of your AeroGarden growing system well into the future.

AeroGarden would not have been the brand it is without you. Your passion for growing fresh, healthy food at home inspired us every step of the way. Thank you for being among our biggest supporters and know that we will be here for you through this transition.

Sincerely,

The AeroGarden Team

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