Hydrofarm FLCO125D Fluorescent Grow Light System Reviews
Hydrofarm FLCO125D Fluorescent Grow Light System
Product Features
- Garden indoors year-round
- Get an early start on those tomatoes next spring
- Grow flowers, herbs and much more
- Easy to install: just hang it up and plug it in
Product Description
Compact Fluorescent Grow Light System Garden indoors year-round. Grow flowers, herbs and much more! Daylight brightness grows healthy plants. Lightweight fixture weighs less than 10 lbs. 21″ x 14.5″ x 9″ high fixture is easy to install.
List Price: $ 119.95
Savings: 34.55
Your Price: [wpramaprice asin=”B0006HRQTK”]
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful  A life saver (for wintering your bonsais), By D. Rennie (Boston MA) – See all my reviews Verified Purchase(What’s this?) This review is from: Hydrofarm FLCO125D Fluorescent Grow Light System (Lawn & Patio) I was not sure what to do with all my trees over the winter. I made a mistake and forgot to water my 40 year old ficus which has an amazing 10 inch trunk. I also have been babying my serissa for about 8 years and have had many sections die off. I knew my main problem was that they were not getting the right amount of light over the winter in the north east parts of Massachusetts. This year I decided I would build a bonsai hospital. First I had to sort out an area that my darn plant eating cat could not get into. Then I ordered this light. I went a few steps further and went to my local home hardware store and bought a set of 2″ PVC pipes and fittings making a jig to hold the light up about 5 feet off the ground. Then I put the light on a timer and ended up not only reviving my 40 year old ficus, but my serissa looks better than it does after a warm bright wet summer! I even put my herbs and my orchids under it and all in all this saved my entire plant collection for the winter. I do recommend making a stand of sorts. I used 2 “T” fittings for the legs and the risers, then 2 elbows for the pipe that spans between the feet and drilled two holes in them inserting hooks through them so I could suspend the light. It all breaks down for summer storage and I am sooooo happy with the results. Also, this thing throws out so much light you can’t even look into it, yet it uses so little energy! Its like having a 125 watt bulb on, so yes it uses some, but you will (more importantly your plants) will love love love it!! UPDATE: This summer my plants are doing better than ever. My orchid I mentioned above even flowered!!! First time ever since I got it. This winter they will all be pampered again under this light. 0 22 of 24 people found the following review helpful Great performance, low cost., By Verified Purchase(What’s this?) This review is from: Hydrofarm FLCO125D Fluorescent Grow Light System (Lawn & Patio) This was my first purchase of an item like this, so I was unsure what to expect. What I found was a high quality unit, ready to install. I have just one of these going, but I can say that with the compact flourescent bulb the increase in my utility cost is negligable. Great beginner unit! 0 18 of 20 people found the following review helpful Gro light, By Verified Purchase(What’s this?) This review is from: Hydrofarm FLCO125D Fluorescent Grow Light System (Lawn & Patio) This is the second of these I have ordered. When I installed the first one my indor pond plants responded nicely. The second one will allow me more plants by increaseing the lighted area. Great product for plants. 0 |
Miracle-Gro AeroGarden 7-Pod LED Indoor Garden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit
Product Features
- LED lights use 60% less power than traditional compact fluorescent lights, yet deliver up to 30% more growth!
- 3-5 year LED life saves hundreds of dollars in energy and Grow Light replacement costs
- Newly designed control panel makes set-up and maintenance easy!
- Grows herbs, flowers, lettuce, peppers, veggies and more
- Includes LED Lighting System, AeroGarden unit & Gourmet Herb Seed Pod Kit
Product Description
The Miracle-Gro AeroGarden 7-Pod LED Indoor Garden is a high-tech, high-output indoor garden that delivers big yields and fast, healthy plant growth. The AeroGarden 7 LED grows so simply and easily that no gardening experience is required. Scroll down to learn more.
List Price: $ 199.95
Savings: 60
Your Price: [wpramaprice asin="B00NHCLZ48"]
296 of 313 people found the following review helpful  I Like It, But Could Have Been Much Better.., By This review is from: Miracle-Gro AeroGarden 7-Pod LED Indoor Garden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit (Lawn & Patio) Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?) I always wanted to try my hand at hydroponic gardening, and this seemed like a great way to give it a try without investing a ton of money. === The Good Stuff === * It is certainly simple to get started. Within about 10 minutes of opening the box, I had everything ready to go and was eagerly watching my seeds to see when they would germinate. Everything you need to get started is in the box, seeds, nutrient mix and seed holders and covers. * The controls are about as simple as you can get. One button to select for flowers/herbs/vegetables/greens/always on. There is a reset button to reset the timer (so you can control which hours the cycle starts-and can have the lights on during the day), and a reminder light to add nutrients (every 2 weeks) and water (as needed). * The unit is a reasonable size (16"w x 11"d x 20"h). The 20 inch height is with the light want fully extended, which gives a maximum plant growing area of 12". The light bar can be dropped down for smaller plants/germinating. * There is a small bubbler in the water tank to keep the nutrients mixed and, I assume, oxygenated. The reservoir holds roughly a gallon, and the manufacturer recommends distilled water, especially if your tap water has a high mineral content. There is a noticeable noise from the unit or the bubbler. * My seeds (herb package) germinated in about a week, and grew vigorously after germinating. I have only had them growing for about 20 days-because of Amazon's 30 day requirement to review Vine products. === The Not-So-Good Stuff === * The unit felt cheaply made, especially for the price. The LED array seemed well made, and it is sturdily mounted to the base. But the base itself seems like fairly flimsy plastic. It is probably sturdy enough for what it needs to do, but for the price it certainly could have been a little more robust looking. The plant holders look like they might survive a few reuses, assuming I can find some way to replace the peat cones. I assume the goal is to get me to purchase refills from the manufacturer. The "domes" for the seed pods look like the free mustard containers your local deli gives away. * I am sure the plants will need room to spread, but my first thought was that the unit was awfully big for the amount of growing area. At 16" x 11", that is 176 square inches of "deck". There are 7 1.75" diameter pots, for a total area of 16.8 square inches. In other words, less than 10% of the deck is actual growing space. Maybe this will make sense when the plants mature. * The max grow height, at 12", seems a little skimpy. I would like to grow herbs, and basil can easily reach 12" in height, and quite a bit more. It doesn't seem like it would have been a big stretch to allow the light mount to reach another few inches in height. * It isn't much of a noise, but there is some pump noise from the bubbler-sort of like a small aquarium. Depending on the location, it might be problematic. === Summary === It is a nice product, but it sure seems like the manufacturer could have spent a few more bucks on it and produced a truly outstanding product. It does seem to work as advertised, and I am sure I will have some fun with it. The controls are certainly easy to use, and definitely erred on the side of being simple, which I appreciate. Update: 12/5/14 After a little over a month, the biggest problem I have is what to do with the herbs. All six of the herb assortment are producing quite well, and I have more cilantro and dill than I know what to do with. I actually ended up throwing some away just to keep the bushes pruned. The "bubbling" noise has gotten a little worse, and is a bit annoying, but the whole setup still lives in the kitchen. Perhaps the only real problem is the quantities. When I cook with herbs, I typically need more of any one type than the garden can provide at one time. If I were to replant it, I think it would be with 2x each of parsley, basil and oregano, and skip the dill, chives and thai basil. Update 12/14/14 Herbs are still growing well. Regularly harvest all of them, although it is a bit of a challenge keeping the cilantro pruned back so it doesn't go to seed. Also, it is so thick at the base that it is starting to choke itself-requires a little "surgery". One problem that has crept up-is the height difference between some of the herbs. The dill and cilantro are the big offenders. They both want to be a few inches higher than all the other herbs, especially the parsley. This is a problem because the height of the light panel above the tops of the herbs is critical. If it is too high, the plants become "leggy", and produce more stems than leaves. But if the herbs get into contact with the LEDs, the edges of the leaves turn brown/black from the heat... 155 of 171 people found the following review helpful Not cheap, but well worth it!, By This review is from: Miracle-Gro AeroGarden 7-Pod LED Indoor Garden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit (Lawn & Patio) Vine Customer Review of Free Product (What's this?) I've had the Aerogarden for about 3 weeks now, and it's already producing enough cilantro and dill for harvest! 2 different kinds of basil will be ready for harvest within a week. So far, I am very impressed with this little garden! I'll go against the grain and list the cons first, because there aren't very many of them: -The instructions say to drop the pods into the holes, but they don't clarify if they should just loosely rest on the base, or be pressed in with pressure. When I push them in, they tend to pop back up after a few moments, but if I don't push them in, they tend to rest lop-sided and looks kind of weird. I'm also not sure if the weight of the plants as they get larger will cause the pods to tip over, I'll update my review when I find out. -The instructions also say to lower/raise the lamp as necessary to keep the LEDs about 1-2 inches from the leaves, but the lowest setting puts the lamp about 6 inches over the seedlings. Not a big deal, but I have noticed that the seedilings tend to get a little "stringy", trying to rapidly grow to reach closer to the light source. After they gain some height, and some pruning (harvesting), the problem seems to mostly fix itself. -The substrate in the pods seems to grow mold very quickly, I noticed it after only 3 days. It hasn't spread to the plants themselves yet, though, and doesn't seem to be causing any problems. Those were all relatively minor complaints, nothing worth removing stars over. Now the pros: -VERY low maintenance! Only needs food once every two weeks, and in the 3 weeks I've had it, I've only added water once. It even tells you when it's time to add water or food, so you don't need to mark your calendar. -The 7 herb pots that came with my AeroGarden all germinated thoroughly, and in about half the time that the labels suggested they would. -You can apparently grow small fruiting plants (tomatoes, peppers, etc.), although they suggest you don't fill all 7 pods if you do that. I haven't tried this yet, but I will update my review when I do! -CHEAP! Yes, the AeroGarden itself is a little pricey, but you can buy empty (or seeded) pods and food for quite cheap. The small bottle of food it comes with should last at least 3 or 4 months. Also, this LED model doesn't require the periodic bulb replacements that the CFL versions do. Final thoughts: 0 40 of 44 people found the following review helpful Dallas user, By This review is from: Miracle-Gro AeroGarden 7-Pod LED Indoor Garden with Gourmet Herb Seed Kit (Lawn & Patio) I bought this last year. It is quite a bit smaller than I anticipated but if you look closely to the picture you can get an idea of the size. I grew herbs in it with no problem at first. I could not get cilantro or sage to grow at all. The seed packet comes with mint which will take over if you include it. Dill and basil did very well while Parsley and Thyme struggled. The Italian parsley would probably do better but is not included in the kit. After the plants get 6" tall they get burned by the lamp. After 4 months I had to replace the bulbs. By that time the mold had completely taken over the root system. I had to completely clean the unit and start over. Apparently I did not get the mold out well enough because I could only grow mold after that. I am buying the replacement parts and starting over again because I really did enjoy the fresh dill and basil. This is fairly low maintenance but if you skip the maintenance a time or two you are in for problems. They don't tell you to clean out the base and refresh the water supply but you need to do that about once a month once you have some root system established. I would recommend getting a larger unit if you want anything other than fresh herbs. Even with that, the system is too wet for most herbs. I agree with one of the earlier comments, it does feel flimsy and cheaply made but the overhead light is sturdy enough. 0 |
