Part 1 — Gardyn Home Setup: From Delivery to First Two Weeks
What I purchased: Gardyn Home 4.0
Regular price: $900
What I paid: $719 + tax with 20% off during the Labor Day sale
Capacity: 30 plants
Setup time: About 90 minutes
Purchased: September 2026
Sponsored? No — I purchased it myself.
Why I Bought the Gardyn
We LOVE plants here at Tide Knot Studio. Plants have always been a big part of what inspires my work, so it only makes sense that they make their way onto the blog too.
I love growing plants, but growing vegetables in Florida is… well harder than most other places. My very first vegetable garden was in my 20s, when I lived in Minnesota for three years. I had no idea what I was doing, but in Minnesota, all you had to do was “scare the dirt with some seeds,” as an old friend would say, and plants grew like crazy!
You would think the Sunshine State would grow the best veggies... not so much. Between the sandy soil, ridiculously intense sun, pests, high humidity, and other factors, it’s lot of work.
Which brings me to the focus of this blog and why I finally decided to buy a hydroponic system called Gardyn. There are lots of different systems out there, but I chose Gardyn due to its small footprint, automation, ability to grow 30 plants at once, and video monitoring. One major con is the hefty price of $900 compared to other systems.
Price and Types
At the time this blog was published, October 2026, Gardyn offered two different systems: Gardyn Studio (grows 16 plants; $549) and Gardyn Home 4.0 (grows 30 plants; $900).
I did receive a Labor Day discount of 20% at the time of purchase, and Gardyn is HSA/FSA eligible. I recommend keeping an eye out for holiday sales or using a referral code from someone who has a system — like me! You can use rfvesna94675 to save $100 toward any system.
Disclosure: I purchased my Gardyn Home with my own money, and this post is not sponsored. The referral code in this post gives you $100 off your Gardyn purchase, and I may receive a referral benefit if you use it.
Delivery, Components and Setup
Delivery was very fast; it took only two days to arrive from the date of my order. It all arrived in one box: the entire system, 30 plants, and one bottle of plant food.
Setup was very straightforward, with clear instructions and the option to view a video for each step. Most components clicked into place easily, except for the grow lights. They seemed misaligned, and it was a struggle to get the right-side in correctly.
Next was downloading the Gardyn app, signing up for an account, and connecting the system to Wi-Fi. I believe the entire process took me about 90 minutes, and this was mostly due to my struggle with the grow light.
Plants
With your initial purchase, you receive 30 starter plants (or 16 if you have the Studio). I chose the Chef Faves, which had 24 different varieties of plants, including two types of basil (Sweet Thai and regular) and two types of kale (regular and Lacinato). Other options for plant starter sets are Salad Lover and Budding Florist, also with 30 plants each.
Plants arrive in yCubes, which are small, soil-free pods filled with rockwool that hold the seeds. These are placed directly into the tower openings.
What I Wish I Knew
You May Need Caps for Empty Spaces
The three towers have 10 openings each, and Gardyn provides you with a very helpful guide showing where to place each plant based on the amount of light it needs.
I decided to plant 22 out of the 30 plants, as eight of the plants in my starter kit were duplicates. That left me with eight empty slots on the tower. Empty slots must be covered to block light from entering the water columns, which helps prevent algae from growing inside the system.
Gardyn sells 10 caps for $49; however, I decided to 3D print my own covers. Another alternative is to simply cover the openings with foil.
A Trellis Is an Additional Purchase
I also decided to 3D print my own trellis and added it to the tower. This, too, can be purchased in the app starting at $50.
The Membership Adds Another Ongoing Cost
I decided to try a free trial of their monthly membership, which includes Kelby, Gardyn's AI functionality. Kelby handles many of the tasks for you — watering, lighting, 24/7 monitoring, real-time alerts, tasks, and a chat where you can ask questions. I have to be honest, I really do like this feature.
Membership is $39/month for the Home system and $25/month for the Studio. Besides Kelby, the membership includes Vacation Mode (which I have not tested yet) and a very cool time-lapse video of your plants growing. You also get free replacement credits for any plants that fail to germinate within 21 days and 10 credits to use toward purchasing additional plants.
New Plants Need a Nursery
With my first month’s credits, I chose cucumber, red cherry tomatoes, mini strawberry, mini broccoli, and catnip. These each cost two credits, so I got five new plants. Most of the other plants cost one credit each.
Kelby instructs you when to add plant food and after the initial “sprout dose” any new yCubes/plants should go into a “nursery” to germinate first and can then be added to the tower.
Gardyn’s Sprout Nursery is $60, but I decided to purchase an off-brand nursery on Amazon instead. There are also 3D-print models available for nurseries.
Cost Breakdown
Item Cost
Gardyn Home 4.0 $900
Membership (optional) $39/month
Gardyn caps (optional) $49
Trellis (optional) Starting around $50
Sprout Nursery (optional) Around $60
Conclusion
One major con remains the price, along with the additional costs of caps, a trellis, nursery, and monthly membership. However, if I compare this price to all the times I’ve purchased soil, pots, containers, and vegetable plants in my attempts to grow a garden here in Florida, I’d say I’m getting pretty close!
After my 2 weeks, I'm happy with my purchase. Most of my plants have already sprouted, the system itself has required very little work, and Kelby has reminded me to add water and plant food. So far, it's doing exactly what I hoped it would do.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of my review: My First 90 Days With Gardyn — Growth, Maintenance & What I've Learned.
I'll be tracking how the plants grow, how much maintenance the system requires, what works (and what doesn't), and whether I think the Gardyn membership is worth $39 a month.
Week 2 from SOW (Start Of Watering) date. Happy with the progress so far!