My oh my, what a year can mean in terms of a review. And truthfully, I’ve never felt quite as changed by a product as I have the topic of today’s post: the Lettuce Grow farmstand. Now, if you missed it, I did a part one of this review on my Youtube channel with the promise to update you. As well as a Lettuce Grow Review update for those video watchers. But today we’re going to dig into all the bits that have changed in the last 6 months – and why I’m a much bigger fan now. So let’s dive in!
What Is The Lettuce Grow Farmstand?
Essentially, it’s a self-sustaining garden option that allows for easy year-round growth of organic vegetables. With a hydroponic system, it’s a more eco-friendly, beginner friendly way to enjoy gardening.
How Much Does It Cost To Start?
The starting cost for the farmstand is around $350 for 3 tiers. You can have up to 6 per stand. However, if you add ring lights for indoor growth that’s an additional cost. There is also the option to do the payment plan. As well as you can add tiers over time.
How Much Does The Lettuce Grow Farmstand Cost Per Month?
This is VERY much going to be dependent on how you use your stand. We prefer to use the cut & come again method – meaning our plants tend to go a good 2-4 months. But if you’re feeding more people and need to harvest full plants, it will be a different cost. I’d say we spend $10-$20 per month adding in the cost of replacing the needed nutrients, pH balance and getting new seedlings.
Is It Hydroponic garden Worth It?
Yes but there’s a learning curve for sure.
Is It Better To Use The Lettuce Grow Farmstand Inside Or Outside?
We’ve done both inside and outside trials with our garden. I found indoor growth to require more maintenance which also resulted in me not enjoying the garden. But now that it’s outside again, I’m loving discovering new veggies and admiring my mini garden from our porch in the mornings.
How Long Does It Take To Get Vegetables?
Lettuce and herbs are quicker. I tend to pull our lettuce around 5 weeks. Other vegetables will vary. And with a smaller stand, it’s harder to see an impact on your overall grocery bill because you’re only supplementing every few weeks.
The app will give you guidance on when to harvest/when your plants are ready. It’s great for guidance but not always the most accurate. Our tomato plant has taken quite some time to produce. As a bonus, we’ve had plants continue to produce for weeks after their ideal harvest time.
What Makes A Farmstand Actually Worth It?
I love fresh herbs but have never been able to keep them. We now always have mint, basil, thyme, and oregano on hand. I love that I can always take a plant and move it to a pot if I want more of something. I’ve also really been trying to be more mindful of food waste. So it helps me fill in the gaps and buy less fresh at the store.
There are a few things that I often buy and end up needing more of quicker or waiting too long to use like cucumber. But now that we have them on the farmstand, it’s easy to keep them in rotation without waste. Plus, we’ve had one plant give us well over 10 cucumbers at this point. At $2.50 per plant, it’s been a very smart investment.
It’s also been nice to supplement our normal vegetable choices. I definitely find myself adding new vegetables into my recipes like tuna salad and omelets simply because I can in smaller quantities. Our current rotation includes lunch box peppers, 3 cucumber plants, 2 zucchini plants, 1 tomato plant, flowers, herbs, green veggies, and at least one strawberry plant. The variety keeps things fresh.
Can You Use A Lettuce Grow For Herbs?
You can. Highly recommend it! I will say if you choose to keep the same plants which we’ve done so far, then you’ll need to trim the roots. Otherwise, you’ll be losing a lot of water. You’ll also want a dolly to help catch any overflow.
What Are The Pros?
Right now, our farmstand is great at supplementing and providing consistent access to things like zucchini, lettuce, cucumber and herbs. I love that I have the option for fresh vegetables without having to remember to water plants daily. There’s also the ease of being able to keep things year-round.
It took sometime to figure out how it would work for us but now that I’m in a better headspace (both personally and with the garden), I find I enjoy looking for new ways to enjoy what we have. We’ve gone from larger farmer market runs to more supplemental grocery additions along with utilizing frozen produce and things from the garden.
I’m also really love that it’s a more eco-friendly option. While I haven’t fully dug into all the research of the impact we’re having, knowing that we’re helping in our own little way feels great!
Additionally, the app that goes with the stand is great. You get a weekly reminder for what nutrients you need as well as a way to track when you’ve harvest plants to make it easy to re-order. And the Lettuce Grow service team is incredibly helpful whenever issues do arise.
WHAT ARE THE CONS?
It can take a bit to learn how it works for you. We spent quite a bit of time learning the hard way that while it’s lovely to want to keep herbs on the stand constantly. At some point, the roots become quite overbearing and you either need to harvest or replant your herbs. Thus far, we’ve moved and maintained spearmint, strawberries, chives, dill and basil.
If you choose to grow spearmint, I’d suggest keeping a close eye on it. We found that the roots were VERY thick and grew into other plants creating a few odd hybrids.
There’s also the leaking issue. Essentially, when the roots are too long, the water comes out at the base of the farmstand. This was a major issue for us for about 6 months until we moved it outside. And while it’s not the worst thing, it required more maintenance than I really wanted to tackle with a hydroponic garden.
You’re limited in what you can grow indoors vs outdoors. So if you’re someone who wants more of a variety, you’ll want your farmstand outside.
There’s also the matter of a consistent pump issue. We are now on our 3rd. With the original having issues partly due to my own mental health struggles at the time, the issue with our 2nd pump wasn’t the most joyful news even more so because it happened the day I was set to film the updated review. The pumps do have a 1 year warranty so after going through all the troubleshooting issues, we were able to get it replaced for free. But our 2nd pump stopped working, then was inconsistent, then kept working-ish. However, we will be replacing it today just for safety as our new one has arrived thankfully.
WHO IS THE LETTUCE GROW FARMSTAND FOR?
Small spaces. Someone interested in starting a garden but looking for a beginner-friendly option. Eco-friendly consumers who want to save on water and plastic being used. Anyone who is looking to add more fresh herbs and veggies into their lives.
What’s Changed In The Last 6 Months?
A lot. When I first got the farmstand, I had very specific if not idealistic expectations for how I wanted the hydroponic garden to work for me. And as we know, that didn’t quite turn out. I mentioned in my Youtube update that I think my lack of motivation due to a lower mental space and consistent issues made it hard for me to enjoy my garden. It also prevented me from really wanting to invest more energy into it.
The other part was that I had to figure out how it worked for me, specifically. With the varying schedules and habits in my household, I tend to travel a bit while my mother works night shift and prefers speedy, no chopping required meals – I had to realize that most often I would be the only one using the farmstand for now.
So rather than harvesting or requiring full heads of lettuce, I’ve really leaned into the cut and come again method. Additionally, I moved the farmstand outside again. I found that having the water overflow because a less than ideal part of dealing with the garden increasing the amount of maintenance required. I’m much happier now that it’s outdoors again.
ANYTHING ELSE?
It’s never my goal to complain with these reviews. But of all the luxury items I’ve reviewed for WSS, this one has had quite the learning curve. I’ll also fully own that my mental health wasn’t the best motivator for this with the first chunk of testing.
We did find there were quite a few problems, albeit small, that popped up along the way. Thankfully, the Lettuce Grow team was already ready to help me find a solution. And while it potentially would be easier to have a large outdoor garden, I’ve enjoyed having consistent produce in a particularly hot climate.
I would personally suggest keeping your farmstand outside as the indoor journey wasn’t my favorite. All in all, I am happy we made the investment in our Lettuce Grow Farmstand. I would buy it again. I’m really loving our current summer harvest!
Have you tried the Lettuce Grow Farmstand yet? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you think. And if you want to stay up to date on all the latest reviews, be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Until next time. Xoxo, Savvy
