Food/Recipes – Page 12

Click & Grow’s New Smart Garden 9 PRO

June 5, 2021 By denise Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This is not a compensated or sponsored post. I was provided the product for review purposes only. All opinions expressed here are my own.

I was so thrilled to check out Click & Grow Smart Garden 9 Pro. This has been a long process. I wanted to make sure that I went through the whole process.

Living in Louisiana, the weather is constantly changing. It could be warm in March and cooler in May. I know that I wanted to start an indoor garden. This way I could also transfer it outside if I wanted.

I have tried to grow seeds inside before but without much luck. I was really excited to try this new process. Smart Garden 9, the PRO version, has advanced app connectivity and improved grow lights for a seamless user experience and an effortless way of growing fresh greens from your home.

The company believes that it should be easy for everyone to grow abundant, nutritious. and delicious food.

Here is everything that game inside the box. It is a pretty good size box.

What Comes in the Box

1x Smart Garden 9 growing unit
4x “lamp extension arms” that are used to raise the lighting if your plants grow tall enough
9x seed pod holders with clear dome lids
9x pods consisting of three each of mini tomato, basil, and green leaf lettuce

After following the directions to assemble the Smart Garden 9 Pro system, I’d recommend downloading the Click and Grow app before going on to the next assembly steps. The app lets you track the progress of your plants’ growth, lets you take photos while growing, and gives you watering reminders.

You are given the option to name your plants when you plant them. After you set up your app, it’s time to get the garden going. The seed pods look like dried discs, they will hydrate when planted. The discs are made of peat and contain all the nutrients required for a growing cycle.

The app will walk you through the installation process. Just pop the seedpods into the seed pod holders, put a clear dome lip on top, and fill the Smart Garden with enough eater for the floater to rise to the level of the top of the seed pods. When the seedlings are as tall as the clear domes, remove the domes.

The seed pods sit nicely in the holes. Make sure the water level is touching the bottom straw part of the seed pod holders. The water level can get very low before needing to be re- watered.

The Smart Garden 9 Pro is the biggest indoor garden that I have ever used. You will want to choose your unit location wisely. Moving it with a full water vessel will be heavy and daunting.

One of the key things that I love about this structure is its linear nature. You have easy access to each of the plants in the vessel.

The app is meant to enhance your growing experience. It has some really cool features, including:

Ability to set the watering interval for pop-up notification reminders to water the garden.
Guide to normal growth, you can view what your plant should look like during the life cycle of the chosen plant.
Photo album: You can take photos of the growth process and the app will arrange them into a time series for you.

The lighting consists of a row of alternating red and white LED lights along the top bar. When you plug in the lights, it will be on an automatic timer such that the lights will be on for 16 hours and off for 8.

The Smart Garden Pro 9 has a large vessel for holding water. This helps put plenty of time between having to water the garden. As with most indoor gardening systems, you may not need to add water in the first month, but as the plants mature, especially vegetables, it will be important to check the vessel at least twice a week.

The beginnings of the growth process were incredible. The first seedlings sprouted within 48 hours and in 6 days, I was able to take off some of the clear plastic domes. The early grow was fabulous.

In less than a month, the lettuce was ready to harvest. As the plants grew larger. These seedpods are not meant to last forever. Most of the edibles have a 3-4 life cycle. Over time, the seed pod’s plant food will dwindle and you see signs of this and need to buy more seed pods.

Click & Grow is the leading innovator and producer of sustainable, easy-to-use electronic indoor gardens that grow plants without the need for manual watering and fertilizing. Our smart indoors gardens are used to grow food by hundreds of thousands of happy click & growers in over 150 countries.

I can think of many great situations to use the Click & Grow systems. It is great for winter gardening in cold climates, beginning gardening, and seed starting. The Click & Grow is more convenient in all of these areas.

For those who feel they lack green thumbs, this is perfect. It is also a great reason to make this investment.

Leaf’D Box Makes Gardening Fun For the Whole Family

June 1, 2021 By denise Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This is not a compensated or sponsored post. It was provided the product for review purposes only. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Growing up in the city, I did not have an opportunity to have a vegetable garden. This year I have been promoting the benefits of having your own garden whether you are in a house or apartment. They are so many companies that can help you get started. I love Leaf’D Box because it is easy and fun.

Leaf’D Box is a subscription service that takes the guesswork out of gardening. They allow gardening to be fun like it should be by sending four boxes of plants a year. each box contains plant varieties that thrive during that season in your area. They take their years of experience and send plants that grow the best, quickest, healthiest, and that will yield the most harvest.

Leaf’d Box is a family-owned business, based in Southern California, whose mission is to help Americans create successful home gardens. Growing delicious food can be intimidating without the right tools and tips. Leaf’d Box delivers an easy-to-follow system that will set your garden up for success, and offers two product types – garden subscription plant kits and education kits. The subscription plant kits deliver delicious seasonal plant varieties, at the right times of the year for your growing region. The education kits give new gardeners fast-growing plants and lessons that guide them along their gardening journey.

First, you decide whether you just want plants with a subscription box, or whether you want the educational experience with the Education Kit. Then you choose your garden size and type. You can choose herbs or vegetables. The vegetables come in small, medium, and veggie XL. Then you place your order. While waiting for your order you can prepare your pots if you are growing in an apartment or your garden bed for homes. They are a few steps you will need to do before actually planning but it is simple. If you opted to get the Education Kit, follow along with the lessons and activities as your plants grow. These are great to keep the kids busy during the summer.

If you selected subscription boxes, they will send boxes four times a year with plants that thrive during that particular season: early spring, spring, summer, and fall. The Small Veggie and Herb subscription have 4-6 plants per box, the regular veggie subscription has 8-12 plants per box, and the veggie XL subscription has 10-18 plants per box.

I got my plants in early spring, luckily the weather was nice so I was able to get them started. The kits had high-quality seeds, and the plants were in great condition. I was worried that a few might not make it during the trip to me. The seeds all looked healthy and green. I was so excited to start the process.

My Veggie garden came with: two tomatoes, three lettuce, two kale, one cucumber, one squash, and one sweet pepper.

Leaf’d Box’s vision for the future is to make growing your own food accessible to everyone. With so many people knowing what to do, or failing because they’re not doing the right things at the right times, Leaf’d Box wants to help families develop thriving gardens where they can enjoy their own homegrown delicious season after season. Leaf’d Box also aims to be bigger than themselves. That’s why for each box they ship, they sponsor someone in need with clean water-often the first step out of poverty. Not only that but they’ve been able to get 5:1 matching, so for each box shipped, you’re actually supporting a family of 5 with clean water as long as you’re a subscriber. They are also looking into donation programs for our seed education kits.

It does not matter which subscription or kit you order, you will get frequent emails with information about your plants. The team is also available to answer questions and they post tips on social media. It was great to work with them on my goal to get more people gardening.

Burpee Seeds Gets Your Garden Growing

May 31, 2021 By denise Leave a Comment

Disclosure: This is not a compensated or sponsored post. I was provided the product for review purposes only. All opinions expressed here are my own.

After 2020, this year I have seen a more concerted effort to improve health and well-being. One of the ways to do that is gardening. Gardening is more than a trend, it is a way for us it is a way to celebrate life and reduce stress. Whether you are growing, flowers, herbs, or vegetables making something worthwhile using your own hands will give you such confidence. They are tons of benefits to building and maintaining your very own garden.

I was lucky enough to team up with Burpee seeds to bring you some great information about growing your own garden. Burpee is one of the largest online retailers of seeds and gardening supplies. This year Burpee presented the first-ever 2021 Burpee Garden Cast, the company’s first-ever gardening forecast report rooted in industry trends and expert insights. The trends highlighted this year include Quiet Garden, Garden of Joy, World Herb Garden, Immunity Garden, and Meatless Monday Garden.

I loved reading the entire report, but I wanted to focus on one trend and choose the Immunity Garden. This one appealed to me because I am always looking for ways to improve my immune system.

Planting a garden full of vibrant vegetables fosters a diverse diet loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that support your immune system, while a dazzling medley of squash, radishes, and tomatoes adds appetizing eye candy to your garden and your salad bowl.

The colors of your vegetables reflect the different phytonutrients and antioxidants inside. That’s why multi-hued meals give you more health benefits and disease-fighting power than monochromatic ones. Try growing the following nutrient-rich vegetables.

Let’s take a look at a few of these vegetables.

Red Tomatoes- Tomatoes get their ruby-red hue from lycopene a powerful antioxidant that promotes heart health by helping to improve cholesterol levels. Lycopene may also reduce the risk for prostate and breast cancers. Tip: Stretch out your tomato season by planting one or more varieties at different times early, middle or late summer. I was lucky enough to be able to start a little early in the South, and have already begun to see some of the results.

Orange Squash-The sweet orange flesh of winter squash is rich in Vitamin C, which aids immune function. By enhancing iron absorption, Vitamin C also helps energize the body and fight fatigue. Tip: Squash plants have a shallow root system, so use mulches to help retain soil moisture and maintain even soil temperatures.

Yellow Pepper-Crispy yellow peppers are packed with vitamins, including brain-boosters B6 and B9. B vitamins support memory function. Tip: Pepper plants require steady watering, but they won’t tolerate waterlogged roots. Add organic matter to the soil when planting to regulate soil moisture.

Green Broccoli-Tree-like broccoli is full of fiber, which is critical for good digestive health and bowel function. Its fiber and antioxidants also aid in controlling blood sugar levels. Tip: Pick broccoli when the heads have tight, firm buds. This happens about 50-60 days after transplant.

Green Swiss Chard-Leafy and tender green chard is a ripe source of essential minerals-especially magnesium, a critical supporter of muscle and nerve function. Tip: Chard plants are harvested regularly will continue to produce new growth from the center of the plant.

Purple Radishes-Anthocyanins give radishes their elegant colors, and they also have cancer-fighting properties. Natural pigments have been shown to prevent and curb cancer cell growth. Tip: Sow radishes in midsummer for late fall and winter use. They can grow large with several inches of root showing above ground.

These are just a few of the vegetables that you can grow, there are so many out there. Choose what you and your family love to eat and go with it.

Allow some time for nature to work its magic and then the final step is to enjoy. Get creative on family night with some fresh, zesty salads or grilled vegetables. Gardening has been a great tool for me to reduce the stress these few months and it is because it is healthy, homey, and fun.

Do you grow vegetables? What are your favorites?