The seeds arrive in special pods called yCubes. Part of what makes Gardyn foolproof is its subscription app add-on, “Kelby,” which monitors your plants via attached sensors and cameras. It offers personalized watering and lighting schedules, as well as maintenance suggestions via AI (which an anonymous source told me is basically OpenAI’s ChatGPT with a prompt overlaid). This subscription adds an additional $259 per year to the base purchase price, though it includes a certain number of credits per month, depending on whether you have the home or studio model, with which you can purchase new yCubes. There’s a 30-day free trial for Kelby, but you can use Gardyn without it by relying on manual lighting and watering controls. Also, there have been some privacy concerns recently with Kelby (more below).
Every Gardyn purchase comes with your choice of yCube sets: “Salad Lover,” “Budding Florist,” or “Chef Faves.” I’ve tried both “Budding Florist” and “Chef Faves,” my favorite being the latter; It has an interesting variety of everything from berine greens and Tokyo picana greens to Thai basil and miniature sunflowers. Although Gardyn recommends starting yCubes in the company’s $80 add-on nursery, I’ve germinated a lot of yCubes in the system quite well. (Make sure not to add nutrients until they have germinated. If you are germinating yCubes later, when the nutrients are already in the system, you can just use a shallow pot with loose plastic wrap.) Seeds arrive tucked in steel wool, and secured in small yCubes that slot into larger cups (“yPods”) that fit into the tubes. When Gardyn waters plants, the yPods fill with nutrient water, and the plants’ roots grow directly into the water.
Once a month, the base should be vacuumed and scrubbed. The roots should be checked every few weeks for root rot and growth beyond the yPod, checked to see if it is time to prune, and/or brought back if they have gone too far. Admittedly, this maintenance is a bit tedious, and if you don’t do it consistently, you’ll be very sorry when it comes time to clean your Gardyn and prepare it for its next planting. (Ask me how I know!)
I now have two Gardyns, a Home 4 and a Studio 2, which feature an upgraded camera and columns. Aside from some funky yCubes (which the company will replace upon request), I have no major complaints about the system. Although I will note that the plants in the studio were less lush overall due to there being one lighting strip in the studio instead of two, which is why my main recommendations remain at home. I also like that Gardyn offers Vacation Mode, which adjusts lighting and watering to slow growth and reduce maintenance tasks while you’re away.
Note: On February 24, 2026 and April 2, 2026, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued warnings about vulnerabilities in Gardyn Home and Studio devices. These security vulnerabilities could have allowed someone to remotely control the Gardyn device, access photos of plants, and obtain personal information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Gardyn claims that these vulnerabilities have been addressed with the latest firmware update, and advises customers to ensure that Gardyns are connected to the Internet and running firmware version 619 or later. If you think your device has been compromised, send an email [email protected] Or call 844-4-GARDYN. For more information, see Gardyn Security Update for Gardyn Home and Gardyn Studio.
| light cycle | 14 to 16 hours |
| Pump cycle | 5 minutes, 3 times daily (varies with Kelpie) |
| Places for plants | 16 (studio) or 30 (home) |
| Nutrients included | 7-inch bottle contains 7-3-11 Plant Food (plenty for one course) |
| Plants to choose from | 100+ |
| Maintenance needs | (Varies with kelpies.) Clean the tank and replace the water with fresh nutrients every four weeks, check and redirect the roots every three weeks or so, then fill the tank with water and nutrients as needed. |
| Easy reset after each transplant (out of 10) | 2/10 (Each section of the shaft and yPod will need cleaning; if you fail to check and redirect the roots every two weeks, this may drop to 1/10) |
| Can you grow your own? | Yes; Gardyn sells yCubes for your seeds for $5 each. (Or you can just get creative.) |
| Dimensions | almost. 24″H x 16″W x 7″D |
| Energy consumption | 40 watts |
| a guarantee | Two years |
| How was the unit testing obtained? | Press sample from the company |
| Where is he now? | It is still in long-term testing |
