5 Easy Ways to Save Money on an AeroGarden

I love growing food in an AeroGarden. But what I don’t love are AeroGarden prices. In spite of not loving AeroGarden prices, I keep buying more AeroGardens. (At the current time, I’m up to 21 AeroGardens!) One big thing that has helped is that I’ve learned many ways to save money on an AeroGarden. In this article, I’ll share with you my five favorite ways to save money on an AeroGarden.

5 Easy Ways to Save Money on an AeroGarden

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Without further ado, let’s get into how you, too, can save money on AeroGardens, so you can grow food at home more inexpensively.

#1: Track AeroGarden Prices and Buy When on Sale

The first way to save money on an AeroGarden is to track AeroGarden prices.

If you go to the AeroGarden website, it seems they are always running “sales.” The thing is, since they run sales so often, they often aren’t true sales.

As an example, in the image above, it looks like the AeroGarden Sprout is on sale, with a $30 discount. To make the sale seem even more legitimate, you must use the coupon code to get the sale price.

This gives the impression that the normal price of an AeroGarden Sprout is $99.95. When you see this and if you haven’t bought AeroGardens before, you’ll think this is an amazing deal, and you better snatch it up before the “sale” ends.

There is one exception to the sale prices the AeroGarden official website that are truly good prices.

Today Only

If you happen to see a sale prices that also has the words, “Today only,” then that likely is a truly good price.

As a side note let me say that in recent days, I haven’t seen any today only sales on the AeroGarden website. What I have seen are some “limited offer” banners on some products. It’s possible that “today only” sales have been replaced by “limited offer” deals.

Tracking Makes a Difference!

The bottom line is that once I figured out that AeroGarden sales aren’t really sales, I started keeping track of AeroGarden prices, whether it was on the official AeroGarden website or somewhere else such as Amazon.

Because of that, I’ve been able to know when something truly is a good price.

Here’s an example from my “AeroGarden price journal.”

• Sprout – $59.95 on the AeroGarden website
• Sprout – $40 (one time experience on Amazon)
• Harvest – $99.99 on the AeroGarden website
• Harvest – $60 (one time experience on Amazon)
• Harvest XL – $119 (today only special on the AeroGarden website)
• Bounty Basic – $139.95 (Cyber Monday sale on the AeroGarden website)
• Bounty Basic – $170, on the AeroGarden website. In most cases, this is the cheapest I see it

#2: Use Your Own Seeds and Grow Sponges Rather than AeroGarden Seed Kits

In my opinion, AeroGarden seed kits are one of the most overpriced items on the AeroGarden website. In addition to that, the choices in what you can grow are very limited if you purchase directly from AeroGarden.

For example, let’s look at the jalapeno pepper seed pod kit from AeroGarden. It contains six sponges, with seeds. The current retail price for this is $16.95, though it’s typically on sale for around $13.50.

The prices that I pay for sponges vary between 17 cents and 20 cents, especially since I tend to buy them on sale, or in bulk to save money. Here are the sponges that I use and recommend, all available on Amazon.

• Bio Dome Sponges from Park Seed Company (be sure to buy the 60-cell size)
• Urban Leaf AeroGarden compatible grow sponges (no peat moss, so environmentally friendly)
• Authentic AeroGarden sponges, with no seeds
• Knock off sponges (These are my least favorite, and Made in China, but they work. You can see my review of them in this article.)

You also need to buy your own seeds. Here is a packet of Jalapeno Pepper seeds from my favorite gardening supplier, True Leaf Market.

Pro Tip: Use this link to get $5 off your first order from True Leaf Market.

I also like Pot-a-Peno Peppers, that you can get on Amazon. They are more expensive, but are very compact. Because of that, they grow great in an AeroGarden. They’ll currently set you back $8.95 for 25 seeds, or $0.36 per seed.

Doing the Math

Obviously, prices vary, so please take my calculations as an example rather than a price guarantee. Going by what is typically the higher end for me, six AeroGarden sponges at 20 cents each = $1.20, and six pot-a-peno seeds at a cost of $0.36 each equals $2.16, for a total cost of $3.36. Compared to buying a seed kit directly from AeroGarden at a price of $14ish, this is a great deal.

Please note that when you buy AeroGarden sponge alternatives and your own seeds, you won’t have any grow baskets, which you absolutely need.

That brings me to my next point.

#3: Reuse AeroGarden Supplies When Possible

Some of the AeroGarden supplies are intended for one-time use. For instance, you can only use grow sponges once. However, there are other AeroGarden accessories that you can reuse multiple times.

I mentioned in the point above that when you buy sponges that are not part of seed kits, they typically don’t have grow baskets. The exception to this is when you buy the AeroGarden Grow Anything Seed Pod Kits. These kits are actually a great option for using your own seeds if you want to go with authentic AeroGarden accessories, because they come with grow sponges, grow baskets, nutrients, domes, and stickers.

The good news is that once you have grow baskets, you can use them over and over again. Just remove the old sponges and roots, and wash them well before reusing.

You will also need domes. The ones that come with AeroGarden seed kits are very flimsy, so I thought of them as disposable the first time I used them, and tossed them.

The good news is that if you need extra grow baskets, domes, and sponges, you can buy them separately and use them multiple times.

Here’s a list of AeroGarden accessories that are reusable that you can buy on Amazon:

• AeroGarden Grow Baskets
• AeroGarden Domes

#4: Experiment with AeroGarden Nutrient Alternatives

Let me start off by saying that I’ve had really good results using AeroGarden nutrients. Because of that, I typically purchase authentic AeroGarden nutrients. The main way that I save money on AeroGarden nutrients is buying the one-liter size on Amazon rather than the small bottles of nutrients.

Pro tip: I find it easier to add nutrients to AeroGarden by using the small bottles rather than the large 1-liter bottle of nutrients. I especially like that you can use the caps on the small AeroGarden nutrient bottles to measure out the right amount of nutrients. So don’t toss the small bottles! Use a funnel to refill the small bottles.

So the first way to save money on AeroGarden nutrients is to buy the larger size jug of nutrients.

You can also save money on AeroGarden nutrients by buying other brands of nutrients. The one that I have the most experience with is MaxiGro and MaxiBloom. In recent months the price of these nutrients has really increased, but I still find them less expensive than AeroGarden nutrients.

You’ll want to use MaxiGro for greens such as bok choy, lettuce, and Swiss chard, and MaxiBloom for fruiting plants such as tomatoes and peppers.

One downside of MaxiGro and MaxiBloom is that you have to mix them up before adding them to your AeroGarden. I find it easiest to put the powder in a small amount of water in a bottle with a lid and then shake it until the nutrients dissolve. This will make a very concentrated version of AeroGarden plant food, so after mixing it, you’ll want to add more water per the instructions on the package.

#5: Purchase the Right Size AeroGarden for Your Needs

Finally, to save money on an AeroGarden, purchase the right size AeroGarden for your needs.

There are 4 main categories of AeroGardens:

• AeroGarden Sprout
• AeroGarden Harvest Family
• AeroGarden Bounty Family
• AeroGarden Farm Family

The prices on these vary based on the size of the unit, along with other features, such as WiFi capability. There’s no need to buy larger AeroGardens than you need, since the price goes up based on size.

As an example, if you only want to grow herbs and greens, in most cases, a Sprout or Harvest AeroGarden model will work well for you. You can even grow peppers and cherry tomatoes in a Harvest, if you buy a compact plant such as Pot-a-Peno peppers, or if you prune your plants as they grow to keep them from touching the lights.

An approach that I’ve found helpful is to have different AeroGarden models and then use the smallest model that works for the specific plant I want to grow. For instance, I reserve my AeroGarden bounties for tall plants such as ground cherries, peppers, and tomatoes.

If you’re going to buy just one size of AeroGarden, I recommend the Harvest or HarvestXL model if you want a bit of extra height. The Harvest is the bestselling AeroGarden for a reason! While it does have limitations, you can grow a lot in a Harvest, so if you’re just starting out, buy a Harvest model, and branch out from there based on what you want to grow in your AeroGarden.

Related Articles

If you enjoyed this article, here are a few other articles you’ll also enjoy:

• Do AeroGarden Knock Off Sponges Work?
• AeroGarden Grow Sponge Alternatives
• AeroGarden Microgreens Growing Medium Alternatives
• Using Handy Pantry Microgreens Growing Mats in an AeroGarden
• AeroGarden Sprout Review

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