"Vintage" AeroGardens

[slw]

Back in 2007 or thereabouts, I bought my first Aerogarden.  I believe it was a Classic 7-pod model, black.   I was checking my Amazon order history and see that I was paying $15.95 for a box of 7 seed pods back then, so that hasn't changed much.   I played with the machine for several months, then lost interest and gave it to my son.   Over the years I have owned several AGs, but never more than 2 at a time... until recently. 

I was scrolling through Ebay over the weekend and noticed a "new in box" Classic 7 for sale.  It was a fair price and had free shipping, so in a moment of weakness I clicked "Buy it Now."  I have no idea why I want it, but I'm excited to get it. 

Do you have early-model AeroGardens?   Are they still working?  Share your AG story. 

[swimmom500]

I started out with a pro 200 which I bought through Ebay not long after it came out. Then I was gifted a Veggie Pro. My next purchase was the Elite 6+ which was new through Aerogarden and came with some extras like the seed starting tray (the styrofoam type). All 3 of these units unfortunately use the 3 bulbs in the hood since they are 24” gardens. I only have a couple sets of bulbs left and cannot find a led retrofit for these bulbs (100633). They are currently up and running and I have peppers growing in all 3 of these units.

I also have the Ultra LED which was my first LED garden and the rare strawberry bowl accessory that was sold at that time. I purchased these direct through Aerogarden. I had the Classic 7 LED which my son now has at his house.

These are all going strong with the exception of the Ultra LED which had a repair done to the lights. Everything else I have are versions of the Harvest and Bounty. I also have a Farm 24XL.

[slw]

Could you post some pictures of your older gardens, swimmom500?  I'd love to see them all.   Right now the "oldest" garden I have is a Harvest that is probably from 2021.     I'm so excited to get the Classic 7!!  

I see that Amazon has the old style replacement water pump that fits the Classic 7, and the adapter/LEDs to convert the original bulbs, so I will be ordering all that soon after I get the Aerogarden from Ebay.  I imagine the pumps and parts will begin to be more scarce before long. 

[lynnee]

I started with a 6- or 7-pod model that had compact flourescent lights. I had at least 2 of these. Then I bought a LED panel for one when the LED lights first came out. As I recall, the panel cost something like $250, probably at the beginning of the century. It was expensive!

I had one or two Ultras--the ones with 7 pods and a stand-up display controlled by buttons. Maybe that display was on a Bounty? Most or all of these had a central stalk that aerated the water-- there was no pull-apart deck that routed water to individual sponges.

I bought the original 9-pod Bounty--I know it was sometime before 2016, because I lost my AG strawberry crop when I broke a femur and was in rehab for a couple of weeks. By this time, all of my AGs had LED lights.

Through the Amazon Vine program, I got a couple of early wireless Bounties (free or heavily discounted) and two early Harvests (ditto). The Harvests weren't nearly as nice as the present ones, and were smaller.

All of the above have been discarded, for space considerations. I still have one old Bounty or Ultra in the garage, for sentimental reasons, but I should get rid of it.

Now, of course, I have 9 wireless Bounties, 4 Farm 12XLs (one still in box), 1 Farm 12, 1 Farm Plus, 1 Sprout, 1 Harvest (just gave another one away to a friend), and 1 Harvest XL (still in box). All of these have LED lights, and most are wireless.

[swimmom500]

Nov 28, 2023 15:11:33 GMT -5 slw said:

Could you post some pictures of your older gardens, swimmom500?  I'd love to see them all.   Right now the "oldest" garden I have is a Harvest that is probably from 2021.     I'm so excited to get the Classic 7!!  

I see that Amazon has the old style replacement water pump that fits the Classic 7, and the adapter/LEDs to convert the original bulbs, so I will be ordering all that soon after I get the Aerogarden from Ebay.  I imagine the pumps and parts will begin to be more scarce before long. 

I would love to post pictures but am not sure how! If someone can help me get set up I would appreciate it!

[swimmom500]

Nov 28, 2023 15:48:21 GMT -5 lynnee said:

I started with a 6- or 7-pod model that had compact flourescent lights. I had at least 2 of these. Then I bought a LED panel for one when the LED lights first came out. As I recall, the panel cost something like $250, probably at the beginning of the century. It was expensive!

I had one or two Ultras--the ones with 7 pods and a stand-up display controlled by buttons. Maybe that display was on a Bounty? Most or all of these had a central stalk that aerated the water-- there was no pull-apart deck that routed water to individual sponges.

I bought the original 9-pod Bounty--I know it was sometime before 2016, because I lost my AG strawberry crop when I broke a femur and was in rehab for a couple of weeks. By this time, all of my AGs had LED lights.

Through the Amazon Vine program, I got a couple of early wireless Bounties (free or heavily discounted) and two early Harvests (ditto). The Harvests weren't nearly as nice as the present ones, and were smaller.

All of the above have been discarded, for space considerations. I still have one old Bounty or Ultra in the garage, for sentimental reasons, but I should get rid of it.

Now, of course, I have 9 wireless Bounties, 4 Farm 12XLs (one still in box), 1 Farm 12, 1 Farm Plus, 1 Sprout, 1 Harvest (just gave another one away to a friend), and 1 Harvest XL (still in box). All of these have LED lights, and most are wireless.

That’s quite impressive. If you decide to get rid of your Ultra, let me know as I would love to buy the light hood from you. My son fixed the LED lights on mine in the Spring but they seem to be going out again. The last few mornings when the lights come on they flash for several minutes before finally lighting normally. I feel it’s just a matter of time. I hate to give up on this unit since I believe it’s the only unit that the strawberry tray fits.

[lynnee]

swimmom500, I was all set to ship the light hood to you, but it turns out that the model in the garage is my original Bounty. Sorry about that!

[swimmom500]

Nov 28, 2023 17:50:05 GMT -5 lynnee said:

swimmom500, I was all set to ship the light hood to you, but it turns out that the model in the garage is my original Bounty. Sorry about that!

E for effort. Thanks for trying.
I think that original bounty has a 45 watt light hood making it almost as good as todays Bounty Elite. I do dislike that old trellis style compared to the new one though. But it’s still a solid unit.

[slw]

According to Fedex, my Classic 7 will be here tomorrow.   I'm curious to see whether it will include seed pods, though I doubt it since it is "open box."  I found some old-style baskets on Etsy that are supposed to fit, so at least I will be able to plant something using regular seeds.  I can't wait to get it!!

I'm placing my Amazon order for a spare pump and LED conversion parts.   Now I need to figure out where on earth I will put it. 

[pfunnyjoy]

Yes, I'm still running a Classic 7-pod model from 2008. And several 6 Elite+ or Veggie Pro tall garden models from 2009.

I like the spacing on the older models a lot, to me, the newer ones seem crowded. It has been a PAIN harvesting lettuce from the Bounty, with every pod planted. Very crowded, leaves get damp, exacerbated no doubt by the fact that AG has multiple seeds in each pod.

I have converted my Classic 7 to LED, and plants seem to be growing fine, but the garden is currently sitting next to a Bounty 40W and the three Tatsoi seedlings I have in the 7 are all leaning towards the Bounty. So I may move the older garden to a different table, as soon as I can make room. Either that, or I'll put a Bounty on the other side of it to balance things.

At some point, I'll probably photograph what I have left of old AG boxes from 2008/2009 and even the gardens too, but it's dark and dreary here, so I don't know when I'll get to that.

[slw]

My "new" Classic 7 arrived on Saturday and I finally got around to unboxing it.  I was thrilled to find that it is absolutely 'new in box', with all parts still factory wrapped including the seed pods that expired in 2007.     I got it assembled and tested the lights/pump; everything works great. 

All unpacked...

[scarfguy]

WOW! That's really cool!

[lynnee]

Classy!

[pfunnyjoy]

Nice! Especially that it had the seed kit, so you'll have a set of the grow baskets. 

Enjoy! 

[slw]

Thanks y'all.  I'm happy to have it, and in such great condition.  pfunnyjoy, I was concerned about the baskets so it made me happy to open the box and see the seed kit.   I also ordered some baskets from an Etsy seller but they aren't here yet. 

Before I plant it I'm going to test the LED conversion stuff since I know the fluorescent lights are difficult/impossible to find now. 

I'd love it if this AG was black... then it would be exactly like the first one I owned. 

[pfunnyjoy]

Dec 5, 2023 19:00:14 GMT -5 slw said:

Thanks y'all.  I'm happy to have it, and in such great condition.  pfunnyjoy , I was concerned about the baskets so it made me happy to open the box and see the seed kit.   I also ordered some baskets from an Etsy seller but they aren't here yet. 

Before I plant it I'm going to test the LED conversion stuff since I know the fluorescent lights are difficult/impossible to find now. 

I'd love it if this AG was black... then it would be exactly like the first one I owned. 

Yes, good idea to test the conversion. 

I put my converted garden next to a Bounty 40W ... all my Classic 7 Tatsoi plants are leaning toward the Bounty! So I may have to move the Classic 7 elsewhere.

[slw]

Today I finally was able to test the light conversion stuff and it works great.  Now that I know the LEDs work I may buy a backup set.  I have to say that the older models with replaceable lights were a good idea.   Too bad the new ones don't have replaceable lights. 

I'm going to set up the garden with the 2007 seed pods and see what happens.  I think my Etsy order of additional baskets is coming today so hopefully they will fit well.  I've had pretty good luck with Etsy sellers so far. 

[pfunnyjoy]

Dec 8, 2023 12:36:57 GMT -5 slw said:

Today I finally was able to test the light conversion stuff and it works great.  Now that I know the LEDs work I may buy a backup set.  I have to say that the older models with replaceable lights were a good idea.   Too bad the new ones don't have replaceable lights. 

I'm going to set up the garden with the 2007 seed pods and see what happens.  I think my Etsy order of additional baskets is coming today so hopefully they will fit well.  I've had pretty good luck with Etsy sellers so far. 

Don't the new ones have replaceable light hoods? I'm pretty sure I saw those on the AG site recently.

The replaceable CFL bulb models are both good and bad. They made a lot of tall gardens with 3 CFL bulbs, and *those* gardens can't be adapted to LED. Nor does anyone sell bulbs for them!

I've just had two of my old 3 bulb gardens tell me it's bulb replacement time, sigh. I'm going to just keep running them, I figure old bulbs aren't ideal, but for greens, probably won't be an issue for a while.

Anyway, have fun with the new *old* garden!

You might want to pick up a spare pump while you can. I'm thinking of getting a second set of the LED bulbs for my 7.

[scarfguy]

YES, YES!   Aerogarden now has replacement light hoods for what looks like all models except the farms.

A couple of years ago, they quietly added replacements and I bought a couple.  I expected them to always be there but they only lasted about two weeks and I haven't seen them again.

I suspect they cleared out extra inventory and this MAY be what they are doing now.

If you want to stock a couple of extra light hoods, now is the time to act!

[slw]

Dec 8, 2023 13:19:24 GMT -5 pfunnyjoy said:

Don't the new ones have replaceable light hoods? I'm pretty sure I saw those on the AG site recently.

The replaceable CFL bulb models are both good and bad. They made a lot of tall gardens with 3 CFL bulbs, and *those* gardens can't be adapted to LED. Nor does anyone sell bulbs for them!

I've just had two of my old 3 bulb gardens tell me it's bulb replacement time, sigh. I'm going to just keep running them, I figure old bulbs aren't ideal, but for greens, probably won't be an issue for a while.

Anyway, have fun with the new *old* garden!

You might want to pick up a spare pump while you can. I'm thinking of getting a second set of the LED bulbs for my 7.

Interesting; I had not noticed the replacement hoods for sale.  Most of my gardens are less than 5 months old so I don't need lights yet.  I notice there is a snazzy red one for the Bounty Elite!!  I hope they will continue to stock those. 

I have already bought a spare pump for the Classic 7, so hopefully I can keep it going for a while.