Grow with the Flow: Australia's Finest Hydroponic and Aeroponic Kits
Gorgeous swiss chard growing in a hydroponic system
Hey there, fellow gardeners! If you're looking for a way to grow your own food at home but are short of space, have a tricky climate or don’t want to deal with soil, you might want to check out some of the hydroponics and aeroponics kits available in Australia. These kits use water and nutrients to grow plants in a soilless medium, saving you space, energy, water and inputs. In this post, we'll take you through the 5 options you have in Australia, from ready-made kits to DIY projects.
One of the most popular hydroponics kits in Australia is the Sun Shelf 2 by Gathera (currently on pre-order replacing The Family Farm). This is a vertical garden system that uses LED lights and a smart controller to grow up to 72 plants in a compact space, by combining it with growing modules (bought separately). You can choose to use their growing modules or use your containers and growing medium. The Sun Shelf is easy to set up and maintain, and it looks great in any room.
The predecessor to the Sun Shelf, currently on sale, is the Family Farm by Gathera. Similar in functionality to the Sun Shelf 2, it is made out of plastic and sits on wheels for maneuverability. It’s a bargain at the moment as they run out their old stock in favour of the Sun Shelf 2.
Another option for aeroponics lovers is the Airgarden. Made by an Australian start-up in sunny Queensland, we use one of these here at Grow and Eat It, and have had good success. In fact, the only reason it hasn’t worked as well as it could is that we keep getting caterpillar infestations so we’re using it indoors now.
The Airgarden is a tower garden that uses a pump and a misting system to deliver water and nutrients to the roots of your plants. You can grow up to 30 plants in a 1 square metre, with 3 times faster growth than soil and 2 times faster growth than hydroponics (according to their website). The Airgarden is made from recycled plastic and comes with a 5-year warranty. It can be used indoors or outdoors, with LED lights being offered as an extra.
Another tower garden that utilises hydroponics is the Mr Stacky Hydroponic Tower Garden. This is a modular system that consists of 5 stacking pots, a reservoir, a pump, a timer and a nutrient kit. You can grow up to 20 plants per pot and add more pots as you need. The Smart Farm Base Kit is suitable for outdoor or indoor use, and it can grow a variety of crops, from herbs and greens to tomatoes and strawberries. Mr Green Thumb did an excellent review of this one here.
Last of the kits is the FarmTek HydroTower. Allowing up to 48 plants to be grown at one time, it has the added bonus of being expandable to connect with other towers.
| Product Name | Website | Price | Shipping Costs to WA | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mr Stacky Hydroponic Tower Garden | Mr Stacky | $425 without trolley, $480 with trolley | $55 | From $480 |
| Airgarden | Airgarden | $799 | $84.99 | $883.99 |
| Gathera Family Farm | Gathera Family Farm | $720 with no basins to $1020 with enough basins for all 3 levels | Free | From $720 |
| Gathera Sun Shelf 2 | Gathera Sun Shelf 2 | $720 with no basins to $1020 with enough basins for all 3 levels | Free | From $720 |
| FarmTek HydroTower | Farmtek | $699 | $58.90 | $757.90 |
Of course, if you're feeling adventurous, you can also build your own hydroponics or aeroponics system using various products from hydroponics stores. You'll need some basic components, such as a container, a pump, a timer, tubing, fittings, net pots, growing medium and nutrients. You can also choose from different types of systems, such as drip, ebb and flow, NFT or aeroponic. Just look up your local hydroponics store, such as https://www.hydroexperts.com.au/ or https://edenindoorgardens.com.au/. The cost of a DIY kit will depend on the size and type of system you choose, but you can expect to spend anywhere from $200 to $2000+ depending on what kind of system you choose.
Hydroponics and aeroponics are fun and rewarding ways to grow your own food at home. They offer many benefits over traditional soil gardening, such as faster growth, higher yields, less water usage, less pests and diseases, and more control over your plants' health. Whether you choose a ready-made kit or a DIY project, you'll be amazed by what you can grow with water and nutrients alone.
Keep an eye for our for our detailed review of the Airgarden and Gathera ecoKitchen (the smaller version of the Sun Shelf) coming soon.
Grow and Eat It is developing a solution to help automate your garden planning and maintenance, helping anyone at any stage of their gardening journey, grow their own food. If you’d like to take part in the first release, please subscribe for updates below.