Product Review: Prepara Power Plant Mini

Reader Contribution by Taylor Miller
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Several weeks after I received my first electrical hydroponic (grows in water) garden, The AeroGarden, I received a product sample from Prepara for its version, the Power Plant (Mini) (available from Prepara.com for $39.95). 

Using a similar growing method, the much smaller Power Plant boasts that it can grow any plant from seed, and unlike with the AeroGarden, you don’t have to buy an expensive seed kit to get started, which I thought that was pretty cool.

But then I started using the Power Plant Mini, and that’s where the cool ended.

In fact, this product was one hot mess on a hot summer day!

No grow light is included, it’s as loud as an aquarium and the water reservoir on mine began leaking where the cord exited, which I did not discover until several days later and with quite a fluster.

When the plants’ root systems became large enough, the basin was overwhelmed and needed constant watering, so much for easy forget-about-it growing! And finally, when I left town for a couple days (which I thought would have been safe), and returned to find that the system dried out, I tried refilling the basin immediately and was sad when I learned the motor had burned out.

So, after the loud motor, the leaking, the shriveled plants, the constant watering and the dead motor, I’d say it’s safe for you to assume, I do not recommend this product.

At the same time, Prepara has a couple really GREAT products, including the Herb-Savor and the Herb ‘n Serve, both of which would fit beautifully with an AeroGarden.

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If you’ve got a gardening question or product I should try, shoot an email over totmiller@ogdenpubs.com.

  • Published on Apr 30, 2009
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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