Prepara Power Plant Professional One of the worst products I’ve ever tried – K8ieT – Vancouver, BC
It sounded great and I was excited to try it… but let me tell you there is a reason these are all being sold off so cheap. Mine started out with wonderful results. Things sprouted almost overnight but that’s when the problems arose. The plants grew tall but the stalks never got strong enough so they flopped over. And since it rotates the plants would all be flopped over being dragged along the side of the garden. That was sad looking and wasn’t doing much for helping them grow.
The next problem is that, since they rotate, that means their roots do to (duh! not sure why I didn’t think of that beforehand) so the roots would just wrap themselves around the sprinkler in the middle and get tangled up and I’d have to stop it and cut the roots back (not good for growth and a pain). The sprinkler got pretty gross and crusty with the “nutrient solution” and required cleaning with toothpicks and cotton swabs (not nearly as hassle free as the packaging suggests).
Then 3 weeks into having it the rotation stopped working altogether. Yes it caused problems with the roots but it shouldn’t have stopped working in 3 weeks!
Oh and the included instructions were TERRIBLE and the tips and tricks were totally useless, unless you had absolutely no common sense. And after purchasing it I have no idea where I would buy refills of the little paper seed covers and it appears the only place to get more grow sponges is from Prepara directly, which is inconvenient.
I tried mixed lettuces, arugula, spinach, and some herbs so it wasn’t to do with picking a bad variety to grow.
In conclusion, one of the most disappointing products I’ve used in a long time. I am convinced regular soil would have done better, and since all my other plants are doing great I’d say save your money.
I lucked into a deeply discounted Prepara Power Plant Professional with included grow light and the herb saver at my local Marshall’s. I’d never seen one of these before, but I’d tried my hand at various types of indoor hydroponics before, and it looked well designed.
The first thing I must say is this: Aerogarden seed kits cost a lot of money because they make sure the seeds are viable and the whole thing is idiot proof. They pick miniaturized plant types that work well for mini-container gardening, knowing that anyone who plants an indeterminate tomato plant in their product is not going to be satisfied. You can save a lot of money by using your own seeds with the Prepara Power Plant, and I really love that about the product, but you have to make sure the seeds you use are viable. (Nose around GardenWeb and find out how to do that.) If you’ve bought off-season 10-cents-per-pack seeds at Walmart, and most of your seeds fail to germinate or rot, don’t blame the Prepara Power Plant. Also, don’t expect seeds that germinate under very different conditions and have different rates of growth and lighting needs to do well together. Lettuce sprouts quickly; cilantro, not so much. You have to understand what the different seeds/plants need. The “foolproof” products that cost a fortune are for people who don’t want to have to learn how to garden.
Now, all that said, I think rock wool cubes would work better than the little grow sponges that come with the Power Plant, and I happen to have plenty of those from my last hydroponics experiment. I would start seedlings in the cubes in a seed-starting tray (an old meat tray, perhaps), or maybe a makeshift lettuce-raft type hydroponics setup, then move the strongest plants into the Power Plant when they are ready to really take off. But I have to say that the design of the little pods that hold the plants looks PERFECT for just buying some small herb plants, washing the soil off the roots very well, and trimming them down to work the roots through the holders, sans sponges. That’s what I’m going to do with my next batch of plants so I’ve always got fresh herbs growing in my kitchen.
This is NOT a good product for seed-starting and then transplating the plants to another area. That’s what you save your styrofoam meat trays, old cut-up toilet paper rolls, and paper cups for. It’s for kitchen herbs and lettuces, maybe strawberries. Green garlic might do nicely in this unit.
I do very much like the way the Prepara Power Plant is designed, and I LOVE the sound of the water running inside of it. It’s got all the charm of a feng shui water feature but with the functionality of being able to grow fresh edibles. It fits neatly on my countertop, and the clean lines are quite appealing.
A word of warning: if you have cats in the house, they are going to be absolutely fascinated by the sound of the water inside the Power Plant. They are going to be constantly sneaking up to it and biting off the heads of your young plants when you aren’t looking. Don’t expect much growth from the Prepara Power Plant if you have cats in your house. But, still, it’s a hoot to watch. And if you really want to have a good time, put some catnip plants in your Prepara Power Plant. Multiple trips for multiple cats….
Prepara: PPL1-PP201 Just leave and grow with our amazing automatic growing system. Motor rotates growing surface to equally expose all plants to light. Add any seed of your choice and grow any plant. Prepara Power Plant Professional
