Many individuals living in apartmentslack access to traditional gardens. By using indoor gardening techniques, they can grow herbs, vegetables, or even decorative plants within their own living spaces. One situation where indoor gardening becomes valuable is in regions with harsh climates. Many areas experience long winters or extreme weather conditions, making outdoor gardening nearly impossible for several months of the year. With indoor gardening systems, plants can thrive in any season, as growers can manipulate the temperature, humidity, and light exposure.
Hydroponic systems take indoor gardening a step further by allowing plants to grow without soil. Instead, hydroponics relies on nutrient-rich water solutions to feed plants directly. This often results in a faster growth and more efficient water usage.Studies show that hydroponic systems use up to 80% less water compared to traditional soil-based farming.
Urban indoor gardeners, particularly those living in apartments, homes with limited outdoor space or sunlight, have embraced hydroponic systems due to their compact nature. Withhydroponic indoor gardening, you can provide year-round plant growth, thanks to its reliance on artificial light (mostly LEDs nowadays), temperature control, and optimized nutrient management.
A few months ago, we tested the LetPot LPH-SE (LetPot Senior) Hydroponic Growing System. It was a 12-pod unit with a large 5.5L water tank. We were very happy with its performance (a colleague of ours is still using it to grow some greens). This time around, we got our hands on its little brother, the LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics Growing System. It comes with 10-pods and slightly smaller tank than the ‘Senior’ model.
We have been using it for almost two weeks now and in this review, we would like to share our experiences in terms of setting up the unit, sowing seeds, germination stage, its performance, controls, and many more. Continue reading the review of the LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics Growing System if you are interested to know more.
Opening the box, we first got the paper work i.e., the user manual (it also has the light blocking stickers). Then we get the main LED panel. Looks like the panel is removable this time. Keeping the LED panel aside, we then have our main tank with a lid and all the other bits and pieces inside it.
Here is a list of all the things that are placed in the tank during transit: 24V⎓1A power adapter, baskets, oasis sponges, germination caps, support rods, shade covers, tags, solidnutrients (A and B), pump, filters, and a height adjustable stand.
The tank is basically a plastic container to hold water and the baskets. All the electronics and control are in the LED panel. We will take a closer look at some of the design elements of the unit in the next section.
As we already have some experience with the LetPot LPH-SE (LetPot Senior), we will be taking that as a reference throughout the review starting with the design. First of all, the LetPot LPH-Air unit consists of three separate units: the tank (with the lid), the stand, and the LED panel. This is quite contrast to the LPH-SE as it is a single unit without any removable or separable parts.
Another major difference is with the tank. The outer part of tank of the LPH-SE model is stainless steel. This gave that unit a heft and premium look. In case of the LetPot Air, the entire tank is ABS plastic.
The LetPotLPH-SE had a weird buoy-like component to indicate the water-level of the tank.LetPot went with a much simpler and effective way to indicate the water level of the LetPotLPH-Air unit using a transparent slot in the tank. Inside the tank, we have provision to insert the pump (along with its filter and cap). The lid of the tank has 10 holes to insert 10 baskets in them. There is a small cut-out to slide the wire from pumpout of the tank. Another useful feature of the lid is a removable cap to pour water.
The heigh-adjustable stand has a dedicated slot in the tank. Speaking of the stand, it has the two ports at the bottom: one for connecting the main power adapter and the other for connecting the pump (through a 3.5mm jack). There is a spring-loaded rocker switch that allows you to adjustthe height of the LED Panel. And to connect with the LED panel, LetPot is using a USB-A connection between the stand and the panel.
Coming to the LED Panel, it has a total of 75 LEDs (combination of warm white, red and blue) for a full spectrum coverage and a power of 24W. You can see the USB-A Port on the LED panel to pair with the stand. The build quality of the LED Panel is much better this time.
The top side of the LED Panel has four touch-sensitive buttons: Power, Veg/Flower, Brightness, and Pump/Wi-Fi. These button, while nice to have them, are useful during the initial setup. The smartphone app provides a much better control though.
We will look at the LetPot app in a later section (including how to pair the LetPot Air unit with a smartphone).
As the unit comes completely disassembled, we have to first set it up before sowing any seeds. We will start by placing the pump in its designated slot, use a filter to block dust/debris, and cover it with the cap. Guide the wire from the pump to the back of the tank. We can now insert the stand in the tank and connect the LED panel to the stand. Plug the cables from the power adapter and pump into their respective slots on the stand (do not turn the power supply on). Set the height of the panel at its maximum so that it won’t come in the way while you are adding water or sowing seeds. We can also place the lid on top of the tank.
While this is happening, you need to prep the nutrients or plant food. We get two bottles of solid nutrients in the package. The user manual has all the instructions on how to use the nutrients. To cover briefly, we have to add about 100ml of water in each nutrient bottle and shake it well. This will turn the solid nutrients into liquid.
Now take a large container and add about 3.5L to 4L of water. To this, we have to add both the liquid nutrients (about 20ml each) and stir it. Instead of all this, we poured water and nutrients directly into the tank of the LetPot Airunit and then ran the pump for a while so that it will mix the nutrients with the water.
We are ready to sow the seeds now. For this, we need to prepare the baskets. It is rather simple. Take a basket and insert the oasis sponge in it. Now take some seeds and place them in the center slot of the sponge.
Put the basket in one of the slots/openings of the lid. Repeat this process for all the baskets. For testing the LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics System, we used Fenugreek and Coriander (Cilantro) seeds. While the LetPot Air has 10-pods, we used only 8. In that, we sowed Coriander seeds in the left 4 pods and Fenugreek seeds in the other four pods. We covered the two unused slots with covers.
We have to use the light blocking sticker on top of the basket and also place the germination cap over the basket. This cap helps with the moisture while the seed germinates.
After sowing the seeds, we can leave the unit as it is as it doesn’t need light until after germination. But we have to pair the unit with the smartphone. The process is very simple. With power supply on, press and hold the Pump/Wi-Fi button for about three seconds to put the device in pairing mode.
Download the LetPot app (available for Android and iOS) and register with LetPot (we are not happy with this as there should be an option to just use the app and control the unit without any registration). That said, the pairing process is rather simple and both the user manual and the app itself has clear instructions on the entire process.
We will look at the controls that the app offers in the next section along with the performance of the LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics System.
So, how did the LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics Growing System perform? Let us start from the beginning. Even though the unit comes in pieces, setting it up is very easy. It took less than 15 minutes for us to unbox the package and start sowing seeds.
Speaking of seeds, as we said before, we planted coriander and fenugreek seeds in 8 pods. We were hoping for no mishaps this time (we had some when working with the LetPot LPH-SE unit in terms of mold). On a positive note, we did not face any algae or mold issue with the LetPot LPH-Air unit. Just a couple of days after sowing, fenugreek seeds started germinating. However, the coriander did not germinate even after four days (maybe we should’ve waited longer, not sure).
So, we quickly removed those seeds, cleaned the sponge a little bit, and sowed fenugreek in them as well. Unsurprisingly, it took just two days to see germination in the new seeds. After about one week, all the 8 pods are showing good growth. We are very much happy with the outcome.
You can adjust the height of the LED panel between 7-inches and 17-inches. This is a couple of inches shorter than what the LetPot Senior could offer. So, if you plan to grow slightly tall plants, you have to prepare yourself for some pruning. The water tank, while only 4L in capacity, can provide water for a very long time.
The full spectrum LEDs are another plus point of the LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics Growing System as you can grow all kinds plants without any problem (greens, herbs, flowers, fruits, even decorative type).It has four types LEDs (blue, warm white, red, and far-red).
You can use the touch panel on top of the unit for basic control but we feel the app is much better. The UI of the app is very simple. You can control the power (switch the unit on/off), change lighting modes (Veggie/Herbs or Fruits/Flowers), set the schedule for LEDs, adjust the LED brightness (Low or High), and turn the pump on or off.
Speaking of the pump, it doesn’t stay on continuously but rather runs for 30 minutes, rests for 30 minutes, and repeats this cycle. It doesn’t make much noise while running.
The listing price of the LetPot Air 10-pods Hydroponics Growing System is $99. At the time of reviewing the product, the selling price was $79.99. You might get this for even less with some coupons. There is a standard 1-year warranty on the product. You will get all the essentials (apart from the seeds) in the package to start gardening.
Overall, we had fun using the LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics Growing System. We took extra care in terms of seeds, light covers, and light timings. The result is a clean and healthy growth. You can use the unit for growing simple veggies or flowers/fruits, thanks to its full-spectrum LED lighting and ability to set different light modes as per the seeds you sow.
It can hold 10 pods and the 4L water tank is sufficient for a decent amount of time before it needsa refill. With the exception of seeds, you will get all the things in the package and you can start using the device in less than 15-minutes (our personal experience).
The LetPot LPH-Air Hydroponics Growing System is as user-friendly as it gets. Even if you are a beginner to indoor gardening, it is one of the simplest devices to start with. The best thing is you don’t have to worry about soil.
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