【AI前沿】InstaFarm Automated Indoor Microgreens Garden Review: Easy Being Green

Kat MerckGearMay 14, 2026 7:02 AMReview: InstaFarm Automated Indoor Microgreens GardenThis beginner-friendly, soil-based microgreens grower will turn any kitchen into a superfood farm.Courtesy of AmazonTriangleUpBuy NowMultiple Buying Options Available$499at Amazon (Instafarm)$23at Amazon (Seed Tray Sampler)$449at InstafarmCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyRating:8/10Open rating explainerInformationWIREDNo assembly required. Set up takes minutes. Very low maintenance. Extremely easy to use. You get as many microgreens as you can eat in about a week.TIREDHigh up-front cost. You’re locked into the InstaFarm ecosystem because of the unit’s proprietary trays. Limited use. Won’t fit under all kitchen cabinets.Not long ago,microgreens were reserved for fine-dining restaurants pretentiously using them as plate garnishments, with tweezer-precision application. Now, the week-old seedlings of nutritional powerhouses like broccoli and beets have reached the zenith of bona fide superfood superstar. You can use them on salads andsandwiches, in smoothies, or even as a pizza topping. Theirnutrient densityiswell-established—according to a 2023 study published in the journalMolecules, they are even being studied to see if their “sole consumption can replace the intake of our usual food regime of vegetables and fruits.”If you like to eat locally sourced produce, you can’t get closer to the source than your own kitchen. It’s not especially surprising, then, that multiple types of home microgreens-growing systems have been popping up recently in my social media feed. I’ve trieda couple of them, but none have remotely come close to the efficiency and simplicity of the InstaFarm.Plug-and-PlayI’ve been reviewingindoor gardening systemsnow for almost two years, so when the InstaFarm arrived at my house in a massive box, I girded myself for an evening spent sorting screws and assembling pipes and hoses. Instead, I opened the package to find the InstaFarm looking exactly as it did in its online pictures, fully formed and assembled in its greenery-printed box, like Venus on the half-shell. I took it out, filled the cylindrical water reservoir with distilled water, and plugged it in. All that was left to do was place the proprietary trays on some of the nine tray-shaped indentations on the three shelves.Photograph: Kat MerckInstaFarm’s patented 4-by-4-inch compostable trays come prefilled with about a half-inch of soil (“sourced from Amish Country in Pennsylvania,” according to InstaFarm) and organic, non-GMO seeds, with the nutritional info for the final-product microgreens listed on top. They come in over a dozen varieties of nine-packsfor $23, including individual cultivars, smoothie- and salad-specific blends, and even plain trays for growing your own greens or garden starts. It is worth noting that the trays are easily saturated paperboard designed for one-time use.For comparison,Vego’s hydroponic microgreens planter, which Iused last year, is just $60 for two units, whileGardyn’s is $100. Neither produces a volume of greens anywhere close to the InstaFarm, but again, $500 can buy a lot of store-bought microgreens.InstaFarm has an app, but it doesn’t add much to the experience, other than the ability to activate night mode (which then turns off the light for up to 10 hours). More helpful is the button on the top of the unit that comes with a sticker describing how many presses are required for any function you’d need.Every 90 minutes, a metal nozzle arm pops out and moves along each shelf, sensing each tray and its plants’ height, humidity, and temperature. Once the nozzle is done sensing, it dispenses an appropriate blast of water, much like the spray heads in the produce section of the grocery store. If you have cats, they may be very interested the first time they hear the nozzle whirring and moving slowly over the shelves. (The first quick, unexpected spray was an entertaining event in my house.) Sometimes, this sensing was more accurate in theory than in practice—for some reason, the sensor consistently overshot the watering volume for the red beet greens (but only the beet greens), causing the tray to overflow daily.After a few weeks, I noticed the nozzle making a slight mechanical noise once it finished its rounds, as it slowly retracted back to its resting position. It wasn’t loud—it reminded me of the sound the bull wheel makes at the top of a ski lift—but because the InstaFarm was sitting on my dining room table, it was noticeable. And I should also note it was on my dining room table because, despite the website’s claims the unit can fit under most kitchen cabinets, it was just slightly too tall for mine. This made it difficult to site, as it does take up an approximate 6-by-18-inch footprint. Given how easy it is to clip the greens off for salads, smoothies, and other meals, its most natural habitat is probably the kitchen, so you may want to measure more than once to make sur