Airgarden is Taking a Break – Here’s Where to Get Your Supplies

I've owned an Airgarden for over 18 months now. It's been a journey of ups and downs! The major downside, for me, is the maintenance. It's not as simple as planting a vegetable in the soil and letting it do its thing. Cleaning, in particular, is a nightmare. I dislike cleaning it so much, I'm pretty much just leaving it to it. It doesn't look very good (I'll post a pic below to show you) but in all honesty, I'm not noticing any reduced performance.

That said, the right plants LOVE growing in the Airgarden. Maybe I'm just more of a soil girl? I should've been using the Airgarden more this spring, considering the damage the bandicoots are doing in the garden. I wasn't organised, but it would've been the perfect solution. I haven't seen bandicoots on the veranda just yet! We do have two resident honeyeaters that are always on the lookout for their next snack. Their latest score is the bunch of bananas hanging, waiting to be ripe enough to eat. Turns out, they don't mind them a little less ripe, and they're having a great time snacking!

What Is Happening?

My big intro aside, I just read the sad news that Airgarden is taking a rest. At this stage, we don't know for how long, but it sounds like it might be a while. Prue and Tom, the founders of the Airgarden, recently lost both their parents and have been struggling with rising costs and reduced profits. We're probably all feeling the pressure of rising prices across the board, so this doesn't come as a surprise. All the more reason to grow our own food!

I'm not sure the Airgarden would be your cheapest way to grow your own food, but it definitely has its purposes. Small yards (or apartments without yard space) would be fantastic for it, and you can put it wherever you've got a meter or so of space. Like on the veranda! It does make it very convenient to have it so close to the kitchen.

Airgarden's online shop is closed, which leaves us Airgarden owners wondering where to grab the necessary accessories. There are a few thing you need regularly, including nutrient, coir pellets (#ad), replacement baskets, and possibly a replacement pump (or parts for it). You might've been buying seedlings from Airgarden too, which is now not possible.

Thankfully, we have options! Let's check them out.

Where to get your airgarden seedlings

I've been doggedly propagating my own seedlings for the Airgarden, which has been a huge learning curve. After 18 months, I will admit I am no good at sprouting seedlings in coir pellets (#ad). It just doesn't work for me. My work-around (which works brilliantly!) is to germinate and grow the seedlings in soil. Once they are nice and sturdy, I gently soak the soil from the roots. Then, I cut an expanded (soaked) coir pellet (#ad) in half (not fully, leave a little bit uncut so it's like a book), put the seedling's roots inside with a bit poking out the bottom. Into the basket it goes, and straight into the Airgarden. It works beautifully!

I have actually been wanting to try buying some seedlings from Airgarden. I wanted to save money by growing my own, but it sounds really fun to make a big selection and have them arrive in a box without any effort! So, I'm doing that today! Let me know if you want me to write an article on how they arrive, and how they perform in the Airgarden.

Okay, so where can you get seedlings for your Airgarden? Quality Plants and Seedlings! Choose the ‘hydroponic-friendly' varieties for the best success. One thing to keep in mind is that they are in Victoria. I don't know what kind of growing conditions their seedlings are propagated in, but plants could struggle coming from Vic to Queensland.

They used to offer free postage over $50, which was such a great deal, but that policy has since changed. The postage is now only via express post for live plants, and costs between $19.95 and $49.95, depending on the number of seedlings.

I'm putting an order through this morning to check things out!

Where to Buy Airgarden Nutrient

I've still got two big bottles or nutrient left, but once that runs out, I'll need something to replace it with. Airgarden has recommended Green Planet Dual Fuel Part 1 and 2 as a comparable product to their custom nutrient blend. Hyalite sells the two-part formula in 1-litre bottles for $30, and 5-litre bottles for $120. Those prices are comparable to Airgarden's nutrient.

It sounds really good, too! Check it out:

Where to Buy Coco Coir Plugs

You're looking for 35mm coco coir plugs (#ad), or hydroponic grow plugs. Thankfully, these are available in many places, including Nursery and Garden Supplies. I actually bought a box of 2000 when I first got my Airgarden (yes, I was a little over enthusiastic) so I'm not about to run out any time soon.

Where to Buy Net Pots for the Airgarden

The net pots (#ad) that come with your Airgarden are actually quite durable. You definitely won't need to replace them very often. But, if your puppy decided they're a great toy (true story) or you've left them somewhere in the same place socks disappear into (also a true story), you can replace them with any 50mm net pot (#ad). Orchid supplies, for example, sells them for $19.99 for a pack of 50. I believe postage is free! Amazon, of course, offers a similar product at $13.99 for 50.

Where to Buy a replacement pump

This one's also easy. As simple as visiting Bunnings and grabbing an Aquapro AP1050. Airgarden recommends having a spare pump ready to go, just in case the old one decides to give up the ghost. The reviews on this pump aren't great, but mine has been incredibly reliable – power cuts are our main issue!

When it's a planned all-day power outage, I generally just keep a bucket next to the Airgarden. I scoop out the nutrient water from the reservoir, take the shower cap off the top, and pour in it manually. Works perfectly. You just have to remember to do it every hour or so!

There may be other pumps that suit it, too.

Where to get pH Kits and adjustments

I wasn't buying these from Airgarden anyway – their postage was too expensive to make it worth it. You can buy pH down and pH up just about anywhere. The same applies to EC and pH testing pens and kits. I actually think you could buy everything you need from Hyalite, including the net pots (#ad), pH adjusters, and the testing pens.

Where to Get Help

This is where it gets a little tricky. I don't think personalised assistance from Airgarden is available, so they are referring as to the YouTube channel, the owner's manual, and the Facebook group. I haven't found the Facebook group particularly helpful, but it may get better now that Airgarden support itself is offline. Worth a go if you need help! Feel free to comment below, too – I'll do my best to help. And if I don't know, another reader might.

What I'm Loving Right Now

From the Wild

Turn everyday “weeds” into food and medicine: 30 plants, 100+ recipes & remedies, plus clear ID and safe-foraging tips.

SEE THE BOOK

Ferment It

Stop wasting your harvest! Turn cucumbers, cabbage or other veg into jars that keep for months and taste better than store-bought.

SEE THE KIT

Chop and Snip

Lightweight with a comfy grip and razor-sharp edges for fast and tidy trimming. No sore hands! Awesome secateurs (#ad).

CHECK THE PRICE

Things We Can't Get

I believe (correct me if I'm wrong!) we cannot currently get things like:

• Grow lights
• Pest net (#ad)
• Extension (I actually wanted one of these!)
• Basically, all the Airgarden-specific accessories.

This is a little disconcerting if you were saving up to add grow lights, or you wanted to move your Airgarden indoors. We'll have to get creative and find a different grow light solution. For the pest, I figured it wouldn't work for me anyway. It looks small, and plants grown in the Airgarden explode out the sides! How is it going to fit?

Again, some form of custom net (#ad) would work much better. Aussie Gardener has insect net for a great price – use the AUSSIEROOTS coupon code for 10% off! I recently bought to 6x6m insect net to try and keep bandicoots out of the garden (nope, it didn't work). It's great quality and you could either create your own frame around the Airgarden, or just drape it over the top.

They also have a fitted version, which looks like it would work beautifully, too. Check it out here. Amazon has great deals as well. You can check them out here: Insect nets on Amazon.

Where to From Here

I'm not sure when (or if) we'll see Airgarden back up and running. There hasn't been much communication. Quite a few people are asking questions on Facebook, like “Does anyone know what’s happening with supplies and with Airgarden business as such? No words from them and nearly all supplies are out of stock!!! It’s very unsettling.”

Even back in July, there were comments like: “Can someone explain to me why I can’t get any answers from Airgarden at the moment. I am a wholesale distributor for them and trying to buy some stock, but can’t get an answer from anyone.” And six weeks ago: “At the top of the supplies site it says ‘Airgarden is currently sold out. To show your interest click HERE’. Does it mean Airgarden is out of business?”

However, one of the top contributors to the group posted in August that Prue and Tom are not as available as they had been in the post due to their personal loss, which understandably affected them greatly. She mentioned Airgarden is a very human business, started as a way to help improve people's diets after their mum was diagnosed with a serious illness.

I'm wishing them both all the best and hope we will see them back up and running with their usual enthusiasm! In the end, we can easily keep our Airgardens going with the supplies above, and I'll continue to do so. My main efforts will be in the garden, I believe, but the Airgarden is great as an on-veranda salad bar, and when things get tough outside.

If you run into issues, I'm happy to help where I can. I'm not an Airgarden expert, but I have been running mine for quite a while and I may be able to help with some things.

Do you have personal experiences with the Airgarden? Problems? Successes? I'd love to hear about them!