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Akarina recently sent me the Akarina 01 starter kit for review. Since the plant is growing very slowly, it may take me several weeks for a full review, but I think it is worth posting this now because it is a good Christmas gift for some people.
My partner and I didn’t have green fingers, I didn’t bother to try to grow things, my partner killed everything she tried. We just managed to keep a basil plant alive for a few months, but in the past few weeks, it started to look dead.
Therefore, Akarina 01 sounds very attractive to me, I hope it can spend all the energy from growing up.
Akarina 01 is sold directly from Akarina for £169.99. They also sell a variety of smaller models in different shapes, all designed to look like table lamps.
Design and setup
Product photos make this look better than it actually is. It is an all-plastic design and very lightweight.
Although the plastic construction does make it feel a bit cheap, it is also very practical. The trays are filled with water, so using different building materials may not work well.
The lamp and its main tray are fully assembled, but the lamp can be removed and used separately.
Then, you will have three containers of nutrient-rich water, each of which has three culture trays, and each tray has four holes for placing seeds, so you can grow 12 different plants.
The light itself has a touch-sensitive top, you can click on it to turn on the LED.
The kit contains everything you need to get started, as well as the lights and their components you have:
- 30x Rooting Sponge
- 1 x 0.5g pack of delicious loose leaf salad seeds
- 100ml bottled fertilizer
I personally think that lettuce is the most boring of all vegetables, so it is better to have 3 packets of different seeds. In the promotional material, it shows the growth of tomatoes, which would have been a good inclusion.
Planting/germinating seeds
Using Akarina is very simple and this is the main attraction.
All you need to do is:
- Mix water and liquid fertilizer according to the fertilizer instructions (5 ml in 1 liter)
- Fill each tray, the culture tray has a small water indicator hole, you need to fill it up
- Put a square sponge into each hole and plant seeds
- Cover the tray with a tray cover and let the seeds germinate in about 2-5 days
- After germination, remove the tray cover and turn on the LED light.
- Fill up the fertilizer tray when needed
- Plants should be ready to be harvested within 40 days (for leaf lettuce)
One problem I encountered was that plants need a relatively warm environment to grow, and my house is rarely warm, partly because I am stingy and it is an old house with poor insulation. So my expectation that my lettuce will be ready within 40 days is very low.
Since I am not the biggest fan of lettuce, I also grow tomato and pepper seeds.
Prices and alternatives
This Akarina 01 is priced at 169.99 GBP, This is the biggest model they have made. They have Smaller Akarina 14, and you can buy a double pack or Akarina 15 for £149.99 for just £74.99.
There are many competing choices from different brands on Amazon.
Click and grow It seems to provide something very similar. They are all made of plastic, and I want to say that they don’t look as beautiful as Akarina 01. The Pro model is controlled by the app and offers some advantages, but it is out of stock and can be more expensive.
The design of other companies such as Seed Panty is similar to Click and Grow. They all look pretty good in the photos, but they don’t look as suitable for home decoration as Akarina.
Many other competing options are designed more around practicality, and they all look a bit ugly.
comprehensive
Akarina 01 seems to be a great choice for anyone who wants to grow their own vegetables in a user-friendly way. Compared with most other competing products, the design of this lamp looks like a charming lamp suitable for your home decoration.
Overall, I like this, and I think it is a good Christmas gift for young people and adults alike.
