Everyone’s Obsessed with This Clever, Soil-Free $80 Indoor Herb Garden – I’m Shopping It Now for 'Easy, Fresh Winter Harvests'

Just because winter is on the way, it doesn't mean gardening has to stop. I love to grow herbs on my kitchen windowsill in the coldest months of the year, offering fresh harvests for cooking. One of the easiest ways to grow herbs indoors is actually in water alone, made even easier by a purpose-built hydroponic herb garden that has all the smart gadgets to make growing low-effort.

There are many ways to create an indoor herb garden, but hydroponic gardening is one of the fastest, most low-maintenance ways to do it. However, hydroponic growing systems can be a little pricey, often costing upwards of $200. That's why I'm delighted to have spotted this Click & Grow indoor hydroponic herb garden for $79.99 in Amazon's Black Friday sale.

Specially designed to support herb growing, with a grow light and water reservoir, this smart garden provides quick, abundant harvests year-round. I adore it's compact size for my smaller kitchen and it's simple, yet stylish design provides a minimalist look to seamlessly blend into interiors. Above all, those who have already purchased it rate it 4.6 stars and say they 'can't believe how quickly it grows herbs.'

Why grow herbs hydroponically?

There are many benefits that come with growing herbs in water. The first being that it makes growing herbs indoors extremely easy, so you can harvest fresh herbs year-round.

By growing plants in water, there's also no mess in terms of soil, making it a better option for indoor growing.

Not only this, but one of the biggest pros of hydroponic gardening is the fact it uses far less water than growing plants in soil, reducing water wastage.

As for using a special indoor hydroponic herb garden, tricky herbs become easy to grow and the easiest herbs to grow become even more low-effort.

This is because these systems are designed to do the work for you.

Smart features like a grow light with a timer ensure the herbs receive just the right amount of light exposure while the water (mixed with a special hydroponic fertilizer, like this from Amazon) delivers plant roots all the essential plant nutrients for growth.

As one of the reviews of the Click & Grow indoor hydroponic herb garden reads: 'You can literally just assemble it and then forget about it.'

Why shoppers love the Click & Grow herb garden

Reading through the reviews of the Click & Grow indoor hydroponic herb garden, it's clear to see just how much those who have purchased it love it.

'This has been the best purchase I've had! We were able to have fresh herbs all winter,' one five star reviewer writes.

The current deal includes three basil pods to start off your hydroponic herb growing, and the quality of these seeds have amazed buyers:

'The included basil pods germinated within a couple of days, and they’re all looking healthy and well on their way to becoming big lush plants,' one person writes.

'I can't believe how quickly they have grown. I see fresh pesto in my future within the next two weeks!' another adds.

This Click & Grow indoor hydroponic herb garden has capacity for three plants at a time. Shoppers share that refilling the pods is easy:

'Their website has more herbs to buy from,' one reviewer shares. You can purchase more pods from Click & Grow (like these cilantro pods on Amazon), especially made for this smart garden.

All of their pods have 'smart soil' which Click & Grow explain 'provides [the] best conditions for plant growth, ensuring optimal watering, pH balance, oxygen ,and nutrients throughout the growth cycle, while being all natural, no GMOs or pesticides.'

Of course, this means there is an ongoing cost to investing in this smart garden:

'The replacement pods - they’re not cheap, but part of the reason I bought into this system is the germination guarantee when you use these pods,' one person explains.

You can also use any, non-Click & Grow seeds with this herb garden, using the Click & Grow experimentation pod (available on Amazon).

'This literally takes the guesswork out of germinating seeds. If you struggle to germinate seeds this is definitely the way to go,' one shopper expresses.

The grow light feature of this system also receives praise among reviewers:

'It has a really high-quality grow light,' one person writes. '[It] can go taller as your plant grows,' they add.

Not only does the grow light have an extendable stand to accommodate growing seedlings, it also has a built-in timer providing 16 hours of light a day, so you don't have to worry about turning it on and off yourself.

One of the biggest hydroponic gardening mistakes is not keeping the water clean, making plants susceptible to harmful bacteria and a build-up of algae. Luckily, shoppers say this hydroponic herb garden is convenient to clean and keep the water topped up:

'Adding and maintaining the water levels is a snap,' one person writes.

There's even a helpful water level indicator on the smart garden, so you can check it at any time.

One downside is that the Click & Grow indoor herb hydroponic garden doesn't have a water pump to help keep the water clean, a feature some more expensive hydroponic systems have.

However, you can easily add a small submersible water pump yourself (like this one from Amazon).

Buyers are also obsessed with the look of this indoor hydroponic herb garden:

'The design of it looks wonderful in my kitchen. The packaging is clean-lined and clever. Assembly is easy as pie and then everyday I get to watch my sweet little seedlings get a little bigger,' one person writes.

'The design of Click & Grow is both stylish and practical, built to last,' another reviewer shares.

Measuring just 300mm long, it's the perfect space-saving, stylish way to grow herbs indoors on your kitchen countertop.

While a little expensive at $125, plus the price of replacement pods, there's no doubt this is an investment piece. However, being able to harvest fresh herbs year-round certainly makes the price worthwhile and even saves you money on purchasing herbs. Plus, the current discounted price of just $80 makes this the optimal time to get your hands on it.

Complete your hydroponic kit with these accessories

Once you become more confident growing herbs in water, why not challenge yourself to the easiest vegetables to grow in water? Click & Grow even have mini tomato pods (from Amazon) that can be used in this hydroponic garden.