Spider Farmer SmartG12 Indoor Herb Garden with Grow Light

The Spider Farmer SmartG12 is an indoor herb garden with grow light that sits on the kitchen worktop and grows twelve little pots of basil, parsley, lettuce and leafy greens, with no soil, no mud and no slugs.

Fill the 6 litre bowl, pop the seeds into their sponges, choose a mode on the app and let the light and the quiet pump do the rest. The children can watch roots and leaves appear in the space between breakfast and tea.

A 12-pod indoor herb garden with grow light for the kitchen

Twelve pods is enough for a proper supply: a row of basil for pasta night, a few lettuces for lunchboxes and some coriander or chives for scattering. The light post rises from 28cm to 70cm, so it lifts as the plants grow and nothing gets squashed.

The pump hums at about 20dB, quieter than the fridge, and the bowl lifts out for washing. If you go away for a few days, Vacation Mode keeps the light and watering ticking over until you are home.

What you can grow on the worktop

• Basil, parsley, coriander, mint, chives and other kitchen herbs
• Loose-leaf lettuce, rocket, pak choi and baby salad leaves
• Leafy greens such as spinach and kale for picking young
• A lovely home education project on roots, light and water

How the SmartG12 looks after your herbs

• 36W full-spectrum light. A wide LED bar on an adjustable post gives even light over all twelve pods, with a 0 to 24 hour timer.
• App and Wi-Fi control. Six preset vegetable modes plus five custom ones, water level checks and reminders on your phone.
• Quiet 2W pump. Moves water and oxygen round the roots with a T-sprinkler, so each pod stays evenly fed.
• 6 litre lift-out bowl. Big enough to leave for days at a time and easy to rinse at the sink.
• Domes and pod covers. Clear domes help seeds germinate; covers tidy away any spaces you are not using.

Indoor herb garden questions

Do indoor herb gardens with grow lights actually work?
Yes. Herbs and salad leaves need steady light more than anything, and the SmartG12 gives them up to 24 hours of it on a timer, so they grow happily even through a grey British winter.

What can you grow in a hydroponic herb garden?
Most soft herbs and leafy salads thrive: basil, parsley, coriander, mint, chives, lettuce, rocket and pak choi. Tall or fruiting crops such as tomatoes are better in a bigger setup.

Are seeds included?
Bring your own seeds; any herb or salad seed packet will do. You get 12 sponges, baskets, domes and covers ready to plant.

How often do I top up the water?
The 6 litre bowl usually lasts several days, depending on how many plants are growing. The app tells you when the level drops.

The details

What’s in the kit

In the box

Everything listed above, plus a user manual. Seeds are not included.

Fresh herbs at arm’s reach, all year round. That’s the kind of kitchen we love.