GardenBox is a subscription that sends pre-seeded micro greens kits, growing instructions, and recipes for the greens you receive.
Each shipment contains two gardens with seasonally selected micro greens and herbs that are ready to harvest in about two weeks (or less).
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: GardenBox
The Cost: $35 per month
The Products: Two 5” x 20” gardens pre-planted with seasonal micro greens or micro herbs. (Note that each garden will yield 3-4 servings.)
Ships to: The continental US.
Check out the Eco Subscription Box Directory and Food Subscription Box Directory and make sure to add GardenBox to your subscription list or wishlist!
My box contained a letter from the GardenBox team. The letter provided recycling instructions for the growing trays, along with a free box offer if you save and return 12 trays. It’s nice to see that GardenBox is so eco friendly!
Each pre-planted tray came with a leaflet that provided information about the plants and growing instructions. GardenBox recommended starting with radish and kohlrabi because they grow very quickly. The radish micro greens can be harvested on day 8, and the kohlrabi micro greens can be harvested on day 10.
The reverse of each leaflet included a recipe!
I unpacked each growing tray and removed the protective layer of tissue paper.
The micro greens seeds arrive pre-planted in dehydrated soil.
As per the instructions, I watered each tray until the soil was lightly moist at the surface.
I placed the growing trays inside on my window ledge (the sunniest place in my house).
On day 3, I saw the first signs of sprouting from the radish greens.
On day 4, the kohlrabi started to sprout.
By day 5, the radish micro greens were growing like wild!
The kohlrabi were on their way, also, and I could make out their lovely purple stems.
Here they are on day 6.
Before I knew it, it was day 8- time to harvest the radish micro greens!
The kohlrabi still had another two days to go.
I snipped the greens with kitchen scissors and rinsed them.
I liked the look of the provided recipe (Pilpelchuma Roasted Potato Salad with Radish Greens), but I’ve been craving watermelon lately, so I decided instead to make a salad with watermelon, radish micro greens, shaved parmesan, pine nuts, and honey vinaigrette.
The radish greens were delicious! They had a crisp, slightly bitter radish-y taste that reminded me a little of arugula.
Two days later the kohlrabi greens were ready to eat.
My husband did the honors of collecting the harvest.
For the kohlrabi micro greens, I decided to make the provided recipe for Roasted Beets & Mozzarella. The only change I made was to substitute burrata for fresh mozzarella. Again, I really enjoyed these greens! Their flavor was much milder than the radish greens, and I think they could easily be incorporated into a number of different recipes.
One thing I do want to mention before I get to the verdict is that when I signed up for my GardenBox subscription the box was part of the Cratejoy family. It’s now no longer listed on Cratejoy, and the address for the subscription has changed. I haven’t received any correspondence from GardenBox about this change, so I can only assume that things are operating as per usual and they’ve just decided to separate from Cratejoy. Still, it was a little unnerving when I went to the previous URL and found it was no longer active! I’ve reached out to GardenBox customer service for comment, but I have yet to hear anything back. I really enjoyed this box, but I’m hesitant to recommend that anyone sign up before I receive confirmation back that the subscription is still operational. I’ll update the comments section of this post if and when I hear back from GardenBox customer service, but, just to be safe, I’d recommend exercising caution until then!
The Verdict: I think GardenBox is such a fun subscription! I’ve never grown my own micro greens before, and I really enjoyed the experience. The greens grow so fast that it’s fun to check on their progress every morning, and it’s really rewarding to watch them grow. I also loved cooking with them- they’re beautiful, delicious, and healthy. To give you an idea about serving size, I made two good sized salads from each garden and still had about 1/2 of the greens left from each. In order to think about the value of this subscription, I had to do some research. I’ve never purchased micro greens before, and I’m shocked at the going rate! I found someone in a chef's forum who grows and sells micro greens for $1- $3 an ounce (for wholesale, I believe), and I found various kinds for sale here for $4.95 per ounce. Not cheap! I didn’t weigh my micro greens, but (if I had to guess) I’d say each one yielded 2-3 ounces. Still, buying micro greens and growing your own are two different things. Personally, I loved the experience of growing, harvesting, and eating my own micro greens. I can’t wait to see what’s in my next shipment!
Have you tried growing micro greens before? Are you interested in window sill gardening with GardenBox?
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