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GardenBox Subscription Box Review – May 2016

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseMay 28, 2016 | 12 comments

GardenBox-May-2016-Box

GardenBox
2 overall rating
1 Ratings | 0 Reviews

GardenBox is a subscription that sends pre-seeded micro greens kits, growing instructions, and recipes for the greens you receive.

GardenBox-May-2016-Screenshot

Each shipment contains two gardens with seasonally selected micro greens and herbs that are ready to harvest in about two weeks (or less).

GardenBox-May-2016-HerbTypes

My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

GardenBox-May-2016-BoxOpen

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!

GardenBox-May-2016-Letter

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!

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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.

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The reverse of each leaflet included a recipe!

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I unpacked each growing tray and removed the protective layer of tissue paper.

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The micro greens seeds arrive pre-planted in dehydrated soil.

GardenBox-May-2016-Watering

As per the instructions, I watered each tray until the soil was lightly moist at the surface.

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I placed the growing trays inside on my window ledge (the sunniest place in my house).

GardenBox-May-2016-Day3

On day 3, I saw the first signs of sprouting from the radish greens.

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On day 4, the kohlrabi started to sprout.

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By day 5, the radish micro greens were growing like wild!

GardenBox-May-2016-Day5Kohlrabi

The kohlrabi were on their way, also, and I could make out their lovely purple stems.

GardenBox-May-2016-Day6

Here they are on day 6.

GardenBox-May-2016-Day8Radish

Before I knew it, it was day 8- time to harvest the radish micro greens!

GardenBox-May-2016-Day8Kohlrabi

The kohlrabi still had another two days to go.

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I snipped the greens with kitchen scissors and rinsed them.

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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.

GardenBox-May-2016-RadishRecipe2

The radish greens were delicious! They had a crisp, slightly bitter radish-y taste that reminded me a little of arugula.

GardenBox-May-2016-Day10

Two days later the kohlrabi greens were ready to eat.

GardenBox-May-2016-KohlrabiHarvest

My husband did the honors of collecting the harvest.

GardenBox-May-2016-KohlrabiRecipe

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.

GardenBox-May-2016-Cratejoy

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?

Starting at $45.00
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Bring farm-to-table freshness into your home kitchen with GardenBox. Each month, you will receive two pre-planted artisanal greens trays. With just a little watering and some love, you will have fresh and nutritious micro greens and herbs ready to eat in less than two weeks. These delicious, tend... read more.
Lindsey Morse
Lindsey Morse

Lindsey is a professional baker, cold brew coffee addict, and rosé aficionado who loves writing about food and wine. When she’s not sharing her love of subscription boxes with the world, you’ll find her in the podcasting studio, perfecting her cake decorating techniques, or cursing her way through the New York Times daily crossword puzzle. 


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12 comments

Jordan

Lindsey, do you know if these greens will continue to grow after being trimmed? Or is this a one-time use only? I am so impressed/inspired-both with the amazing bounty that you grew and the restaurant-quality meals.

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Lindsey Morse

Thanks so much, Jordan! 🙂

Most of the micro greens will not regrow after being harvested (but some will, I believe).

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Yiling

Thank you for posting the ‘street’ value of these. I was like $17 each tray?!? I’ve never seen these for sale, harvested or seeds. I might have to get these!!!

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Zerlyn

Perhaps I miss this, what do you do with the tray and dirt afterwards? Can they be reuse by planting different seeds, or is it pretty much fill with roots?

Your research about prices sounds about right. I bought them at farmers market at $3 an ounce, depending on the variety. I had them with omelette.

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Lindsey Morse

Hi Zerlyn,

If you scroll up the review, you’ll see that GardenBox included a paper print out with recycling/ composting instructions for the leftover trays & soil. The soil can be composted or used for other plants and the trays are recyclable. If recycling is not available in your area, you can collect and return the trays to GardenBox. If you collect and return 12 trays, you get a free GardenBox.

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Anna

Lindsey are these organic and non-GMO? Also hi! ?

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Lindsey Morse

Hi again, Anna!

GardenBox just confirmed that their seeds are non-GMO.

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Lindsey Morse

Hi Anna! 🙂

There isn’t any specific information on the GardenBox site specifying whether their kits are organic and non-GMO, but I would be very surprised if they aren’t.

I’ve reached out to GardenBox for confirmation, and I’ll reply here when they respond.

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Anna

Thanks Lindsey! Happy long weekend!

Lindsey Morse

UPDATE: I received word back from GardenBox customer service. They are no longer affiliated with CrateJoy, but GardenBox subscriptions are still available through the GardenBox website (and subber.me). Subscriptions placed through Cratejoy will not automatically renew, so if you subscribed to GardenBox through Cratejoy and would like to continue receiving GardenBoxes, you will need to re-subscribe.

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Ragan

I like the idea of this. But I don’t know if there are any places to put them that my cats wouldn’t disturb…

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Jessvii

Same issue. I don’t want my cat to garden with me, but the only places that get enough light are cat accessible.

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