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GardenBox Subscription Box Review – June 2016

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseJun 29, 2016 | 5 comments

GardenBox-June-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-June-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-June-2016-HerbTypes

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

GardenBox-June-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 all of our GardenBox reviews and the Eco Subscription Box Directory and Food Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

GardenBox-June-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!

GardenBox-June-2016-Flyers1

Each pre-planted tray came with a leaflet that provides information about the plants and growing instructions. This month, I received mustard greens and tatsoi. The mustard greens can be harvested on day 10, and the tatsoi can be harvested on day 8.

GardenBox-June-2016-Flyers2

The reverse of each leaflet includes a recipe.

GardenBox-June-2016-Tray1

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

GardenBox-June-2016-Tray2

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

GardenBox-June-2016-Watering

As per the instructions, I watered each tray until the soil was lightly moist at the surface, and I placed them inside on my window ledge (the sunniest place in my house).

GardenBox-June-2016-Day4

Last month, I saw my first sprouts on day 2 and there was a lot of activity in both gardens by day 4.

When I didn’t see any sprouts by day 4, I started to get concerned.

GardenBox-June-2016-Day5

On day 5, I noticed that there was a single sprout in the tatsoi garden! (Which gave me a shimmer of hope!)

GardenBox-June-2016-Day7

Unfortunately, though, nothing else sprouted in either garden.

Now, I’m a novice gardener, but I’m pretty sure I followed GardenBox’s instructions to the T. I certainly didn’t have any problems with last month’s gardens. This month, I watered the gardens with the same frequency (and quantity), and I placed them in the same sunny location. I’ve racked my brain to come up with something I could have done wrong, but I haven’t been able to pinpoint anything.

Is it possible something could have happened to the gardens in transit to affect the seeds? Or could the seeds have been “bad” to begin with? I really don’t know…

I reached out to GardenBox customer support twice in the past week for their advice about my problems with this box, and I have yet to receive a reply. (I’ve reached out to their customer service two or three times prior to this issue, and I always received a reply within 48 hours.)

The Verdict: I had so much fun with last month’s GardenBox, but this month’s experience has been a really big let down. I’m disappointed that my gardens didn’t grow, and I’m frustrated because I don’t know what went wrong. Most upsetting, though, is the lack of communication from GardenBox. It would have been great if they’d reached out with an offer to replace my gardens, but I would have been satisfied even with some general tips and/or feedback about my situation.

Are there any gardeners out there in subscription box land that might have some advice for me? Have you ever received seeds that wouldn’t grow?

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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5 comments

Beth

Wow for 35 dollars? Did they get back to you yet I wonder?

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Angela

This spring I planted organic cilantro, basil, oregano, and parsley in separate containers. The parsley sprouted first, then the basil, then the cilantro, and the oregano never sprouted at all. From my limited experience, it seems like some seeds are harder to grow than others. The basil was very temperamental at first, but eventually evened out. The cilantro is still a work in progress, but is working for me. Oregano is supposed to be a difficult herb to grow. My guess is maybe the seeds were planted too far down or went down further into the soil since the soil was dehydrated. Another problem might be the seeds weren’t good anymore since they were pre-planted and there wasn’t any water for them. I found this website about growing microgreens. http://backtoherroots.com/2015/04/07/how-to-grow-microgreens-indoors/ The planting and growing process sounds pretty similar to herbs, so I might try growing microgreens too 🙂 I hope that company gets back to you. It’s very disappointing that they didn’t grow.

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Lindsey

Thanks so much for sharing your experience and the website info, Angela! It’s all really helpful! 🙂

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Angela

Here’s another helpful website- how to tell if your seeds are still good. http://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/propagation/how-to-know-if-garden-seed-is-viable

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Randi

Well that’s disappointing 🙁
I was really looking forward to this review. Hopefully they get back to you soon and send you a replacement since it sounds like you did everything right

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