I got a Smart Garden 3 for Christmas — very nice, and the basil that came with it is growing well.
But the web site sometimes refers to Basil, and sometimes to Dwarf Basil, and there seem to be others as well, so how do I know which one I have got? I’ve just had to add the first extension to the light handle, but how do I know how much more they are going to grow?
Hi Peter @frisket,
The SG3 starter pack comes with Basil, the most common kind. It is sometimes referred as Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum). There are many varieties of Basils and it is one of the most versatile herbs.
All basils are growing in a dwarf cultivar manner in Smart Gardens, as they are naturally fit to grow in smaller places. Dwarf Basil or also known as Greek Basil is actually called that because of its miniature leaves that differ from other basils that tend to have individual big leaves.
One extension light arm is all you need. Just trim the stems if they start reaching over the light and you will have a longer herb supply.
OK, that clears up the confusion, thanks very much.
For the record, I harvested all three pods at 50 days and got 35g of basil leaves. The pesto was delicious.
That’s great to hear! 45-50 days is principally the optimum time to harvest.
Homemade pesto is the best. Mine always disappears in a day. 
What are you planning to grow next? Basil is always a good choice though.
I bought 3-packs of chilis, strawberries, and tomatoes, so I’ve set one of each. I hope the remaining ones keep ok in ziploc bags.
The remaining plant pods are fine to store for around 1 year in cool, dry conditions. Best if they are out of reach of direct sunlight. Ziploc bags will do great.
There’s a Click & Grow App, that is an ideal companion on your plant-growing journey. There you can keep track of your plants and get advice according to the plant and its age. You’ll get timed tips to focus attention on the essential tasks while gardening for example it notifies if it is time to thin the seedlings or harvest the whole plant. It can be a lot of help when starting with any of the Click and Grow devices.
Smart Garden 3 is the oldest garden we’re still selling, and it can grow all our selection plants without inconvenience. We have come out with some new and improved devices too. For example, SG9 Smart Garden 9 has nine plant pod holes and the next important upgrade of it is the red LEDs are mixed with the normal white LEDs. Red LEDs are most beneficial in the flowering and fruiting stages of plants making them good for any of the fruiting plants. The chillies, strawberries and tomatoes are all classified as fruiting plants in our selection, as they need to go through the flowering stage and then the fruiting stage which can take up to 4-5 months. Depending on the plant, the final size of the plant can vary and we have seen some plants will grow over the lamp. But that’s fine, you can either trim the plants or repot them into new containers. For example, the yellow chilli and yellow tomato tend to grow a little bit over the SG3 or even SG9 lamps, but there’s no need to add extension arms.
So here’s heads up, the SG3 is not the best available device to grow your fruiting plants but it is doable. Just keep in mind when growing all three different plants that all of them get the light they need, and aren’t shadowed in any way by each other. I advise to check out the App where you can find more care information about each plant.
One option that is quite common practice among growers is to transplant the young plants to new soil.
It should be done before the flowering starts, usually around 6-7 weeks. Chillies will do great in new soil and you can keep them around for a long time, same goes for tomatoes but they can be more stressed and needy after repotting. And wild strawberries can be repotted or even transplanted into the ground where they can yield up to many years.
I’m happy to hear your thoughts or any questions about it.
Thanks for the information. I have the app, it’s very useful. The Smart Garden 3 was a present, so it was a first toe in the water for me. I can certainly plant them out later, but probably indoors: our climate in Ireland isn’t really any good for tomatoes or strawberries, although chilis seem to do fine.
That’s good to hear!
The strawberries will survive outdoors even with long snowy winters, here in Estonia.
But sure the tomatoes and chillies are best to keep indoors and in warmer months you can take them outside.