Imagine having fresh vegetables and herbs all throughout the year, no matter how cold the weather is. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? At CES 2025, a device that looks straight out of the space age makes that a possibility. The PlantaForm Indoor Smart Garden is a fully enclosed system that uses fogponics (rather than aeroponics or hydroponics) to grow plants, and that means it uses a lot less water than traditional gardening methods.
It’s both environmentally- and space-friendly. The system solves one of the biggest issues with other smart gardens: the grow lights. While almost every smart garden uses artificial lighting to accelerate growth, the lights need to remain on for anywhere from eight to 16 hours per day. If the garden is in your living room, bedroom, or another space, it becomes uncomfortably bright and sometimes too loud when the water flows — but they can work as an effective wake-up alarm in a pinch. The PlantaForm is enclosed with tinted glass that greatly reduces the brightness and makes it much more compatible with a smaller home.
Fogponics works by delivering a fine mist straight to the roots. Since the plant doesn’t need to expend as much energy to obtain nutrients, you get faster growth and higher-quality vegetables as a result. There’s no soil involved; instead, the seeds are placed in a pod of rockwool. They’ll be covered by a small plastic dome. When the plant sprouts and the leaves reach the dome, just pop it off and set it aside.
Plants grow from pre-made kits that are roughly $30 each. As for what you can grow, PlantaForm offers lettuce mixes, cherry tomato mixes, and even edible flowers for use in cocktails. You don’t need a green thumb, either; this smart garden is able to grow no matter how bad a gardener you might be. The app walks you through the process, guiding you each step of the way. By the way, the seeds used are non-GMO and pesticide-free.
Even the packaging is designed with the environment in mind, so this is one gadget you can feel good about using. It’s just large enough in diameter to fit on an end table but is somewhat tall (but not nearly as tall as the Gardyn). You won’t want to put it on the coffee table — it’ll most likely block your view. Available in both black and white, you can opt for whichever style best fits your home.
You can pick up one of these futuristic smart gardens for yourself for $500. The PlantaForm is one of the most interesting smart gardens we’ve ever seen and improves upon a niche field of technology in tangible, noteworthy ways — and that’s why we also awarded it one of our Best of CES 2025 awards.
