This futuristic indoor garden grows plants with fog — it's so easy to use, too

Growing plants with fog? If you're like me, you might be thinking: Sounds like a gimmick. But after testing the Plantaform, a new indoor gardening system that uses fogponics, a form of aeroponics that incorporates vaporized water and plant nutrients to grow edible plants that's typically been reserved for commercial agriculture applications, and learning from Max Majot, master grower and hydroponics expert at Royal Queen Seeds, I'm all in on foggy gardening.

The fog-based system recently won the Best of Innovation in the Food and AgTech category for 2025 at CES, and the Canadian product is now available for purchase in the US. I tested the alien egg-shaped garden from Plantaform for about a month and found the growing process pretty much effortless.

What is fogponics?

I got in touch with Max Majot, a master grower at cannabis seed supplier Royal Queen Seeds (RQS) and hydroponics expert, to learn more about this new-to-me gardening method. I've spent years digging in the dirt, teaching others how to maximize yields with Square Foot Gardening, and slowly turning my front yard into the garden of my dreams (TBD on that!). During the pandemic, I started to experiment more thoroughly with indoor gardening systems, including smart, hydroponic gardens. But I'd never heard of fogponics.

I'll be honest, when I first heard about growing plants with fog, it sounded a bit sci-fi to me. In fact, it's a plant-growing tech first developed and tested by NASA—growing food in space requires ultra-efficiency, after all. Fogponics is really just a subset of hydroponics, says Majot. Instead of plant roots hanging out in water or soil, roots are suspended in air. The system periodically showers plants with an ultra-fine mist containing droplets smaller than 50 microns.

So, why fog?

"It's highly water- and nutrient-efficient, which helps keep costs low. The high oxygen exposure to the roots often accelerates plant growth. Plus, it can be cleaner without messy soil or coir substrates," Majot says.

He adds that another benefit of fogponics is improved nutrient delivery. "The fine, nutrient-dense mist is more easily absorbed directly through the roots, leading to quicker nutrient uptake and less waste than other methods," Majot says.

Like any other gardening system, growing with fog also has a few drawbacks, points out Majot. If the fog stops fogging, your plants will quickly dry out, shrivel up, and die. Similarly, nutrient imbalances can clog the fogging system. The good news is that paying attention to your garden — whether it's fog, water, or soil-based — can help you spot minor issues before they become catastrophic.

Plantaform design

"It looks like an alien." That's what everyone said when they came over to my house to see the Plantaform. But really, it's more alien egg than ET.

What struck me about the garden is how large it is while still being compact enough to fit on any end table. The central column holds up to 15 plant pods that are fairly well-spaced.

I tested the black unit, but it's also available in white (even more egg-like). It comes pretty much assembled, with three panels to cover the bottom seven-liter water tank. On top, there's a smaller (two-liter) water tank and a fan that keeps air circulating to prevent mold growth. The Plantaform also comes with window shades to help dampen the light it emits.

Inside, there's a central column with spots for plant pods — the plant pods come in prefab plant packs, one of which comes with the unit. The whole thing spins around a rotatable base, so you can easily check on your plants from all angles. It has a total water capacity of nine liters, including the aforementioned seven-liter bottom tank and a smaller two-liter tank at the top.

Our review of the Plantaform

So, how does this innovative garden system perform? Let's get into it.

Set up

There's virtually no assembly required. The biggest lift was setting up the app and plant pods, which took me less than 30 minutes — even with some minor app glitches.

To "activate" the plant pods, you need to soak them in water for a few seconds. This step is crucial for kickstarting the seed sprouting process since Plantaform pods don't sit in water like in a hydroponic system.

Here's how the setup process works:

• Plug in the unit
• Download the Plantaform app and connect your unit to Wifi and the app
• Add water and nutrients to the tanks
• Insert the plant packs with domes
• Scan the plant pack QR code to start the growing cycle in the app

The Growing Experience

The Plantaform unit I tested came with a lettuce plant pack, so I can't comment on the other plant pack options, which include:

• Cherry tomato mix (orange cherry tomatoes, sweet basil, and red frilled lettuce)
• Cocktail mix (lemon basil, dill, thyme, and mint)
• Herb mix (sweet basil, thai basil, cilantro, parsley, oregano)
• Edible flower mix
• Superfood salad mix (bok choy, kale, rainbow Swiss chard, arugula, and spinach)
• A second salad mix with different varieties

Each plant pack costs $29.99 with pods to fill all 15 slots. As of right now, the company recommends against mixing and matching pods because each grow cycle is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of each plant pack. There's also no seedless plant pod mix that lets you use your own seeds or customized grow cycle settings. So, if you want to go the DIY route, you'll have to do a bit of experimenting. But even with only seven packs to choose from, Plantaform still offers a nice variety of plant options. And the fact that plants are grouped together by growing preferences makes things virtually foolproof for beginners. The more you mix and match plants in a single system, the more likely you are to encounter issues caused by nutrient and pH imbalances since different plant families can have wildly different needs.

I found the growing experience to be low-effort and relatively seamless, minus a few hiccups (mostly my fault).

The app periodically prompts you to remove the germination domes, refill the water, and add nutrients as you go. But, I noticed that the user is never directed to thin seedlings. Although I find thinning helps produce better plants, I stuck to the directions regardless, and my lettuce plants turned out to be quite healthy-looking.

Two of my plant pods didn't germinate — it happens. Seeds can be unpredictable. That left me with 12 lettuce plants in all.

Typically, lettuce takes anywhere from 30 to 70 days to be ready to harvest. The Plantaform creates conditions ideal enough that you can start harvesting leaves before day 30. Like any indoor garden, the best way to harvest is to pick the outer leaves first, leaving the rest of the plant to continue growing and producing.

Granted, lettuce plants aren't as nutrient-hungry as fruiting plants, but I was pleasantly surprised at how little nutrient mix the garden prompted me to add over my month of testing. The same goes for refilling the water tanks. Each unit comes with a small nutrient container, and I've barely used half so far.

Other gardens typically require weekly refills — sometimes more when plants get bigger. Since refilling a little over a week ago, I still have more than 10 days to go before the next refill, according to the app.

Automated Growing

As mentioned above, the growing process with the Plantaform is pretty automated. You don't have to do much, aside from refilling water, adding nutrients, and harvesting.

Pop your pods in, scan the QR code, and go.

The Plantaform provides water and nutrient reminders based on multiple internal water tank sensors and the specific plant growth cycle selected. It's virtually foolproof, though I did mess up the first refill by refilling without following the specific instructions in the app. I saw the alert, refilled willy-nilly, and continued with my life, not realizing I had forgotten to add the nutrients and reset the refill counter.

When poking around the app at a later date, I realized my mistake and fixed it by going through the correct steps. It's possible my plants missed out on some nutrient delivery, but they managed to pull through without any obvious signs of stress. I also discovered a "party" setting that triggers a fog and lights show for guests — it won't help your plants grow, but it's a fun little Easter egg.

If you ignore all app reminders to water or forget to top up the water levels, don't worry. There's a backup reminder. The grow lights will flash and the LED light on the unit will blink red when the Plantaform detects extremely low water levels.

Shade Windows

How has no other indoor gardening company thought of this before? Thanks to the shade windows, I never had to fiddle with the automated light schedule. In the evening, the shade windows turn the blinding bright egg into a cozy nightlight until they shut off to give the plants a break for the night. Another window advantage? It keeps out bugs! And it prevents humidity from the unit from affecting nearby surfaces — though I haven't found it to be excessive.

I asked Plantaform about humidity, and they said that depending on the room size and air circulation, humidity levels might increase by at most 2%. I can confirm that if you keep the windows on, which I did, humidity stays contained in the unit.

With all that humidity created by the fog, I was on the lookout for mold growth — something I've had problems with when growing indoors. Mold tends to grow on any pod substrate that's exposed to air. Plantaform's smartly designed pods cover up any spots vulnerable to mold.

Cons to consider

Overall, the Plantaform is a pleasure to use, but there are a few cons worth mentioning.

First, the shade windows are major fingerprint magnets. To be fair, I was touching and fiddling with the windows a lot during testing to take photos and check on the plants. Something a typical user might not do.

Refilling the bottom tank is also a bit awkward, even with a thin-spouted watering can. It's a bit of a tight squeeze, and if you miss the tank, water will leak from the bottom. Water also leaks if you overshoot the max fill line, even by a tiny bit, so I recommend underfilling slightly to avoid leakage.

The biggest drawback of the Plantaform is the inability to customize your growing experience. While the company says using your own seeds and mix-and-match pods is possible, the system is currently designed with prefab growth cycles in mind. When you add pods from a plant pack and scan the QR cycle, the app automatically starts an ideal plant growth cycle. That also means no staggered growth. So, all my lettuce heads are going to be ready at the same time. If you eat a lot of salad or regularly serve up greens to a crowd, great. But if you're just one person, that might be too much to handle all at once.

I also encountered some minor issues when connecting the unit to the app and initiating the growth cycle, but deleting and reinstalling the app seemed to fix the issue.

What are your alternatives?

Aerogarden is one of the leading names in indoor grow gardens. Last fall it made headlines for winding down operations and was selling through inventory on Amazon. They quietly relaunched in March, and continue to offer their most popular products like the Harvest Elite and Sprout. We like these gardens because they're easy to maintain, super compact, and perfect for beginners. However, we are feeling leery about the app-connected gardens, as to their usability should the brand cease operations again. The Aerogarden subreddit still has a vibrant community of DIYers who share tips for growing with alternative pods, seeds, and nutrients, as the accompanying seed kits seem to have varied availability.

For a larger option that allows for staggered growing, consider the modular Rise Garden 3. We haven't tested the newest version, but the brand claims it's even sturdier than previous models while featuring the same high-capacity design. My favorite thing about the Rise is that I can grow a lot in the same amount of space a bookshelf might take up. It's also ideal for seed starting. And like Aerogarden, there are a lot of "Risers" out there who have come up with some really cool DIY ideas for the garden, including cool 3D printed seed hole covers and accessories.

The bottom line

If you want to minimize food waste and grow your food without fussing over the details, the Plantaform is a great option for both beginners and more experienced gardeners. The fogponics tech makes this a low-lift system with minimal maintenance required. If you're tired of fussing over gardening details and want something truly automated, the Plantaform does the trick. Just add water and nutrients, prune your plants from time to time, and you've got a space station-style garden at your service. If you prefer more control of your plants and get a thrill over planning your harvest, the Plantaform might be too cookie-cutter for you.

I'm eager to see what the company has in store and can't wait to follow along as it rolls out new updates, features, and products, including giving more experienced Plantaform users greater flexibility over growing cycles and plant choices.

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