The Rise Garden FAQ

• What level of gardening experience is necessary to grow with Rise?

  In short, none! While many of our customers describe themselves as a 3 or 4 on a 1-5 scale of gardening experience, we have more customers who rate themselves as a 1 or 2 than a 5.
  
  Not only does our garden automate most of the work, we also provide plenty of free resources to help you get growing, including our Growing Guide , Ask Basil AI growing assistant, gardening blog , hydroponics knowledge base , and Rise mobile app (available on the App Store and Google Play).
  
  If you're a beginner gardener, you'll find it easy to get started with Rise. Plus, as you gain experience and knowledge over time, you'll enjoy making your harvests more productive and colorful than ever!

• How easy is it to set up my Rise garden?

  A one-level garden takes as little as 30 minutes to set up if you work quickly or about an hour at a leisurely pace. Each additional level adds around 20 minutes.

• What kind of maintenance and cleaning should I expect?

  Between planting and harvesting, your garden only needs water and nutrients replenished once a week. This takes less than 5 minutes, and our app provides reminders.
  After each harvest, we recommend light cleaning, such as removing stray plant roots or leaves from water trays and wiping down tray lids. This takes just a few minutes.
  We recommend a deep clean every six months to remove micronutrient buildup, algae, or debris. The deep clean process takes about an hour.

• When can I expect my first harvest?

  Microgreens: Ready in just two weeks.
  Leafy greens (e.g., lettuce, arugula): About four weeks.
  Fruiting plants: Longer cycles—cucumbers in about 10 weeks; bell peppers, tomatoes, and strawberries around 15 weeks. These are worth the wait!
  Learn more at our plant library .

• What plants can I grow?

  We offer 100+ high-quality hydroponic seeds, ranging from greens to herbs and fruits. We regularly add exciting new plants to our seed library, and you can check out the full selection here .

• Can I actually grow 40 lbs of food per month?

  Yes! We've achieved this ourselves on our three-level garden. Results may vary depending on your choice of seeds, as some plants grow faster than others.
  The best part? You can grow year-round and save a ton on groceries!

• How much electricity does the Rise garden use?

  One-level garden: About 40 kWh per month.
  Two-level garden: About 70 kWh per month.
  Three-level garden: About 100 kWh per month.
  At the US average electricity cost of $0.17 per kWh, this translates to $7–17 monthly, depending on the number of levels.

• Do I need to buy anything else besides the garden to grow?

  Your garden includes everything you need to start growing:
  A starter kit with 16 seeds (basil, chives, parsley, cilantro, iceberg, buttercrunch, and Parris Island Cos).
  A nutrient bundle (30 ml pH and 30 g Sprout).
  For ongoing supplies of seeds and nutrients, we recommend the Rise Plus membership, which provides savings of up to 50% vs. buying a la carte, along with other perks.
  For growing fruiting or vining plants, consider adding a Stand Kit (which helps plants stay upright), and Trellis Kit (which supports vines).

• Do you offer free shipping?

  Gardens ship free with a Rise Plus membership.
  Without a membership, shipping costs vary by garden size (they weigh between 55 and 85 lbs!).
  All garden purchases in the US include free shipping insurance through Route, protecting you from theft or damages.

• Can I grow safely if I own pets?

  Many customers enjoy sharing harvests with their pets! To ensure safety, avoid feeding plants that are toxic to pets (e.g., nightshades) and keep any such harvests out of reach. See our pet safety plant guide for more info or consult resources like ASPCA.org or akc.org.

• What if I'm not sure that hydroponic growing is for me?

  We hope you’ll join tens of thousands of happy gardeners who’ve chosen to grow with Rise. You can see what some of them have to say here .
  Plus, we offer 90-day free returns , so you'll have plenty of time to decide if The Rise Garden is right for you (just set aside the packaging to simplify returns). Our industry-leading 3-year limited warranty 3-year limited warranty adds extra peace of mind, and all garden purchases in the US include free shipping insurance shipping insurance through Route.

• I have more questions!

  You can email us at support@risegardens.com, or
  Chat live with us Mon–Fri, 9–5 Central Time here and click the live chat widget at the bottom right, or
  Try Ask Basil , our AI assistant, for instant help.