It is recommended that once you place a tray in the Instafarm you do not remove the tray or place it in another tray slot until the tray is ready for harvest. This helps to ensure that the Instafarm is able to precisely control the growth settings for that specific tray.

Instafarm trays are designed for one-time use and most will not regrow a second time. That being said, most trays can be transplanted into a larger growing pot or the garden to grow the full-size plants after harvesting the micro greens. Returning a harvested or partially harvested tray to the Instafarm is not recommended as it may confuse the algorithm and cause watering issues. If you accidentally do this the algorithm can be “reset” by leaving that tray slot empty for 90+ minutes and then placing a new tray in it.

Our suggestion is to not to enter Night Mode more than 10 hours per day. If the Instafarm is not in Night Mode more than 10 hours a day (one full Night Mode cycle) there will be very minimal impact on plant growth.

The harvest times on the tray labels and on this website are estimates only and can be significantly lengthened by environmental conditions, including ambient temperature. Ready-to-harvest times do not guarantee the plant will grow within the estimated timeframe. We have inserted photos below of fully grown and ready to harvest plants to give you an example of how they should look when ready for harvest.

The unit may be turned off by holding the power button for 5+ seconds.

When microgreens first start growing, their micro-hairs can easily be mistaken for mold. However, unlike mold, these micro-hairs are a sign of a very healthy plant and means the plant root has a significant surface area to intake nutrients from the soil. If you see something that looks like mold and is not in the root area of the plant, it is possible mold has gotten into your plants. Many buildings and homes have excess humidity and environmental mold and in certain conditions that mold can get into your growing plants. If you happen to run into this problem we suggest adding a tablespoon of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a full water tank and to kill the mold.

When the tank is depleted of water the indicator light will flash red. Once your tank is refilled the flashing red light will automatically turn to green once the unit detects water in the water lines again.

We add perlite to the Instafarm soil to enable healthy airflow to the roots, allowing for optimal plant growth. Perlite is a completely natural and non-toxic material.

The Instafarm™ detects the temperature and relative humidity in the room and adjusts the settings accordingly. Tray growth will slow significantly and cannot be guaranteed if the room is consistently below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. If the room temperature only drops during the night, this temperature fluctuation typically will not impact the plant growth as significantly. Likewise, good growth is not guaranteed if the room temperature is consistently above 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

Instafarm is designed to operate using filtered or distilled water. The water tank should not be filled with unfiltered tap water, as it may clog the watering system. 

If you find that the watering system has become clogged, you can clean the filter located in the bottom of the water tank. Additionally, the removable nozzle on the moving head can be carefully unscrewed and cleaned with warm water. The nozzle should be removed with caution and only when the unit is powered off, as the head can be easily damaged. (Note: There are very small parts in the nozzle that must be precisely re-oriented after washing.)