Owner’s Manual
Instafarm® 9-Tray Growing Unit
Designed & Assembled in Colorado 🇺🇸
Welcome to the Instafarm® lifestyle!
We are truly excited to welcome you to the Instafarm® family! We have intentionally designed our products to add great value to your life and health. Our trained team is standing by to answer any questions you have along the way!
Getting Started:
- Place the unit in your preferred location and plug in to a standard 110V outlet.
- Fill the tank with filtered water and place the tank on the dock at the left side of the unit. (NOTE: Avoid using tap water as it may cause clogging of the spray nozzle.)
- Remove the tray lids and place the trays you want to grow in the tray slots. (NOTE: This can be done at any time before or after the unit is turned on.)
- Press the power button to turn the unit on. The Instafarm™ will do the work. Let the Microgreens Begin!
- Enjoy having a piece of nature in your home and get excited to begin harvesting fresh nutrition!
- Harvest, eat, smile.
Harvesting Notes:
- For optimum freshness we recommend harvesting within 2-3 days of the estimated Ready to Harvest time (7 days for most plants). If you cannot harvest them we recommend placing the greens in the fridge until consumption.
- Use scissors to cut the micro greens near the top surface of the tray. It is normal for some seeds to stay on the leaves of certain plants. These can be brushed off or consumed with the plant.
- Once you have begun harvesting a tray it is best to remove it from the Instafarm and leave it on the counter or in the fridge to avoid overwatering if you are not going to consume the entire tray at once.
- It is best to consume the plants as soon as possible after harvesting for maximum nutrition.
- Users tend to experience the biggest difference when they consistently consume one tray of micro greens per day. Some split this between 2-3 people. Many find it helpful to immediately replace the tray when they harvest so that 1-2 trays are ready to harvest every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
Yes! The light on the Instafarm™ is typically on 24/7, however, if you would like to have the light off during a particular time of the day, a quick press of the power button will put it into Night Mode. During Night Mode the plants will still be watered but the light will remain off for 10 hours, after which it will automatically turn back on. The indicator light is blue when the Instafarm is in Night Mode. You may quick-press the button at any time to exit Night Mode, turning the lights back on.
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.
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.)
Wifi Connection Guide:
Initial Installation
- Install the Instafarm Connect app from the IOS or Android (Google Play) app store.
- Launch the app, when prompted, you must allow the app to find and connect to devices on your local network (IOS) and to to use your location “While using the App” (IOS and Android) or the app won’t be able to connect the Instafarm to wifi.
- Follow the prompts to add your Instafarm in the app.
- Power on the Instafarm. After a few seconds, the green LED should start flashing indicating the Instafarm is ready for a WIFI connection.
- On the app’s home screen, tap Connect and confirm the WIFI Network shown matches the one your phone is connected to.
- Enter your WIFI password and tap Connect.
- A success message showing “Instafarm connected to WIFI!” will appear. If your connection fails see Troubleshooting tips.
Connecting to a different WIFI network
If you need to move your Instafarm to a different WIFI network, or for troubleshooting, the WIFI connection can be reset as follows:
- On the Instafarm, tap and hold the button for 25 to 30 seconds, then release. Unplug and re-power the Instafarm and confirm the green LED is flashing.
- From the app’s home screen, tap Connect. If the Instafarm was previously connected, you should see the following message after a few seconds.
- Tap New WIFI network.
- Confirm the WIFI Network shown matches the one your phone is connected to.
- Enter your WIFI password and tap Connect.
- A success message showing “Instafarm connected to WIFI!” will appear. If your connection fails see Troubleshooting tips.
Wifi Troubleshooting Tips:
I get an error message “Unable to get WIFI network name” or the WIFI Network is shown as “Unable to get network name”
- Confirm your phone is connected to your local WIFI network, if not, connect it. Navigate back to the app’s homepage, tap Connect and confirm the WIFI network in the app now shows the one your phone is connected to.
- On IOS: Confirm Location permission is enabled:
Go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services.
Find and tap the Instafarm app on the list, and make sure location access is allowed while using the app and price location is turned on. Proceed to #4 below. - On Android: Confirm Location permission is enabled:
Go to Settings, Apps and tap the Instafarm app on the list
Under Permissions, tap Location and make sure location access is allowed while using the app and price location is turned on. - Navigate back to the app’s homepage, tap Connect and confirm the WIFI network in the app now shows the one your phone is connected to.
I get an error message saying the WIFI connection failed
- Confirm your WIFI router and WIFI network are up and running. Unplug and re-power the router if needed.
- Make sure you entered the WIFI password correctly and try again. Tap the little eye icon to see the password.
- Confirm you are using a 2.4 GHz WIFI network. If you’re unsure, please view the links below for instructions on how to check:
https://youtu.be/WoDhmQfsgHM?si=2QTzOMGlJB_sKeYS
Disclaimer:
Instafarm® makes no claims or warranties as to the nutrient levels or health benefits of eating microgreens or plants grown in the Instafarm®. The user is advised to speak with a nutrition or health professional, or reference the authoritative bodies on these topics.
Instafarm® does not sell pre-grown microgreens or food. Customers are encouraged to take precaution against bacteria or other organisms that can grow in plants. Eating unwashed greens or produce may result in negative health impacts.
Harvest Times:
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.
FCC Disclosure:
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Instafarm™ 9-Tray Growing Unit
Designed & Assembled in Colorado 🇺🇸
This Device Contains FCC ID: 2AC7Z-ESP32WROOM32E
Patent Pending
