1. Why doesn’t Altifarm come with seeds and soil?

Altifarm simplifies gardening and makes it easy for anyone to grow fresh produce at home. Not subscribing to a subscription model, we believe in empowering you to choose the plants as you may like. Besides shipping soil is expensive 🙂

2. I've seen several table top gadgets to grow plants, how's this different?

We’ve seen and tested them too. While these counter-top devices are great to bring new users into the fold of home growing, their shortcomings are too obvious. 3-6 plants (mostly herbs and less of veggies) are just not enough to start a conversation on self-reliance. Also, almost all of them rely on seed pod or grow medium subscription, which is expensive. Also what’s the fun in gardening, if you can’t get your hands dirty?

Altifarm on the other hand, empowers you to grow meaningful amount of fresh produce at home, without any bounds on what/how/when.

3. What is the recommended location for installing the Altifarm ?

Turn any unused corner in your home into a green space using Grow Light Expansion pack. Else install on a balcony or porch with adequate sunlight. Use Mobility pack to move Altifarm around your home.

4. What growing medium can we use with Altifarm?

Use good ole garden soil, if that’s what you’d like. You may sterilize it and enrich it with home-made compost or manure. You may also use packaged vegetable growing medium available in markets online & offine. Or go completely soil-less with coco peat medium, along with added nutrients.

5. How safe is the product to grow edibles?

The grow tiers and inner trays are made of food-grade BPA-free HDPE/ABS material, making it completely safe for growing edibles. They are also completely recyclable. The metal frame is tested free from lead, cadmium, chromium, heavy metals etc.

6. What can I grow with Altifarm?

You can grow most vegetables and herbs with Altifarm – from microgreens to plants like oregano, basil, chives, mint; to leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, lettuce, coriander, parsley; fruit vegetables like strawberry, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and even root vegetables like radish, turnip, beetroot, ginger, garlic, onions, and more.

7. Is there a recommended mix of plants to be grown in the different tiers of Altifarm?

Most plants with shallow/ fibrous roots can be easily grown in all tiers of your Altifarm. If you desire to grow a mix of herbs and vegetables, you may grow the herbs, leafy vegetables, and microgreens for the top tiers, and save the lowest tier for root vegetables.

8. How much quantity can I grow with Altifarm?

Produce cannot be quantified as it is subjected to the type, care, weather conditions, etc. However, with a grow area of over 1m2, Altifarm has space to grow dozens of plants at once. We usually have more than 50 plants on ours.

9. Can the same soil be re-used after the first harvest?

Yes, you may reuse the same soil after harvest, but remember to fortify it with a nutrient mix or fertilizers to that soil before planting new seeds.

10. How much weight can the frame withstand? What happens if the frame is exposed to moisture and water?

Altifarm’s sturdy steel frame powder-coated and corrosion treated with automotive standards for long life and durability . We have tested it for up to twice the maximum loaded weight of soil and water.

11. I’m going to use it outdoors, will the colors fade?

All the tiers are made in durable HDPE thermoplastic and UV-treated for sunlight protection. However, we have learned that after extensive use over the years, they tend to gradually fade in color without any loss in strength. We recommend choosing white color if you have excessive sunlight in your region and if color fading is a concern.

12. How often do I have to water the plants?

The watering spout has a level indicator, which lets you know when reservoir is low. This varies from plant to plant, also depends on weather, humidity, growing medium and other variables. While testing outdoors in good sunlight near 35 °C, we typically get a 7-10 day watering cycle and get 10-12 days cycle while testing indoors. It is advisable to have a dry spell of 1-2 days between watering.

13. What if I pour more water than required or use it in the rain?

All tiers have built in overflow spout through which the excess water is drained to the next lower one. The lower most tier is elevated from the floor by a few inches making it easy to mop or vacuum, in case of excess water drip.

14. Does Altifarm provide gardening assistance ?

Yes, we provide tips and advice via our blog and through our influencer friends.

15. Can I keep the grow lights on 24/7?

Like us, plants too need sleep. It is advisable to follow the pattern of natural light and keep it on for 12-16 hours everyday of the week. You may use an inexpensive mechanical timer to automate this.

16. Why no apps?

No app, we hate apps.