Shop

HARVEST CLUB

AVA Pod Packs

POD PACKS

Mushroom Grow Kits

MUSHROOM GROW KITS

HOW IT WORKS

QUIZ: FIND A SUBSCRIPTION PLAN

BLOG

PLANT DIRECTORY

AVA Technologies Founders Valerie Song and Chase Ando with an AVA Byte Smart Garden

ABOUT US

MORE

Search
Close this search box.

How-To, Plants

What is a Growing Recipe?

We break down what makes our plants grow.

You’ve just received your AVA Byte! But you’re wondering: how do my plants grow so effortlessly?

AVA Technologies Inc. is dedicated to inventing the smartest indoor gardening technology possible to help anyone, anywhere, grow anything. The AVA Byte is designed to support you in your growing success through growing recipes that adapt to your pod pack’s specific lighting and watering needs.

Here’s how it works:

Watering

The automated watering system only needs to be refilled once every 2 to 4 weeks. With water level detection, you’ll never forget to water again! To ensure your plants stay hydrated and happy, the AVA Smart Garden app will notify you when your reservoir needs to be refilled or ask your Alexa or Google device. We recommend cleaning your reservoir once a month to maintain optimal plant health to deter pests and diseases.
 
The watering schedule changes throughout the plants’ growth from less frequent to more frequent as the plants’ water requirements increase. This schedule is different for each pod pack, but the pump generally will run for 5 minutes between 2 to 6 times per day. If you notice your pump is louder than usual, check to see the reservoir’s water level and add water until you reach the max fill line.

Lighting

Our NASA-inspired horticulture lighting optimizes plant growth with our customized LEDs with a height-adjustable pole that grows with your plants (up to 18 in or 46cm). 
 
The grow lights emit an electromagnetic spectrum to promote photosynthesis. We’ve chosen LED (Light Emitting Diode) grow lights for their long life-span, energy efficiency and spectrum customizability. Our Plant Science team selects the light spectrum, light intensity and the length of each stage that best supports your plants’ development.
 
You may notice more blue light in the beginning of your growing recipe to reduce stem stretching and increase the plant quality, especially in leafy crops like lettuce. A brighter blue light leads to healthy roots and stem structure. 
 
As your plants grow, red light is included in your LED light spectrum and will turn on later in your growing cycle. This is vital for general plant growth to develop healthy leaves and foliage and will be increased to encourage the flowering and fruiting of a plant.
 
Your Byte also contains a number of white LED lights. Although they appear white to the human eye, they actually contain a variety of light spectrums that your plants need for growth! This includes green light, which penetrates the leaf’s tissue and promotes photosynthesis.
 

The lighting schedule or the photoperiod is also tailored to your plants growth. This schedule will change throughout the growing cycle and will be dependent on which pod pack you have growing. Some growing recipes may have a 24 hour photoperiod for up to the first 7 days for optimal seedling growth, but on average the LEDs will be on between 16 to 20 hours a day. When the LEDs are off, the darkness is an essential rest period that will help the plants develop. Please be mindful when choosing the location of your Byte as the lights may not align with your sleeping schedule. If you find the light disrupting your sweet slumber, we recommend draping a thin towel or sheet over your Byte. Remove the covering in the morning so that the plants do not overheat and ensure that the weight has not altered the height of the pole.

Work smarter, not harder. 

The AVA Smart Garden app will send notifications when: your plants are thirsty, your germination domes need to be removed, your plants need to be pruned or harvested and when to extend your pole’s height.

Grow Smart with the Harvest Club

Get the AVA Byte Smart Garden, on-demand growing support, and plants delivered to your door.

Join the Harvest Club today and pay $100 CAD for 100 Days of Growing.

LEARN MORE