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How to let Kelby and Vacation Mode take care of your Gardyn so you can actually relax
Growing your own food is one of life’s simplest joys. But even the most dedicated home grower faces the same dilemma sooner or later: What happens to your plants when you go on vacation?
With traditional gardening — indoors or outdoors — time away often means coming home to wilted greens, dried-out herbs, or a tank that’s long since run dry. It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing, and it means throwing away food that was thriving just days before.
Gardyn changes that story.
With Vacation Mode, your Gardyn keeps your plants healthy, hydrated, and happy while you’re off living your best life. Think of it as your garden shifting into a slow, steady rhythm—conserving energy, sipping water, and staying perfectly fresh until you return.
Before we talk about how Vacation Mode works, here’s a quick look at the everyday tech that makes Gardyn grow effortlessly year-round.
How Gardyn grows for you (even when you’re home)
Gardyn’s system blends beautiful design with cutting-edge technology to make growing food easier (and more delicious) than ever before. Three innovations power every Gardyn:
1. Light that mimics the sun from anywhere
Our full-spectrum LED lights give your plants exactly what they need, right when they need it. Whether your Gardyn sits in a bright kitchen or a windowless corner, it recreates ideal growing conditions. You can also personalize schedules and intensity to match your lifestyle.
2. Hybriponic™ growing — no soil, no mess, all flavor
Developed with researchers at McGill University, Gardyn’s vertically optimized hybriponic system grows plants without soil and without the usual tangled root chaos. Each plant grows in its own yCube, supported by airflow and nutrient circulation that keeps roots separate, clean, and thriving. This keeps plants consistently healthy and ensures you always have something fresh to pick.
3. Kelby, your smart gardener who never takes a day off
Your system includes cameras and sensors that feed real-time information to Kelby, Gardyn’s intelligent growing assistant. Kelby monitors plant development, alerts you when something needs attention, and helps optimize growth 24/7.
Now enter: Vacation Mode
When it’s time to unplug, Vacation Mode steps in to care for your plants automatically. With one tap in your Gardyn app, the system shifts into a conservation mode:
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Reduced lighting
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Lower watering frequency
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Slowed plant metabolism and growth
Think of it as a peaceful pause. Your plants stay alive, healthy, and ready to bounce back the second you return. For best results before you head out:
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Harvest or trim larger plants
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Clean and refill your tank
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Add fresh water and plant food
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Activate Vacation Mode in the app
(If you’ll be away longer than two weeks, ask someone to stop by and top off the tank — Kelby’s great, but even Kelby can’t refill water… yet.)
The science behind Vacation Mode
Plants thrive through two metabolic processes:
Photosynthesis — using light to make food
Respiration — the ongoing process of plant “breathing”
In outdoor gardens, sunlight drives continuous growth. But Gardyn’s controlled environment allows us to fine-tune the balance. When Vacation Mode is on, Gardyn reduces growth by lowering light levels and slowing water cycles, maintaining just enough photosynthesis to keep plants vibrant without pushing them to grow too quickly.
Your Gardyn enters a “slow-motion state”—alive, energized, and waiting for you.
What makes Vacation Mode a game-changer
✔ Keeps plants fresh and ready to harvest when you return
✔ Uses even less energy and water than normal operation
✔ Allows remote check-ins through the app so you can peek anytime
✔ Automatically resumes full growth once you’re home
This is what effortless gardening truly looks like.
A better way to grow, wherever life takes you
At Gardyn, we’re redefining how food is grown at home. Our systems make fresh, pesticide-free produce accessible to everyone—whether you live in the heart of a busy city or a quiet corner of the world.
With a footprint as small as one square foot and technology that supports you every step of the way, Gardyn makes healthy eating easier, more convenient, and more joyful. All year long. Even when you’re thousands of miles away.
Grow healthy, live tasty, harvest your happiness. And enjoy your vacation—your Gardyn’s got the rest.