Welcome!
We hope we can clarify some things for you here. If your question remains unanswered, please do not hesitate to contact us!
About APPA
APPA is an acronym for Automated Plant Production Assistant - a fitting description, we find. This acronym and palindrome also works in German, by the way, which is neat.
APPA consumes roughly 11kWh per month, which is less than a modern fridge of the best energy class. In Switzerland, this will cost you roughly 25CHF/year, if you use the factory settings of APPA. Of course, this will vary slightly if you choose to choose to change the illumination times of your plants, for example.
No. The only source of sound from the APPA is the water pump that waters the plants regularly, at roughly 35dB. That's maybe not ideal for your bedroom, but barely noticeable in any other setting.
The water tank holds 2 Liter, which is on average enough to last two weeks before needing a refill. Of course, this depends on how much water your plants consume, which in turn depends on the type of plants, their developmental stage, and environmental conditions like temperature and humidity.
APPA is produced in Switzerland, by our friends of the APPISBERG competence centre. They make high quality products and have a great social impact at the same time.
Plants
All types of leafy greens grow very well in hydroponic systems like APPA, so you can grow a huge variety of kitchen herbs like basil, parsley, coriander, lettuce and similar plants. But also small fruiting plants grow very well, like our cherry tomatoes and chili peppers.
Cannabis is a flowering herb and, like many herbs, enjoys growing in hydroponic systems. APPA lets you easily change the necessary environmental conditions, such as lighting intervals and nutritional content, for the different developmental stages. It is, however, your responsibility to make sure the cultivation of your particular cannabis plant is legal in your country. In Switzerland, for example, it is legal to cultivate plants that mainly produce CBD and no THC, and only by cutting propagation, not by seed.
Pleasant Plants cannot be made liable for any unlawful usage of their products.
Of course! We’d love to see you experiment! That's what growing your own food is all about.
Let us know if you miss your favorite plant in our online shop! The seeds we offer are tested and work best with APPA and our nutrient solution. We have a great variety of available seeds and we continuously test and expand our selection with more exotic varieties.
Yes, cuttings typically grow very fast in APPA! Many plants such as basil, mint or tomato plants can easily be propagated.
Shipping and Returns
Online Shop:
We currently offer shipping within Switzerland. Shipping costs are displayed during check-out.
Crowdfunding:
We offer shipping in Switzerland and Europe, but outside of Switzerland, additional charges may apply.
In our crowdfunding campaign, shipping costs within Switzerland are included in the reward price. Outside of Switzerland, shipping costs are hard for us to anticipate. Additonal costs may apply that we will bill to you before shipping. We will do our best to keep these costs as low as possible.
Shipping in Switzerland:
Taxes and duty fees are included in our prices and you will not pay any additional fee upon arrival.
Shipping outside Switzerland:
For destinations outside Switzerland, we currently do not offer pre-paid duties and taxes.
The prices do not include taxes and duty fees and you may pay additional fees upon arrival.
All taxes and duty fees are the customer's responsibility to pay and non-refundable. They are calculated based on the items ordered, the shipment destination and the value of your purchase.
We hope you will love everything that you order from us. If you have any questions, please contact us so that together we can minimize the number of returns and the environmental impact caused by unnecessary freights.
Our grow systems are eligible for a refund only if they are damaged or malfunctioning and this damage occured before shipping.
We do not take responsibility for damage that occured during shipping. Please inspect your product immediately when you receive it and note down damage, if there is any, with the shipping provider.
If you would like to apply for a refund, please do so within 14 days of receiving your order.
Seeds and other accessories cannot be refunded.
Please note that we only accept returns or exchanges in new condition:
— Items must not be used
— All original components must be attached including the packaging
Crowdfunding
With your help, we can produce the first 100 new APPAs and find them new homes! Hardware is expensive, especially when it’s locally produced, which is why we have to order in bulk. After months of development, collaboration with our research and production partners, product safety tests, and feedback from customers on our pilot product, our new and improved APPA is ready. With your support, we will be able to give the order of this first larger batch to our production partner APPISBERG.
After the campaign, we will be able to order all necessary components, produce and deliver the first APPAs within 3-5 months.
We're a team of young, motivated alumni from Swiss universities. We have experience from our first product launch and great advisors and partners in the industry, and we’ve allocated sufficient resources and time to deliver your APPAs on time. However, we know that there may be things outside of our control and current visibility. This includes both our supply chain and the design. We promise to keep you informed, both during the campaign and afterwards, and do our absolute best to deliver your APPAs in a timely manner. As can be confirmed by our current customers, transparency is one of our core values and fully reflects within this crowdfunding campaign.
If you've purchased a personalised product, we will contact you after the campaign to collect your graphics and any other relevant information.