There's nothing quite as satisfying as the moment you harvest the first vegetable you've grown in your home garden. But getting to that point is an ordeal, especially if you lack a backyard, a green thumb and a love for the outdoors. 

Indoor gardening systems have become a good alternative for folks who want the benefit of homegrown produce without all the work and space that a garden requires. Many of these will fit on a countertop or windowsill, which is great if you're an apartment dweller. There are a variety of products for every level of indoor gardener. 

If you want to do a minimal amount of work for maximum output

The countertop gardening systems that do the most work for you are made up of four parts: 

1. Pods that come pre-filled with dirt and seeds
2. A self-watering container
3. An LED lamp that works on a timer
4. Built-in Wi-Fi connection

In general, you pop the pods into the container, fill it with water and turn on the LED lights. Depending on what you grow and the product you use, the LEDs will automatically cycle on and off depending on the needs of your plants (you can select the type of plant you're growing in the settings of the system). As your plants grow, the only maintenance they'll need from you is additional water. Eventually, you'll have to adjust the height of your LED lamp to accommodate your plants, and you'll have to prune and harvest your goods. 

Built-in Wi-Fi is definitely not a necessary part of indoor gardening. But systems like the forthcoming SproutsIO and the MiracleGro Aerogarden Bounty Elite (which starts at $249 on Amazon, but is cheaper if you order straight through the manufacturer) connect to the internet through your home's Wi-Fi network so you can use an app to check on the status of your plants. For example, the Aerogarden app shows you if the LED light is on or off, tells you if you need more water and reminds you when to give your plants more liquid nutrients. If internet connectivity is important to you, remember that this extra feature will cost you more money than if you were to opt for one of the other types of countertop gardens

If you don't need your garden connected to the internet, but still want to put your feet up

The next category of countertop gardens has everything as the above systems minus the internet connection. You'll still get your seeds in some type of pods, you'll put those pods in a self-watering container and an LED lamp will power up your seeds. You're also responsible for pruning and harvesting.

These systems, such as the $100 Click & Grow Smart Garden 3 Indoor Gardening Kit, are less expensive than the previous category because they don't have that internet connectivity. But you'll also miss out on some of the customizable features of more expensive systems. For example, the Aerogarden Bounty Elite lets you pick the type of plant you are growing or stage at which you're growing so it can adjust the amount of light the seeds receive. The LED lamp on the Click & Grow only has an automatic cycle of 16 hours on and eight hours off. (If you're a bit of a lazy gardener, this probably won't matter much, especially if you're going to save $100 or more.)

If you have aspirations of getting outside one day

Some countertop gardening systems will water and light your plants, but that's about it. For example, the $65 Spigo Intelligent Indoor LED Light Garden includes an LED lamp on an automatic timer and a self-watering container, but that's about it. No pods, no dirt. You have to buy your own dirt and seedlings (or seeds if you're feeling adventurous) and plant them. These minimal system would be good for the ambitious gardener who just needs a little boost to get started. 

Whatever system you choose, you have lots of options if you want to garden but don't want to get in the literal weeds. Decide what level of interaction you want with your plants, how much money you're willing to spend and get your hands just a little bit dirty.