System and method for priming an indoor gardening appliance

A gardening appliance, comprising:

• a cabinet;
• a grow tower rotatably mounted within the cabinet, the grow tower defining a plurality of apertures configured for receiving a plurality of plant pods;
• a hydration system configured for hydrating the plurality of plants, the hydration system comprising a mixing tank configured for containing a nutrient liquid, a misting nozzle oriented towards the plurality of plant pods, a misting pump fluidically coupled to the mixing tank and operable to pump the nutrient liquid from the mixing tank to the misting nozzle, and a bypass valve disposed between the misting pump and the misting nozzle on a flow path for the nutrient liquid from the mixing tank to the misting nozzle;
• a pressure sensor;
• and
• a controller in communication with the misting pump, the bypass valve, and the pressure sensor, the controller configured for
• activating the misting pump in order to urge the nutrient liquid from the mixing tank towards the misting nozzle,
• receiving data from the pressure sensor corresponding to a pressure of the nutrient liquid between the misting pump and the misting nozzle, and
• in response to the pressure of the nutrient liquid being less than a threshold pressure for a predetermined period of time, switching the bypass valve open and closed in order to purge air from the flow path for the nutrient liquid from the mixing tank to the misting nozzle.