Once you get the hang of it, gardening is a fairly intuitive process. That doesn't mean we can't garden smarter. What is smart gardening? Just like devices such as smart phones, smart gardening takes advantage of the technology around us. Tech isn't just for video games and phone apps. Gardening with technology can save time, energy and money.
Check out these smart garden techniques and take home some inventive ideas that can help you in the landscape.
What is Smart Gardening?
Smart technology is all the rage, but did you know it translates to useful help in the garden? Whether you are a lazy or simply uninformed gardener, gardening with technology can help with chores and tasks common in the landscape.
From smart irrigation systems to self-control lawn mowers, technology has its finger on the gardener's pulse. Many of us are familiar with smart plant meters, which monitor the health and moisture levels of houseplants, but the concept doesn't stop there.
Use our smart gardening guide for tips on technological products that are engineered to create healthier, low maintenance solutions for your yard.
Smart Gardening Guide
More and more products are being developed to help lower our carbon footprint, simplify chores and help us be wiser consumers. Such technology can enhance plant care, help with landscape design and inform us of the best plants for specific sites. In an imagined future, all the drudgery of gardening will be removed, leaving only the pleasurable aspects of maintaining your home.
- Smart plant monitors – There are many plant monitors available to introduce technology to the beginning gardener. Many of these are simply inserted into soil and can take measurements of moisture levels, track light and humidity, and even analyze soil. Many can even determine the nutrients in soil.
- Smart gardens – Indoor gardens take the guesswork out of growing your own food or herbs. Most are self-contained systems that provide light, automatic watering, fertilizer and customized heat levels. All you need to do is plant or sow seed and the unit does the rest.
- Smart sprinklers – Smart sprinklers do more than just schedule irrigation. They can determine breaks and leaks in the system, save water, adjust to accommodate weather and often can be monitored and changed via your phone or computer.
- Expandable pots – A really wonderful new concept is the expandable pot. The containers are said to expand as the plant grows so you don't need to keep purchasing pots a size up.
- Gardening apps – Garden apps can help with design, plant ID, placement of irrigation, solve problem areas and much more. Many, like the GKH Gardening Companion (for Android and iPhone), are available free or you can purchase easy-to-use guides in a variety of formats.
- Smart mowers – Mowbot is an automated lawn mower. It operates similarly to robotic vacuums only in a mower. No more sweating in the hot sun trying to get the lawn cut.
- Robotic weeders – A product under development is Tertill, a solar powered weeding robot. The idea is that you simply place the product out in a sunny location of the garden and it will weed for you. No more back breaking stooping or use of chemicals.
How to Make a Smart Garden
Some of the products are a bit on the pricey side, so pick your battles within your budget first. The next step is planning. If you already have an irrigation system, that might be the first way to bring technology into the home.
Even apartment and condo dwellers can utilize the indoor growing systems, smart grow lights and self-watering containers.
The future looks bright for technology to go hand in hand with gardeners, solving numerous problems and enhancing the growing experience.