I planted and forgot: the overview of smart gadgets for plants
Do you dream to gather a huge harvest from your windowsill without delving into the details of the agricultural business? Fortunately, the inventors have provided such an opportunity: we present a brief overview of modern gadgets for plants.
Everyone knows that the greenery in the shop is absolutely «not the same» and it certainly won’t replace the home greenery. However, if you don’t have time for the nurturing of greenery or if the plants don’t love your care, we offer you automated systems for plant care.
A Clever Pot Click & Grow
Click and Grow is an incredibly stylish home station for the cultivation of plants, inspired by the achievements of NASA. This little box is ready to provide everything thay the plants need: a led lamp of a special spectral composition, a timer of lighting, a huge reservoir with one-month supply of water, an innovative “smart” soil which is gradually releasing nutrients and fertilizers. Many sensors allow you to help the plant to stay in the necessary condition. Click and Grow consists of three cartridges with basil seeds are included to the basic set, and it is possible to order many other seeds of tomato, strawberries, herbs, and spices on the official website.
An Aquafarm
Aquafarm is a unique device is a real small ecosystem which consists of a fish and plants. In Acquafarm, a special bacteria help to change the nitrogen produced by the fish into the form which is suitable for plants. Thus, the plants receive fertilizer, the inhabitant of the aquarium receives clear water and you get a pet and a fresh greenery. We recommend to use a Betta as an inhabitant of the aquarium as this fish has one of the lowest levels of demand for oxygen.
Herbie and Genie Indoor Garden
“Smart pots” from designers Michael Eriksson and Sebastian Jansson are available in two versions: Herbie Indoor Garden and Genie Kitchen Garden. Both are based on hydroponics, both require only 15 minutes of maintenance per month and both are equipped with the technology of active growth. The last one is a pump which places the water from the reservoir to the tray with plants. The water passes through a special nutritive layer and is enriched with minerals and fertilizers.
Parrot Flower Power and Parrot Pot
Parrot Pot is a lovely branch is actually a high-tech soil sensor which monitors light, temperature, humidity and fertility of the ground. If there is any deviation of these parameter, the Flower Power will send a notification to your phone via Bluetooth.
The same company — Parrot — releases a «smart pot» which has all the advantages of the «branch» but which also can moisten the ground when it is dry.
Thing Planty
An interesting project that grew out of a startup not only offers an automated pot for plants, but also offers an emotional contact with the plants. Indeed, there is a contradiction in the ideology of many companies which advise people to buy a “smart pot” and forget about taking care of a plant — why do we need a plant if it is proposed to forget him as soon as possible? But Planty will not let you relax. If your flower is feeling cold or if it is insufficiently moistened, it will write you a message with a request to transfer the flower to the warm place or to water it. The pot has three sensors — the sensor of humidity, the sensor of light and the sensor of temperature.
The «Botanicalls» company offers the same system. Just one chip will allow you to communicate with the plants using the help of Twitter or phone.
Besides the smart devices for the cultivation of home plants, there is a big variety of street devices which will increase the level of the crop capacity and the level of the survival on the land.
Oso Technologies PlantLink
Plantlink is a whole smart system for watering the infield. It includes a small soil sensor which can send you notifications about the lack of moisture and which can transmit a signal to the smart valve. Plantlink is not only waters the plants due to the signal, but it also lets to create an irrigation schedule and it even takes the local weather forecast into account before watering to avoid waterlogging. The sensor can be used separately at home.
Bitponics
One more startup in our overview. Bitponics focuses on cloud technologies, allowing to create an unified system of control over all the household plants. The company offers to buy hydroponic cultivator which is equipped with many sensors, and you will receive an online account as a gift. This account will help to plan the care of the plant, to get advice from professionals and other users and to organize all the information from each of your plants which are equipped with sensors.
Rachio Iro
Rachio is one more invention in the category of “Smart garden”. Rachio allows you to schedule waterings, taking local weather, types of soil and plants and many other parameters into account. The gadget has a developed system of notifications which can inform the owner about the delay of watering because of the rain, about anomalous environmental conditions and about many other things.
Mobile app allows you to track the diary of watering, to adjust it on your own preference and to completely take control of a garden. Moreover, “smart” use of water which uses the weather forecast allows to save up to 50% of water.
