Must-have technology for the keen gardener
Technology is changing in all areas of our lives, and gardening is no different. The GardenAdvice team have been looking at some of the established and new technologies for helping gardeners to grow and care for plants.
Heated propagators
Many gardeners wish that they could grow their dream garden, with plants and vegetables from around the world. But often, our climate doesn’t allow for it. That’s where the heated propagators come in.
A heated propagator allows seeds to germinate earlier and more successfully (meaning that less go to waste). When innovations like this first came out, it was heated greenhouses and heated benches that were on the market. But, they can add to your energy costs as the heat can quickly dissipate and therefore must be on all the time to be successful. Instead, the propagator has walls and a lid which can retain the warmth.
You can often adapt the temperature between 5°C to 30°C to grow a range of plants and flourish your vegetable seeds. Some of the more exotic seeds and hot chillies require warmer temperatures and it could be impossible to grow them in cooler climates without this piece of technology. Being able to grow from seed is more cost-effective than buying an already germinated young plant too — saving you some pennies!
Many heated propagators have a light installed too. This can help seedlings and cutting grow healthily and provide high output for low energy as often the propagator contains a reflector that can reflect lost light and diffuse light deep into the plant leaves.
Handy apps
There’s an app for everyone and their hobbies nowadays! And as a lover of gardening, you’re no exception. Which apps should you consider downloading?
- GrowIt! — If you’ve just moved to a new house or are getting used to gardening in your area, this could be a useful app for you. It can connect you with local gardeners who are used to the climate and soil type and can give you some advice. You can also upload photos of your own plants to share your gardening knowledge with others.
- Garden Compass — If you’re looking for other like-minded individuals to share your gardening snaps with, this could be for you. With this app, you can upload photos to the website, ask questions to horticultural experts and create your personalised garden care calendar.
Multi-pot watering
Although we don’t like to admit it, sometimes our busy schedules take over and we forget to water our plants outside. But, with the help of a pot watering kit, you don’t need to worry about letting your mind slip.
These kits can water up to 25 plants automatically and can sense what time of the day it is to water your plants. You can set up the gadget so that it slowly releases water to the root of the plant which will save you the effort! Connect it to your outdoor garden tap for even less hassle.
Olloclip pro-lens
With the rise in social media and the ability to photo share with others, you want to be capturing the best photos you can take! Often the beauty of the plant is in the detail of its leaves or perhaps you enjoy watching the wildlife in the garden. Either way, to take the best photos in the garden you should invest in an Olloclip Pro Lens.
This piece of technology can fit nicely onto your iPhone. Simply clip it over the lens of your phone and it combines with your phones digital zoom — letting you take macro photos with up to 100x magnification. It’s ideal for capturing the details that aren’t visible to the human eye or even monitoring insects as they enjoy your garden. You’re guaranteed to get some wonderful shots without the need for purchasing a professional camera.
Monitoring your plants requirements
Unfortunately, your plants can’t let you know what they need. You have to make the judgement yourself, based on the climate and soil-type in your garden. But there is one gadget that can help — the Parrot Flower Power plant monitor.
It understands the essential needs of your plant, has 7,000 plants in its database and a battery life of six months. Simply place the monitor into the soil next to your plant and the monitor can detect; sunlight, temperature and fertilizer. This information then is sent straight to your smartphone, so you know when to water them or add more fertilizer.
As you can see, there’s a range of technology out there to meet your gardening needs! From making the germination process that little bit easier, to being able to water your 25 pots at once, there’s not a lot that technology can’t do these days.
Technology in the near future for gardeners
With the fast pace of technologies new ideas and innovations are becoming available to both new and experienced gardeners. At GardenAdvice we are currently working on systems that use assisted artificial intelligence combined with our Climate Net system to predict events in your garden and individual crops such as nutrient requirements, pest and disease attacks so that timely feeding and prevention of diseases can be undertaken improving both gardens and crop levels.
Sources
http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/Garden+Equipment/Propagators+and+Propagating+Equipment/Geopod+Heated+Propagators_MH4723.htm
http://fortune.com/2017/03/30/garden-gadgets-green-tech/
http://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/house-garden/best-gardening-apps-tech-hozelock-olloclip-ue-megaboom-netatmo-a7013496.html
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