Gardening Goes High Tech
By Vanessa Richins
I often hear people say “I can’t keep any plants alive!” when I tell them I have a degree in Horticulture. (Just for the record – I manage to kill some plants too).
In fact, as an article from ABC15 in Phoenix states, ” Research shows Americans kill close to one third of all plants within the first year after they are purchased.”
A company called PlantSense wants to change those statistics with their new product, EasyBloom.
EasyBloom works by collecting environmental data in your yard (such as sunlight, temperature, and moisture in both air and soil) for 24 hours. After that, the data is sent to PlantSense’s website, where it is analyzed.
Using your site data, EasyBloom’s website will give you recommendations for plants from their 5000 + plant database. These selections will be optimized for your garden zone and growing conditions. Adjustments for the different seasons will be made based on information you input into the website, such as your zip code.
However, PlantSense says that the EasyBloom can be used for more than just recommending plants. It has three modes – Recommend,
Monitor, and Water.
With Monitor, EasyBloom will note the environment around the plant and see if it has optimal growing conditions. Water will tell you if your plants are in need of water.
I hope I can test out the EasyBloom in the new future. It sounds like it could be very helpful in your decisions on what plants to choose for your garden. It costs $59 – a bit more than the usual shovel or hoe, but could potentially save you money and problems down the road.
Would you buy the EasyBloom?
November 6th, 2008 at 4:05 am
Hmmm, I don’t think I would pay $59 for that program. I’d pay that money for a couple of sessions with a garden coach or landscaper. But $59 is kind of a lot to not talk to a real person.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Just a note – my EasyBloom arrived today. Now I need to test it out!