From watering when you’re away to mowing the lawn, tech is taking root in the backyard
Technology is making it easier for home gardeners to keep their plants healthy and productive. Many of today’s garden tech tools come from commercial agriculture, where growers use controlled-environment technology to monitor soil moisture and sunlight exposure, manage irrigation and track plant health.
“In greenhouse production, we have considerable use of software models that calculate the amount of sunshine on a given day and program lights to correspond to the amount of surplus or lack of light, depending on the crop’s needs,” said Judson Reid, senior extension associate with Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Reid said he sees more technology in commercial agriculture than in backyard gardening because people usually garden to get away from technology.
“They garden because it’s something they can do in nature that depends on their efforts,” he said.
Still, there are a growing number of tools available that can help gardeners save time, conserve water and solve problems before they affect plant health. If you’re looking to use tech in your gardens, these are a few options to consider.
Automated Watering Systems
One of the simplest technologies available to home gardeners is an automated watering system. A programmable digital timer for your indoor or outdoor gardens can make setting watering schedules simpler.
“In a garden, a small digital timer can be threaded directly onto the water source and programmed to water whenever someone wants it to, for as long as they want it to,” Reid said. “If you were to go on vacation and wanted to water your garden for 30 minutes every morning, you can set up that timer to do that,” he said. “It’s very simple and runs on a couple of AA batteries.”
Options like the Hunter Hydrawise and GARDENA line of products connect to smartphone apps and allow you to adjust watering schedules based on weather forecasts, reducing water waste while helping plants receive consistent moisture. Indoor watering devices like the RainPoint and LetPot systems offer similar benefits, but they do require a direct source of water, which may mean setting out a bowl of water alongside the pots.
Artificial Intelligence for Garden Design
Gardeners looking for design inspiration are turning to AI. Some upload photos of a specific area while others start with a broad concept and ask for suggestions.
Michael Daly of Blue Spruce Landscape & Design in Clifton Park cautioned that while AI can be helpful, there is a difference between what the tool creates and reality. Material availability, scale and long-term goals are often missing from AI-generated concepts.
“AI can be helpful,” he said. “However, sometimes clients have shown me a great-looking AI-generated picture, but the stone is not native to the area. So, you have to be aware of that.”
He added that human-created landscape designs by professionals also consider long-term goals for garden maturity.
“When you design something, you’re not necessarily designing it for that day, you’re designing it for a five-year or 10-year look … AI can’t do that,” he said.
Plant Identification and Diagnostic Apps
Ever walk by a garden and see a plant you want at home, but aren’t sure what it is? Plant identification apps — some are free and some require subscriptions — like PictureThis, Apple’s Visual Look Up feature, and Google Lens can help you identify a plant in seconds.
Not only can the apps identify plants you want in the garden, they can also identify weeds and invasive plants. These apps can help identify diseases, as well.
“Diseases can be difficult to detect because there are many variables as to whether it’s [caused by] water, location, sunlight, a pest or a fungus,” said Michael Smith, owner of Traditional Landscaping, which operates throughout the Capital Region. “PictureThis is a helpful tool for identifying diseases.”
Robotic Weed Pullers & Mowers
For gardeners who dread pulling weeds or cutting the grass, robotic weeders and mowers offer a glimpse into the future of lawn and garden maintenance. Electric and solar-powered devices, similar to home robot vacuums like the Roomba, can do the job autonomously, but there’s a catch.
“If you have knee-high weeds, don’t expect technology to save you,” Reid said. “There’s still manual labor.”
Before investing in any Bluetooth- or Wi-Fi-enabled garden technology, Reid recommends evaluating whether the device will function reliably in the intended location.
“If something is Bluetooth enabled or Wi-Fi enabled, are you going to have access to a network?” he said. “Consider how far the device can be from the connection and work.”
Soil Sensors and Smart Probes
Many gardeners rely on visual clues to determine when plants need water. By the time leaves begin to wilt, however, plants may already be experiencing stress.
Soil sensors and smart probes provide a more precise approach. These devices measure soil moisture, temperature and, in some cases, sunlight exposure. The information is sent directly to a smartphone app, allowing gardeners to monitor conditions in real time.
For gardeners trying to avoid overwatering or underwatering, sensors can provide valuable insights that help maintain healthier plants while conserving water.
Automation is Increasing
Technology may never replace the satisfaction of digging in the dirt, but it can help gardeners spend less time troubleshooting problems and more time enjoying the results.
“Automation is probably the biggest thing in the landscape industry right now,” Daly said. “Outside of plants, everything is geared toward smartphones — from connected irrigation to lighting, fire, waterfalls, ponds and pools.”
Top image source: iStockphoto.com/peepo
