Here Are All the Technologies I Use to Grow a Better Garden.
Gardening season is approaching faster than you might think, and like many modern gardeners, I get help from technology every year. I use technology to grow seeds into seedlings, plant them outdoors, harvest them , and still have a whole life outside the garden. From weather stations and soil monitors to apps and calendars, here’s all the technology I’m currently dusting off to start getting ready.
Weather station
It all starts with the basics. I have a Tempest weather station in my yard and several smart temperature sensors in my backyard. While you can easily get weather information from your local weather station (you’d be surprised how many neighbors have them; look them up at Weather Underground ), I still find it incredibly useful to know the actual microclimate of my yard. I know when it’s going to rain, hail, snow, and the actual temperature at any time, whether I’m at home or away from home. For outside temperature monitoring, I have yet to find sensors as reliable as Aqara or Switchbot .
Soil monitors
Outside temperature is important for planting, as you shouldn’t put plants outside until nighttime temperatures are consistently above fifty degrees, but soil temperature is just as important. I’ve never had a great soil sensor before, but I’ll be trying out the ThirdReality Smart Soil Sensor in a few places this year. I’m also looking forward to trying the new Moen soil sensors .
Not only will the sensors tell me when my soil is warm enough to plant, they can provide important moisture data to my smart watering system—I’ve been using Hydrawise for three seasons and am incredibly happy with it. Hydrawise looks and acts like a regular drip or sprinkler control, but it has a Wi-Fi module that connects to your phone and the local weather station and uses the data to decide whether to water that day and how much. It’s nice to be able to control your drip system from your phone and get detailed reports of how much water has been used.
Garden Applications
It’s all good to know when to plant, but I sow the seeds inside and use a bucket of various tech tools to help. Firstly, this is the planning stage. You don’t sow all the seeds at once, you sow so that the seedlings they produce are ready around the time they can go into the ground outside. Keeping track of what to plant and when can be tedious, so I use Seedtime to create a planting calendar—its app and desktop interface are incredibly useful.
The seed trays themselves hold 50, 72 or 128 seedlings and you don’t have to place a marker in each slot, which would be time-consuming. I use a method taught to me by Meg Cowden from Seed to Fork and use Google Spreadsheets to keep track of what’s in each tray. The trays are numbered and labeled front and back, and a spreadsheet details what’s in each tray slot. When I go to the factory, I take my phone with me, and sometimes I print out a sheet.
Automation and controllers
I have discussed in detail how I plant seeds and what I use , but I rely on technology to ensure that my seedlings do well. For example, seedling heat mats ensure that the soil in the trays is warm enough for the seeds to germinate, but you need to control that heat because if the temperature gets too high, the seeds will bake. For this I use the Inkbird controller . It involves a probe that you place in the soil, and then from your phone (or controller) you specify a temperature range. The controller will turn the heating mat on and off to ensure the desired temperature is maintained.
I’ve also learned (the hard way) that too much humidity can lead to viruses and other problems in my seeding room, so with an Aqara temperature and humidity sensor, I use Google Home automation to turn on the overhead fan when the humidity gets too high. The air blown by the fan also benefits the plants, which form stronger stems with a gentle breeze.
Calendars, voice assistants and reminders
Outside, the Monty compost monitor reminds me to turn the compost every now and then when the worms aren’t doing their job. It sends me notifications about the status of my compost, which is quite helpful. Indeed, reminders are key to the success of my garden. I have an entire Google calendar dedicated solely to garden reminders, like when to plant certain seeds outside, check on plants, or install trellises. These reminders are sent to my Google Nest speakers, and my voice assistant will let me know if I’ve forgotten something. Most importantly, the calendar can be repurposed from year to year.
CCTV cameras
I was surprised how often I use my smart cameras in the yard; yes, they catch animals that might cause harm (I’m particularly aware of the neighbors’ cats taking up residence in my garden this year due to their ability to transmit bird flu), but during a storm it’s even a good idea to check how some fragile plants are doing. I’m looking forward to testing Bird Buddy’s new Petal cameras, which use solar power and are installed at the plant level. They use artificial intelligence to report the health of your plants. I’m hoping to use them to capture weekly updates of my yard from a camera perspective. I use these photos in the winter to help me decide what to plant each year.