By Having a garden is one of the biggest joys a nature enthusiast can have in their lives. You get to hand pick the little plants you want to raise in your yard and take pride in raising them well into their blooming stages. The trick is getting to that point, which can be challenging even for the best gardener.
If you’re looking to accelerate the growth of your garden, look to some smart tech to help you out. Any gardener knows it’s always good to use the resources at your disposal. Here are four smart tech suggestions that will get your garden growing in no time.
[1] Invest in a Smart Mower
One of the top dangers for growing garden plants are weeds, which come in all shapes and sizes. Some are harder to pull out of the ground than others, especially if they’re the kind that look very similar to the grass in your yard. When your grass gets tall, it’s nearly impossible to tell where the weeds are, giving them an easier path to propagate into your garden.
It can be hard to find the time to mow your lawn, which is where a robotic mower can come in handy. They come in all different kinds and sizes, but you can find one that will work right for your yard in just a few minutes online. The Husqvarna Automower 315X, for example, features GPS-assisted navigation and an app that gives you full control from any location. You can come home from work or school to a well-manicured yard and one less item on your to-do list. More gardening, anyone?
[2] Be Proactive With Bug Repellants
Gardens can easily fall prey to harmful pests, particularly non-native species of beetles and mites. No gardener wants to experience the dismay of watching a well-cared-for plant fall to such damage. And while visible harm to flowers can be a sad, shorter-term example, longer-term garden damage is also an unfortunate risk.
Trees are especially in danger of bugs. Pests love them because there’s so much room for them to invade. You should check your trees regularly for damage like discoloration, holes, or leaf thinning. If any of your trees have these issues or others—like holes in the trunk or lifted roots—it’s important to act before you have to tear down a beautiful tree that takes many years to replace.
Smart tech can help you with that. With a quick internet search, you can look into pest control misting systems like this SolaMist model. They’ll spray repellant while you’re busy doing other things during your day. As a bonus, this model is even solar powered and can be operated remotely from an app.
[3] Install a Smart Sprinkler Controller
A common mistake that gardeners make is either forgetting to water their plants or overwatering them. Weather is never the same year to year, so the routine you had for your last garden might not help your current one as much as you might think.
Smart sprinkler controllers like this series from Rachio come with app controls and sensors, so you’ll always know exactly how much water your garden has had and if it needs more. The smart watering technology takes the guesswork out of figuring out when you should water your garden. Plants that get the right amount of watering will flourish and continue to grow, instead of stalling out in dry periods.
[4] Monitor Conditions With a Weather Station
Every morning before you leave your home, you probably check the weather. It doesn’t matter if you watch the news or read about it on an app—you want to know what weather you’ll be facing for the day. Your garden wants to know the same thing, too, and it can help you decide how and when you’ll care for your plants.
You can research smart weather stations to find out which is right for you. They all have their ups and downs, but they can help significantly in the effort to grow your garden faster. Ever wanted to ask your garden what it needs? A weather station can get the answer for you, giving intimate details about the micro-climate that exists only in your yard.
This basic model from Netatmo, for example, allows the user to check accurate and real-time outdoor weather data from their phone. Understanding the rain, sunlight, and temperature to expect can help a gardener become more proactive about plant protection and give more insight into the best planting patterns for your location. The Netatmo can also accurately measure the rain that falls around your home by adding the accessory Rain Gauge, enabling you to adjust irrigation accordingly to conserve water.
Moving beyond basic weather stations, the sky’s the limit on cost and features. The smart Davis Instruments VantagePro2 Wireless system installed at the Digitized House offices is a medium-range selection, and features integrated rain and wind sensors—plus special metal spikes that prevent birds from nesting inside its rain collector cone. It publishes its data real-time to the Web.
Be Smart About Your Garden
Growing a garden is a hobby that a lot of people pick up and fall in love with. There’s something extremely rewarding about raising a plant through its life cycle all on your own. While you’re going to be the one in control of your garden, that doesn’t mean you can’t get help along the way.
In your quest to figure out how to accelerate your garden growth, look for smart solutions for help. Technology has made many impossible things possible, including communicating with your garden to figure out what it needs.
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