With Gardyn, you won’t have to worry about your plants dying. Kelby, the computer assistant, takes care of everything. Indeed, Gardyn promises an intelligent indoor garden for growing plants in the best possible conditions – without soil, without insects, but with the help of cameras and an application ready to advise you.
This hydroponic system uses nutrient solutions to grow a variety of fresh and organic vegetables. The whole automated system costs US$800 (RM3,325), on top of which users can add a subscription to receive monthly supplies.
This indoor garden is monitored by cameras that observe your plants to analyse their needs. Artificial intelligence then takes over to recognise any problems encountered and propose solutions, thanks to sensors in the system’s different capsules.
Gardyn’s system can hold 30 plants. At the start, seeds are contained in small capsules called “yCubes”, which fit into slots located along the vertical columns of the structure to create the smart garden.
At the base of this structure, a tank contains the water necessary to grow the plants. Water circulates thanks to a pump, taking it to the seeds and plants in the structure.
Light poles provide the necessary illumination for their development.
Gardening made easy
The garden is controlled and managed via the accompanying mobile app, while the device only requires a power socket and a Wi-Fi connection. In the end, it’s as simple as plugging it in, filling the water tank and checking for alerts.
While sensors automatically take care of much of the daily needs of the plants, you still need to keep an eye on them to prevent the garden from getting overgrown.
Gardyn offers 20 different varieties of produce, all organic and sourced in the United States. You can’t grow root vegetables like carrots or onions, but anything that grows above ground can be incorporated.
The concept of a smart garden is not new, but the pandemic has spurred growing interest in this new possibility. Producing your own food to reconnect with nature and obtain fresh produce is becoming increasingly attractive to some parts of the population.
And thanks to these new devices, even the least gifted could soon have a flourishing crop of homegrown food.