As kids, a majority of people have enjoyed playing in the backyard pretending to nurture the plants and look after them. Gradually as time passed, that activity was etched in the memory as a childhood game. This took place due to the lack of time and briefer homes devoid the luxury of a fertilized backyard. But the SproutsIO Company has come up with a device which can make gardening possible with minimum effort. The device is titled as the SproutsIO Smart Microgarden which enables indoor gardening with the help of modern technology. It is capable of growing fresh fruits and vegetables which would thrill all the grandmothers who constantly advised to eat home-grown food.
Thought behind this invention
The Microgarden is based on a research initiated by Jennifer Broutin Farah at the MIT Media Lab in the year 2011. Broutin Farah is an architect who has worked on large-scale gardening projects in association with the New York City Parks Department. The brainwork behind this invention was to help laymen produce fresh fruits and vegetables right in their kitchens without the need of botanical expertise.
Usually, people are unaware of the origin and growth of the food they consume whether in restaurants or at their own homes. The Microgarden will let people connect with the food they consume and also promote them to produce it themselves. This will ensure proper hygiene of the food products and will also be a healthier option. It took three years of intensive research and development to originate the world’s first-ever intelligent, plug and play, hybrid hydroculture system.
Apparatus of the SprousIO Smart Microgarden
The SproutsIO pot is a modular system designed keeping the convenience of the user in mind. The essence of the device is in this basin, where one puts the water and has monitoring systems. This Microgarden is the first cultivating system which does not contain soil at all. It is a hybrid hydroculture which uses hydroponics and aeroponics to nurture the plants. Hydroponics keeps the roots in a nutrient-rich water solution, whereas aeroponics mists them with a similar mixture.
Grow Favorite Veggies using SprousIO Smart Microgarden
The SproutsIO Smart Microgarden is extremely easy to manage. The absence of soil avoids any mess and is light weight. It can be put up in the living room like a regular indoor plant which will enhance the look of the place. In order to maintain it, all one has to do is to remove its top layer and wash the lower basin. Because of the modular nature of this plant, the user can adjust the height of the plant in accordance with the growth spurt and the space required by the roots. The Microgarden has a flexible LED light, therefore it does not depend on sunlight for its growth. Another major plus point of this device is that it consumes less power than even a standard light bulb.
How to grow one’s favorite veggies using SprousIO Smart Microgarden
In order to setup the SproutsIO Smart Microgarden, plug in the device and download the SproutsIOGrow mobile app. This will connect the Microgarden to the Wi-Fi. The next step is to arrange the seed filling in the basin. After this, the embedded camera will recognize the plants the user wants to grow. In accordance to the plant, the app will recommend settings. The only thing the individual has to do is to provide water to the plant.
One will be notified on the SproutsIOGrow mobile app about the growth process of the plant. It will also remind the user in case the plant is in need of more water. The SproutsIO Smart Microgarden is available on the popular crowd funding site Kickstarter at an early-bird price of $559.