Growing a smart garden with wireless tools
The Edyn Garden Sensor, developed by soil scientist, Jason Aramburu, helps farmers track the light, temperature, and soil nutrition affecting their garden's growth.
A vegetable garden grows in front of a home in Uncasville, Conn.
Steven Senne/AP/File
The聽Edyn聽Garden Sensor is a wireless, solar-powered device that uses the Internet to track changes in soil and the environment around farms. Then, the sensor sends information to farmers about light, temperature, soil nutrition, and other information regarding her/his farm via an app. As a result, farmers know聽more about what their crops need.聽聽
,聽formerly known as Soil IQ, was founded in 2013 by soil scientist聽聽with the vision of changing the way people with small gardens or farms grow food.
Aramburu explains the impetus behind the venture at a聽聽meet in San Francisco in 2013: 鈥淭he reality in this country, and much of the world, is that most of our food is produced on [factory farms]. These farms are great for producing corn, soybeans, grains, but not so good for producing healthy food. [They are] also bad for the environment.鈥�
The聽Edyn聽team of scientists, technologists, and designers has since set out to develop a user-friendly smart gardening system which may make it easier for even the most inexperienced gardeners to grow their own nutritious and organic food.聽
Once planted into a garden鈥檚 soil and connected to Wi-Fi, the聽Edyn聽Garden Sensor measures conditions like humidity, temperature, moisture, soil nutrition, pH, and light in that garden on a continuous basis. This collected data is cross-referenced with existing plant databases, soil science, and weather information to provide users with guidance tailored to their specific land and plants. The information is then conveyed to gardeners through the聽Edyn聽app allowing gardeners to know more about when their plants need fertilizer, light, and water. Users are not only alerted to current changes, but they can also access historical trends unique to their local environment.聽
Through the mix of current and historical data of a specific microclimate,聽Edyn聽makes recommendations such as which plants thrive in a particular area, which plants grow well together, and which fertilizer best suits a particular soil type. It also keeps data on the growth stages and needs of every crop growing in a user鈥檚 garden, and it advises the gardener on the ideal set of conditions required to best care for each one. The company also recently launched the聽Edyn聽Water Valve that automatically provides plants with the right amount of water based on weather and moisture data picked up from the Garden Sensor.
Edyn聽has begun by primarily targeting consumers that grow their own food as a way to crowdsource聽. The company already has a database of more than 5,000 plant varieties, but Aramburu believes more data is needed in the agricultural sphere.
鈥淔armers know all this information anecdotally, but there鈥檚 no data on how to grow things like Alpine strawberries or Purple Haze tomatoes,鈥� Aramburu聽, 鈥淪o our strategy is to source that data from consumers who are consuming this stuff, eating it, and producing it, and then go after small to medium sized ag.鈥�
Having previously worked with farmers in East Africa to improve yields using funding from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Aramburu wants to continue to make an impact in the region through聽Edyn. The company has partnered with French telecom giant Orange to deliver its technology, along with data connectivity, to farmers in Kenya at a lower cost.
The Garden Sensor and Water Valve, both designed with the help of industrial designer聽, are sold at US$99.99 and US$69.00, respectively, on聽Edyn鈥檚聽. They are also available at Home Depot stores.
Edyn鈥檚 goal is to make it easier for small-scale food producers to become more productive and confident growers, even while retaining full-time careers and other household duties. The precision technology is built to help users conserve water, reduce waste, and farm more sustainably.聽
This article first appeared at .