The internet of things can also be the internet of plants with Plug & Plant. This smart solution brings together mobile technology and agricolture, making fresh, homegrown greens easily accessible to urban residents.
All you need is a sunny wall, some modular trays and an app to monitor your vertical orchard, or shall we call it green wall?
Plug & Plant is a product by Vertical Green, an international workshop of architects, scientists and designers, whose aim is to expand green areas in cities by creating vertical gardens. The kit includes a panel with 12 slots, pre-packaged seeds and a 1.2 gallon smart water tank equipped with sensors to detect light, humidity and temperature. The seeds are contained biodegradable styrofoam cases fitted for the slots, no soil needed. Last step, the user plugs a sensor in a packet and connect the app to the tank via bluetooth. Et voila’ fresh salad and herbs, fresh and ready to pick when needed. Beyond the conveniency of edible greens, which I do not really know how nutritious they would be without the earth nutrients, indoor greens offer other advantages: they purify air and also create a more relaxing environment.
This project was doing well on Kickstarter in November 2015, however it has been canceled by the company, I hope they found some other backers because I would really love to see this on the market!
Live green!