When Brenda Horrigan's potted rosemary plant wouldn't stop wilting all winter long, she didn't know what to do. She tried more water, but that didn't seem to help. She purchased the $60 EasyBloom Plant Sensor to tap into data from horticulturists, green thumbs and greenhouse operators. Within 24 hours, the sensor alerted her that she needed to use less water and provide more sunlight. "It's like going to the garden center and asking, 'What does my plant need?'" she explained. High-tech gardening gadgets are catching on as more and more consumers try to pack their backyards with money-saving vegetable gardens.
To use the EasyBloom Plant Sensor, you plug it into a computer's USB port to register, download the necessary software program and access the online plant library. Choose a mode, such as Water, Recommend or Monitor. In "Water" mode, you'll find out if your plants are getting too much or too little water. In "Monitor" mode, EasyBloom will tell you what's wrong with an ailing plant and give you clues on how to fix it. With "Recommend" mode, EasyBloom will tell you the ideal plants to grow in the given conditions. Next, you place the sensor in the location where you'd like to put your garden, leaving it to analyze for at least 24 hours. As you sleep, the Plant Sensor will begin analyzing the sunlight, temperature, humidity, soil moisture and drainage, using the same technology NASA uses to measure the soil on Mars. Then you can plug your Plant Sensor back into your USB and see what this "Plant Doctor" can do!
The EasyBloom Plant Sensor has received rave reviews with the press. In a January 2009 article titled "Cool News Gizmos For Home, Families, Kids," CBS News writes, "The EasyBloom enables anyone to enjoy a beautiful garden, from a single potted plant to a backyard full of blooms." ABC News recommends this gadget in their December 2008 article "New Home Gadgets for the New Year" and in their May 2009 article "11 Gadgets to Make Her Gush." Barron's chose EasyBloom as their February 2nd, 2009 "Gadget of the Week," with the author writing, "I was impressed with the EasyBloom's secondary functions, which say if plants need watering and diagnose ailing ones."
The EasyBloom Plant Sensor does not win everyone over. Some people feel that gardening should be an intimate moment involving man and nature only. "This is not hands-on gardening," argues Bruce Butterfield of the National Gardening Association. "I'll rely on my old-fashioned green thumb," adds St. Petersburg Times contributor Yvonne Swanson, who says that "most of the rules are thrown out the window" with Florida gardening. One Amazon reviewer from Texas argues that this gadget only alerts you to the water/sunlight conditions of the plants and that "Using your better judgment would be more effective and allow you to learn as a gardener." Other reviewers say they don't like that they had to register before being able to use this gizmo.
No comments:
Post a Comment