Summer has arrived, as much as Irish summers ever are. With that in mind, we’ve been looking at the essentials of technology to help keep your garden – both indoors and outdoors – in top condition and ready for fun in the next few months.
Plant life
Has anyone managed to keep a basil plant alive for more than a few months in the kitchen? If so, we would like to know the secret, because behind us give up the ghost.
Technology may have the answer to our kitchen garden woes, however, with an array of automatic plants and watering systems that should be enough to keep even the most delicate vegetables going for a long time. Read also : “GMA” Deals & Steals on summer food and entertainment. a decent time.
The Veritable Smart Garden (€ 250) is one way to ensure that your plants manage to survive the summer. Not only will it automatically water and nourish your herbs, but it also uses a specially tuned LED to help your edible plants grow. It has a water reservoir that fills up occasionally, and the plants themselves are grown in special ingots that contain organic seeds, soil and the necessary nutrients. There are over 70 varieties of plants that can grow in the smart garden from these ingots, from edible herbs and flowers to baby vegetable salads and vegetables.
It doesn’t even need natural light to grow plants; the LED has been specially tuned to colors that promote rapid plant growth. That said, it will need to be near a power supply. The light is controlled automatically and stays on for 16 hours a day to mimic the natural daylight cycle.
If you want something a little cheaper but equally effective, the Botanium system (€ 60) offers another option. Like the smart garden, it’s self-watering, so you don’t have to worry about killing your plants due to negligence. There is no built-in light, but you can achieve a similar effect by placing it under an LED bulb, and all you have to do is remember to drop some of Botanium’s liquid nutrients into the plant. It has its own growth medium, so no pests or soil-borne problems need to worry about.
The benefit of these two systems is that with a little light, you can use them for plant growth all year round – it won’t be limited to just summer.
Garden care
There is a lot to say for robot lawnmowers. On the same subject : Ultrahuman has developed a clever ring to define metabolic health. Not only can you put your feet up and watch the mower start working while you relax, but it can actually also help the health of your lawn.
This is because robots leave all the cuts on the grass to act as fertilizer or lawn feed. The grass does not last long enough to leave any visible cuts behind them, and the small amount there will feed your lawn, making it stronger over a period of months and improving its overall quality. It also means you don’t have to deal with large piles of grass when you’re ready.
They are also relatively quiet as they work, so there will be no disruption to neighbors at a bad hour when you decide it’s time to mow the lawn. You can set the mowers on a schedule and let them go.
They’re not perfect, though. For starters, you will still have some areas of your garden you will have to sort out yourself – such as edges around flower beds, around garden furniture or sheds, areas that the mower cannot enter, for example.
This is because the devices usually require the installation of guide wires in your lawn to tell your mower where you can go – and where you can’t – and the robots will only go a certain distance from those wires. .
You will also have to fish the robot mower from your flower beds occasionally, or from a children’s toy or two when it sticks. If your garden has some treacherous slopes, mowers can struggle as well.
If the idea of getting an army of robots to make your bids, there are many options out there, depending on your budget. Husqvarna is an expert in this field, with the Automower range offering a device that will cut everything from your garden lawn to a football pitch.
You may not need enough range for a football pitch, but the Husqvarna Automower 405x (€ 2,110) will fix a decent-sized lawn, and then return to its base to charge before starting again. . The Husqvarna range also uses GPS for navigation and security. If someone picks up the mower, it will not only trigger the security alarm, but you will receive an alert on your phone and be able to track the location of the mower.
A slightly cheaper option, depending on the size of your lawn, is the Easilife Flymo. It can handle lawns from 200sq m to 500sq m, and has all the key advantages of Husqvarna, such as app control and pin protection for your safety. In fact, Flymo is part of the Husqvarana group, so it is taking all the knowledge of robot experts for a cheaper price.
Other manufacturers that offer robot mowers include Bosch and Hyundai, although there are many smaller and lesser known brands that go into it as well.
Outdoor eating
Irish Summers aren’t always the best for al fresco dining, but if the last few years filled with Covid have taught us anything, it’s that good to get out in the fresh air. Read also : Indigenous food cafes that change the local cuisine. So why not remove the trusty barbecue dust and take cooking?
But not all of us are particularly skilled in this regard, so any extra help is welcome. Barbecue expert Weber has developed a series of smart grills that help you get the perfect steak or chicken every time. The technology is built right into the grill, with a temperature display so you can see the cooking temperature, and alerts sent to the smartphone app to tell you to turn the steak or remove the chicken from -heat.
The Weber Spirit EPX-325S is the gas-powered version, starting at € 1,153, but you can also get a wood pellet barbecue with integrated technology.
They are not cheap, although no Weber barbecue is, whether smart or not. The gas-powered Genesis EX-335 will give you back € 2,099, although the Genesis II EX-315 GBS Smart Barbecue is € 1,299 more flavorful.
If you already have a barbecue or don’t want to spend that much money on something that stays inactive for six or seven months a year – depending on your commitment – you can grab sensors to help guide you through the cooking process. . The Weber Connect Smart Grilling Hub (€ 168), for example, will grill you, switch and remove your burgers and steaks from the heat. The handheld device has two elements: the hardware, which comes with two probes – one for the meat and one for the ambient temperature in the grill – and the app, which guides you through the cooking. You can use it with any barbecue, or even in the kitchen inside.
Outdoor audio
No collection would be complete without some music. Choose your speakers carefully, as you want something to keep up with the odd turn that Irish weather can take – in other words, it should be waterproof – and maybe a little sun without disintegrating. If it’s going to be a more permanent outdoor feature, you also want something to blend in with the surroundings.
The Kitsound Diggit Outdoor Speaker (€ 50) will work both indoors and outdoors. It is waterproof, with an IP55 rating for water and dust. It also comes with a removable anchor so you can secure it in the garden, or sand if you’re on the beach. The look of the wood gives it a more natural feel so it will blend outdoors and also look good on your shelf.
A choice made by the Irish is the OneSonic Quattro (€ 220). It is rated IPX6, so it will withstand a stream of water, but does not have a dust rating. It’s powerful too, and provides some powerful audio. For a full charge you get 12 hours of gaming time. And in an emergency, you can also use the speaker as a powerbank to charge your mobile device.
