Conventional wisdom would have you believe that in order to start cultivating herbs at home, there are a few au naturel necessities to get things going–specifically, soil and sun. And unless you’re deep into hydroponics, your mini-garden likely consists of bitty terra cotta pots lined up sweetly in a windowsill. Click & Grow, a smart planter with a brand spanking new Kickstarter campaign, wants to bring an updated, high-tech touch to domestic green thumbs.
The company’s original starter kits, which are already on the market, promise a worry-free way to grow herbs. You simply add water once, and the system doles out the proper flow of water and nutrients over time, via a nano-engineered artificial soil. The plastic, battery-powered boxes contain seeds, nutrients, and “special software” that regulates everything. The latest incarnation introduces a built-in series of LEDs, spots for three separate types of seedlings–the kit comes with basil, thyme, and lemon balm–and an “engineered nano-material” that is guaranteed to bring long-lasting life to the trio.
Founder Mattias Lepp was inspired to start the brand because of a confluence of two seemingly disparate sources: aeroponic methods used by NASA to grow greenery in space, coupled with a report that folks across the globe trash a staggering 20 billion euros worth of houseplants annually because they’re just not caring for them correctly, and they brown out before their time. So he set out to research a modern way to increase ease and decrease effort, and hopefully allow people to maintain their homegrown goods.
It seems a bit strange to plug in a planter, electricity and all, in order to start growing, but according to the campaign it will only cost around $5 a year to power the unit. Consider this the anti-Urban Harvest Series. It could be a nice solution for a tight space beset with bad lighting and an owner without the slightest farmer-esque tendencies.
Contribute to the Click & Grow Kickstarter campaign.