Take care of your garden
Traditional practical gardening practices are enjoyable, satisfying, and effective. Planting, weeding and cultivating plants with our hands on our tools and in the soil is our basic concept for gardening. In doing so, we repeat time-honored methods of generations and even eons of gardeners.
Will it always be like this? The ancient Greek philosopher (approx. 535 – approx. 475 BC) insisted on omnipresent change as a characteristic feature of the world. The reality is that even our most famous gardening practices can change with the use of technology.
Technologists developing new approaches to gardening initially focus on commercial agriculture, where large, expensive systems can be inexpensive. Farmers are striving to keep pace with advances in planting and harvesting robots, generic weed control crop development, computerized irrigation, and monitoring of crops through satellite or drone cameras.
Commercial nurseries are also experiencing technological changes in the genetic engineering of plants for faster and vigorous growth, larger fruits and vegetables, resistance to pests and diseases, shelf life of shipping and shelf life. In addition, robotics automation is being used to replace human labor in the commercial cultivation of crops.
You can find a fascinating example of such applications on YouTube. Look for “Visser pic o Mat”.
Another, even more advanced, technology can be seen by searching for “Iron Ox” on YouTube.com.
As this column addresses the interests and priorities of home gardeners, expensive, high technology may seem inappropriate and out of reach. Nevertheless, we should recognize the present and future influences of technology on known gardening practices. Here are some examples.
Genetic engineering could make new plants available to home gardeners and thus achieve results much faster than established hybridization methods. As mentioned above, genetic engineers focus on crops. However, since they have mastered the possibilities of changing genetic structures and developing faster and easier approaches, we can expect new types of ornamental plants.
How about roses and other plants (including vegetables) that are resistant to pests and diseases? Or the famous elusive blue rose? Or more drought tolerant plants (in addition to succulents)? 4i Or more effective and environmentally friendly methods of weed control?
Satellite technology has a useful application for home gardening, especially for landscape planning and design. The first important phase in this process is drawing a site map. This can be challenging for a larger property and is often avoided, but satellite imagery-based services can speed and simplify this process. An example of such services can be found at mysiteplan.com. Click on Services.
Robot automation is also used in home gardening. Here are three examples on YouTube.com:
Search for “5 Best Robotic Lawn Mower in 2020” for information on several examples of robot automation for home gardeners: the Landroid, two models of the Robomow and two models of the Automower.
Search for “Mowbot” on YouTube to find another amazing robotic lawnmower.
Another entry in this category is “the Kobi” who mows lawns and uses special attachments to collect weeds and remove snow.
Another robot helper is “Tertill”, a robotic weed killer that uses the technology behind the Roomba, the popular robotic vacuum cleaner for home use. Tertill is a small, solar-powered weed control device that works best on flat garden beds to remove smaller weeds while larger plants continue to grow.
Our final example (for now) of robot automation for home gardeners is farmbot.com, which offers technology that is scaled for home gardeners. If you are a “garden technician” who is computer savvy and familiar with a radical alternative to traditional practices, this product offers a new, science-based approach to your vegetable raised bed.
This overview of garden technology is not the last word on this topic, just a heads-up to the ever-evolving frontier of technology that extends into home gardening. I
If you’re happy with established methods, that’s fine. However, if you are interested in futuristic strategies that will make gardening quick and effective, while requiring less work and more cost, technologists will be eager to develop new options for your consideration.
Expand your gardening knowledge
Technology is also learning about gardening through the internet, as we routinely reported. Here are upcoming webinars of potential interest:
The Cactus and Succulent Society will present “From the fire into the pan” on Saturday 10th. This program is presented by Stephen Brack, who draws on decades of experience growing succulents. The webinar focuses on the ecosystems of small and large depressions (“pans”) in rock formations with examples from South Africa. The title’s reference to fire is puzzling, but viewers will likely learn its meaning.
To register for this free event, visit https://cactusandsucculentsociety.org/.
The University of California Botanical Garden has announced a series of virtual programs for April.
Rare butterflies in the Botanical Gardens: April 11th to 12th.
Botanical Illustration: Tulips with Catherine Watters, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., April 16.
Zoom Family Program: Flowers and their Pollinator Friends, 3pm – 3.45pm, April 20th.
Rescuing California’s Rare Plants with Holly Forbes: 1-2pm, April 22nd.
Book Talk: Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change, April 27, 11 a.m.
Astrobotany 101 with director Lew Feldman: 1-2 a.m. April 29th.
Mushrooms and Friends: Unlock Ingredients for a Better Life, noon to 1 p.m. April 23.
For more information on these and other free and paid events, visit botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu and click Programs.
Enrich your garden days
We have regularly recommended installing new plants in the fall so that the winter rains will help develop roots and prepare for spring growth. Still, early spring (now) is always and forever the time for new blooms in the garden, new plants in the garden centers, and the arrival of updated print catalogs and mail order nursery websites.
Who could or should deny the seasonal urge to garden? Enjoy the season and discover new treasures for your garden. We’ll be sharing our own explorations in next week’s column.
Stay safe and enjoy your garden.
Tom Karwin is a past president of the Friends of UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, the Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and the Monterey Bay Iris Society, and a lifelong UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999-2009). Today he is a board member and garden trainer of the Santa Cruz Hostel Society. To view daily photos from his garden, visit https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/. Visit http://ongardening.com to search an archive of previous On Gardening columns.
