If you're one of those folks who, like me, enjoy growing your own veggies but are not all that enthusiastic about the hours of work that goes into it, then the FarmBot Genesis may be just what the doctor orders.
The FarmBot Genesis, developed by a team of young entrepreneurs from California, is a robotic machine that sits on top of a boxed garden in your backyard, on a rooftop, or inside a greenhouse or lab. Genesis comes as a kit and performs nearly the entire gardening process prior to harvesting, including planting the seeds, and watering each plant precisely as needed.It also monitors weather conditions and, best of all, pulverizes weeds! No More Weeding! Watch the video to see how it works.
High Tech Machine With A Very Simple Interface
According to an article in Modern Farmer,
"While it's a pretty high-tech contraption, the interface is very simple. The Internet-connected FarmBot is controlled via a web app that uses a Farmville-esque visual grid, letting you drag and drop the kind of plants you want into your digital garden. Genesis has 33 common crops loaded into its software so far (artichokes, chard, potatoes, peas, squash, etc) and it automatically spaces the varying plants appropriately, taking the guesswork out of having a diverse garden. And the app can be accessed from a computer, phone, or tablet, so you can tweak your plan from anywhere and send it to your backyard 'bot."
"While it's a pretty high-tech contraption, the interface is very simple. The Internet-connected FarmBot is controlled via a web app that uses a Farmville-esque visual grid, letting you drag and drop the kind of plants you want into your digital garden. Genesis has 33 common crops loaded into its software so far (artichokes, chard, potatoes, peas, squash, etc) and it automatically spaces the varying plants appropriately, taking the guesswork out of having a diverse garden. And the app can be accessed from a computer, phone, or tablet, so you can tweak your plan from anywhere and send it to your backyard 'bot."
For more information on the Genesis Farmbot visit https://farmbot.io/
Source: Andrew Hayward, "The FarmBot Genesis Brings Precision Agriculture To Your Own Backyard," www.modernfarmer.com/2016/06/farmbot-genesis/