FarmBot Genesis is an automated gardening system. It’s pretty impressive for what it does, as outlined at Smithsonian.
Developed by a team of three from California, the kit is an autonomous machine that’s installed atop and around a small garden—in your backyard, on a rooftop, or inside a greenhouse or lab. Once built, Genesis performs nearly the entire gardening process prior to harvesting, including planting the seeds, watering each plant precisely and on a set schedule, monitoring conditions, and pulverizing pesky weeds.
The software is preprogrammed for 33 different crops, which must be planted in a small space and not grow above a half-meter tall. You can program your gardening activities from a distance, from anywhere by phone or tablet. And it comes with an open source code, so geeks can customize the software as they please. However, you must consider why you have a garden in the first place. If it’s to save money, then you don’t want to buy an automated system. If it’s to commune with nature, then you don’t need this time-saving device. If it’s to enjoy eating fresh garden produce, I hope you like the crops that fit into the parameters. You can pre-order your FarmBot Genesis for only $2,900 in July, or pay the full $3,900 price later. I have no idea when it will ship, but it will only be ten months or so until you can use it!