Tom Karwin, On Gardening | Technology in the garden  – Santa Cruz Sentinel

Care for your garden

Traditional hands-on gardening practices are enjoyable, satisfying and effective. Planting, weeding and cultivating plants with our hands on our tools and in the soil are our basic concept n of gardening. As we do so, we repeat time-honored methods of generations and even eons of gardeners.

Will it always be so? The ancient Greek philosopher (c. 535 – c. 475 BC) insisted on ever-present change as the characteristic feature of the world. The reality is that even our most familiar gardening practices are subject to change through applications of technology.

Technologists who develop new approaches to gardening focus first on commercial farming, where large-scale, expensive systems can be cost-effective. Farmers strive to keep up with advances in robotic planting and harvesting, generic engineering of plants for weed control, computer-controlled irrigation, crop monitoring by satellite or drone cameras.

Commercial nurseries also are experiencing technological changes in genetic engineering of plants for faster and more vigorous growth, larger fruits and vegetables, pest and disease resistance, shipping durability, and shelf life. In addition, robotics automation is being used to replace human workers in the commercial cultivation of plants.

For an intriguing example of such applications, browse to YouTube and search for “Visser pic o Mat.”

Another, even more advanced technology can be observed by searching YouTube.com for “Iron Ox.”

Because this column addresses the interests and priorities of home gardeners, costly high technology might seem inappropriate and out of reach. Still, we should recognize technology’s current and near future influences on familiar gardening methods. Here are some examples.

Genetic engineering could make new plants available to home gardeners, achieving results much faster than established methods of hybridization. Genetic engineers are focusing on commercial crops, as noted above, but as they gain mastery of ways to modify genetic structures, and develop faster and easier approaches, we can expect to see new kinds of ornamental plants.

How about roses and other plants (including vegetables) that are pest and disease resistant? Or the famously elusive blue rose? Or more plants that are drought tolerant (in addition to succulent plants)?4i Or more effective and ecologically friendly methods for weed control?

Satellite technology has a useful application for home gardening, particularly for planning and designing the landscape. The first important stage of this process is drawing a site plan. This can be challenging for a larger property, and often avoided, but services that draw upon satellite imagery can speed and simplify this process. For an example of such services, browse to mysiteplan.com and click on “Services.”

Robotic automation also is being applied to home gardening. Here are three examples found on YouTube.com:

Search for “5 Best Robotic Lawn Mower in 2020” for information on several examples of robotic automation for home gardeners: the Landroid, two models of the Robomow, and two models of the Automower.

For another impressive robotic lawn mower, search YouTube for “Mowbot.”

Yet another entry in this category is “the Kobi,” which mows lawns and also uses specialized attachments to collect weeds and remove snow.

Another robotic helper is “Tertill,” a robot weeder that applies the technology behind the Roomba, the popular robot vacuum for home use. Tertill is a small, solar-powered weeding device that operates best on flat garden beds to remove smaller weeds while leaving larger plants to continue growing.

Our last example (for now) of robotic automation for home gardeners can be seen a farmbot.com, which offers a technology that is scaled for home gardeners. If you are a “garden techie,” who is computer-savvy and comfortable with a radical alternative to traditional practices, this product offers a new, science-based approach to your raised bed for vegetables.

This overview of gardening technology is not the last word on this subject, merely a heads-up to the ever-evolving frontier of technology as it reaches into home gardening. I

f you are satisfied with established methods, that’s fine. Still, if you are attracted to futuristic strategies that might make gardening fast and effective, while requiring less labor and more cost, the technologists are busily creating new options for your consideration.

Advance your gardening knowledge

Technology also enters into learning about gardening through the Internet as we have been reporting routinely. Here are upcoming webinars of possible interest:

The Cactus and Succulent Society will present “Out of the Fire, Into the Pan” at 10 Saturday. This program will be presented by Stephen Brack, who draws on his several decades of experience growing succulent plants. The webinar will focus 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 presumably will learn its meaning.

To register for this free event, visit https://cactusandsucculentsociety.org/.

The University of California Botanic Garden has announced it April series of Virtual programs.

Rare Butterflies of the Botanical Garden: 11 a.m. to noon April 11.
Botanical Illustration: Tulips with Catherine Watters, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 16.
Zoom Family Program: Flowers and Their Pollinator Friends, 3-3:45 p.m. April 20.
Saving Rare Plants of California with Holly Forbes: 1-2 p.m. April 22.
Book Talk: Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change, 11 a.m. noon April 27.
Astrobotany 101 with Director Lew Feldman: 1-2 p.m. April 29.
Fungi and Friends: Unlocking Ingredients for Better Living, noon to 1 p.m. April 23.

For more information on these and other events, some free and some fee-based, browse to botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu and click on “Programs.”

Enrich your gardening days

We have regularly encouraged installing new plants in the fall, to let the winter rains help develop roots and prepare for spring growth. Still, early spring (now) has always and forever will be the time for new blooms in the garden, new plants in the garden centers, and the arrival of updated print catalogs and websites from mail order nurseries.

Who could or should deny the seasonal gardening urge? Enjoy the season and discover new treasures for your garden. We’ll share our own explorations in next week’s column.

Stay safe and enjoy your garden.

Tom Karwin is past president of Friends of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum, Monterey Bay Area Cactus & Succulent Society, and Monterey Bay Iris Society, and a Lifetime UC Master Gardener (Certified 1999–2009). He is now a board member and garden coach for the Santa Cruz Hostel Society. To view daily photos from his garden, https://www.facebook.com/ongardeningcom-566511763375123/. To search an archive of previous On Gardening columns, visit http://ongardening.com.

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