Even on the hottest day of summer, a greenhouse can offer a restful, cool respite. Hobby greenhouses are generally a labor of love, the “labor” made more intense by the lack of consumer-grade “smart” greenhouse controllers. Commercial greenhouses have long used sensor networking to automate environmental control and improve watering efficiency. But similar tools have not available to hobby growers…. until now.
Two of my favorite interests — gardening and wireless technology — came together at the Maximum Yield Indoor Gardening Expo in Tacoma, WA April 5 & 6. Some of you may already know that I am an avid home gardener, former partner in a retail hydroponics shop, and editor of the LED Grow Book published last year. While my primary reason for visiting Tacoma was to promote the book, I was also delighted to find a range of wireless indoor gardening equipment designed to give small-scale indoor growers some of the same high-tech tools used in commercial greenhouses.