For all those who like gardening, the smartphone and other digital helpers are practically part of everyday life. © Viewing angles/Imago
The Ice Saints and the last frost are hopefully over. Now tomatoes, peppers or cucumbers are also allowed to go outside, and the gardening season can finally start.
Munich – tz presents clever technology for balconies, terraces and gardens that has the green thumb built in.
Digital helpers for the garden: irrigation control via app
Measuring and casting: Munich-based smart home specialists Eve (evehome.com) are also active outdoors. The Eve Weather weather station (70 euros) can be networked with the Eve Aqua irrigation control system (130 euros). She sits by the tap on the balcony or in the garden. Adjusted accordingly via app, plants and lawns are only watered when the weather requires it. If it has just rained, the tap stays closed.
Digital tile man: If you want to harvest successfully, you first need to know what the weather is like outside – and what it will be like. The smart weather station from Netatmo from France (netatmo.com) is not the cheapest solution at 190 euros for two sensors (living room and outside), but has proven itself in the tz test for years. In scorching heat as well as in snow, the open-air sensor reports its values unshakably via app and provides the current outlook. Supplemented by a rain gauge (80 euros) and an anemometer (110 euros), it becomes the perfect digital tile man.
Adjust outdoor lighting from your smartphone
Luminous garden: If you want to put your open-air paradise in the limelight, you will find plenty of options for weatherproof lighting. The Hue lamps from Philips (philips-hue.com) have now also conquered outdoor areas. There are almost 50 different outdoor lights - from the light strip for beds (110 euros) to the LED plant spot Lily (80 euros), which can be easily distributed in pots. These lamps shine in millions of colors via app control.
From the mowing box: Smart lawn mowers are, so to speak, the robot vacuum cleaners for outdoors. They find their own way, (hopefully) bypass toys lying in the meadow and follow the weather. Which of the lawn robos perform well in the truest sense of the word, Warentest has determined. The winner is the Husqvarna Automower 305 (1100 euros), which mows well and is easy to operate. However, there should be no children in the house, for safety reasons. The price tip is the Gardena Sileno minimo. It costs 250 euros for areas up to 530 square meters, and 500 euros for 600 square meters.
Technology for the garden: flower pots with water level indicator
Owl flower pot: Flower pots that draw water from a built-in reservoir for a certain period of time are available in abundance. Excellent are the pots of the Middle Franconian company Lechuza (lechuza.de) with water level indicator, which are available from 30 euros. If children want to join in, the Meximaxi flower pots are ideal (27 euros on Amazon). Their owl face on the outside indicates how empty the water tank is. If the owl looks down sadly, then the plant is in dire need of water.
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Plant Guardians: If you don't have a natural green thumb, you can learn everything about the condition of your plants with modern technology. This is ensured by sensors that are plugged into the ground. They measure light, temperature, humidity and nutrient content. The values and suitable care tips are available via app. Top is the Royal Gardineer floor sensor (38 euros at Amazon). He knows the needs of over 5000 plants via database.
Holiday replacement for the garden through pre-programmed irrigation
Garden socket: If you want to automatically switch lamps or appliances on and off outside, you can't avoid an open-air socket. However, most smart sockets are not weatherproof. The Fritzdect 210 (80 euros) from the Berlin-based company AVM (avm.de), on the other hand, can be used outdoors without any problems thanks to splash water protection. The control runs via app.
Vacation replacement: Who waters my plants on vacation? This is one of the key questions for many consumers – especially if there is no faucet available for a smart solution. Gardening specialist Gardena (gardena.com) offers several solutions: The holiday irrigation set with water reservoir comes with a 10.5-litre tank, electric pump and timer. It is especially suitable for flower boxes. The Gardena City Gardening irrigation system draws water from a rain barrel, for example, and thus also enables longer vacations. This also applies to the Gardena Aqua Bloom set, which also irrigates taller plants up to four meters and does not require electricity thanks to the solar module. All three Gardena solutions cost around 90 euros on Amazon.
Plant Apps: You can find out what is growing or proliferating in the garden with the PlantNet app, which uses a mobile phone camera to accurately identify over 30,000 plants. The Gardenia app reminds you to water. And the Planta app offers excellent care instructions for millions of plants. Motto: "Never kill a plant again!"