Everything is getting a ‘smart’ upgrade these days. From smart phones, smart cars, smart tv’s, to smart homes… you name it the list goes on. But what about a smart lawn? Smart technologies are impacting every facet of our daily lives and the way we look after grass is no exception.
There are many new gadgets designed to take the guess work out of your lawn care and turf maintenance programs and they are now commonly integrated with smart phone applications.
Here’s some smart lawn gadget ideas to help you get a smarter lawn…
Smart Turf Irrigation Systems
There are Wi-Fi irrigation control systems that integrate with smart home products for your home. These systems adjust watering based on internet sourced weather data. This helps to ensure your lawn receives the right amount of water, providing significant water savings as you are not over-watering. Many of these systems also allow remote access via an app. This allows you to monitor and manage your system from your phone, tablet or laptop while you are away from home.
Orbit B-Hyve Tap Timer with Wi-Fi Hub
Smart Soil Moisture Sensors
Another thing you can now track via an app is the moisture level of your soil. By installing a soil sensor, you can transmit information to an application where you can monitor moisture levels and temperature data. This will help you to know when your grass needs additional watering or help you reduce your water usage.
Smart Pest Control Sensors
Whether it be kangaroos, rabbits or some other pest wreaking havoc on your lawn, there are new smart ways to fight back. There are security cameras now available as part of your home’s security system with motion sensors and night vision. These cameras can be set up to communicate with your smart irrigation system to turn on at night whenever they detect movement. Remember though, these sensors won’t know the difference between you and a pest. So make sure it is disabled if you plan on staying dry while using your lawn!
Motion Activated Sprinkler – Garden Sentinel
Robot Lawn Mowers
These have been around a little while now, but there are always new and improved versions hitting the market. They work much the same way the robot vacuums work, by mapping an area either with sensors, GPS or an electronic boundary. Rather than vacuuming though, as an autonomous robot for mowing, these machines have the ability to cut grass instead. Husqvarna’s latest model works within an electronic fence created by a boundary wire and has specialised sensors to allow it to move around obstacles. When the battery starts to run low, it will return to a charging station. There are even Husqvarna models that give you the ability, via an app, to control its operational hours so you can have your lawn available whenever you need it.
Smart Weather Stations
Devices like the Holman Aspect Wifi Analyst Weather Station can connect to the web and deliver weather information for your backyard to anywhere in the globe. How smart is that?
Holman Aspect Wifi Analyst Weather Station
The Smart Grass
What would a list of different smart lawn gadgets be without the ultimate smart grass variety – TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda (Couch Grass). This grass in itself is a smart gadget. TifTuf is the only grass in Australia to be awarded the Smart Approved WaterMark.
TifTuf Hybrid Bermuda is the product of almost 25 years of research and development from one of the world’s leading turf grass breeders, the University of Georgia. This grass has been hand selected out of almost 30,000 different Bermuda varieties. TifTuf shows superior qualities in drought tolerance, shade tolerance, wear tolerance and winter colour whilst at the same time maintaining excellent turf quality. Find out more here.
