Let your iPhone Help you Take Care of your Plants

Not everyone is endowed with a green thumb. If your thumb is not green but rather black, try the Koubachi iPhone app to help you not kill your houseplants.  

In my home, I am known as the “killer of plants” because I am unable to keep any of them alive. The problem is that plants do not talk back to you. They do not tell you what you need, and therefore I end up not giving them enough of what they need, or too much. Eventually the plant dies and in a few weeks I want to try again because I will be better…promise. Well, a couple of geeks from technical universities in Germany and Switzerland listened to this plight of many people around the globe and created a new app that lets your plants talk to you. That is right, your plant will let you know what it needs and when.

The app is known as Koubachi is not like your typical reminder system where a message will pop up saying, “Water your plant” at a time that you designate. This is a bit more technologically advanced. Through a Wi-Fi sensor, the plant is able to communicate its needs, including light, water, and fertilizer. With Koubachi, plant owners will be able to prolong the life of their leafy green friends.

There is a wireless internet sensor placed in the pot and it actually measures light, ambient temperature, and the moisture of soil. The information is compared to instructions in plantcyclopedia and the app provides information via a user friendly interface. The app provides detailed real-time care instructions for the plant.

Does anyone else kind of think back to Tamagochis for a minute, or is it just me? With the Koubachi app, even those with the blackest of thumbs will stand a chance of keeping a plant alive. The only person to suffer? The owner of the plant store down the street because I will not be coming in every other week to buy new plants to prove I can take care of them.

For other plant-related articles, read about an artistic outdoor plant installation or a plant that is able to show feelings.