There’s a movement on Kickstarter making the jump to growing your own food easier, and sleeker, than ever. With several hundred projects dedicated to promoting the homegrown culture, gardening is at its most progressive point in history. And it only goes up from here.
So in honor of all the innovation in the world of gardening, here are 7 of the coolest gardening tools on Kickstarter:
1-Ergonomic Shovels
Leave the backache behind and adopt a more efficient way of shoveling with the ergonomic Bosse Shovel line. This innovative project is redefining the way we shovel, building a tool designed to complement the human form.
It starts with a rotating second handle in the middle of the shovel. This handle locks in place, allowing for different applications, improved posture and better leverage shoveling. The revolutionary rotating center handle is coupled with a main handle at the top to avoid wrist strain.
The Bosse Shovel line is complete with a round point shovel, a flat head shovel and a snow shovel.
2- Intuitive Weeders
Weeding has never been easier than with the Ring Weeder. Modeled after a screwdriver, this tool slips over your index finger like a ring. Next, you dig the forked end into the heart of where the weed roots live. The tool will penetrate the soil, loosening it up, so you can easy pull out the weed at the roots.
3- Garden Tower
No matter if you’re an urban gardener or have a small plot of land, make the most of your gardening space through a Garden Tower. This ingenious tool gives you the ability to grow 50 plants in just 4 square feet.
The unique design allows you to customize the tower to your desired height through removable rings. Promoting organic farming, the entire middle column is designed to compost kitchen scraps to give your plants optimal nutrients. Regardless of your gardening conditions, this tool makes gardening an easy and enriching process.
4- A Fish Tank That Grows Food
This Kickstarter gets bonus points for sheer creativity. The founders from Back to the Roots have created a “Home Aquaponics Kit: Self-Cleaning Fish Tank That Grows Food.” This innovative garden fish tank combo is completely self-sustaining and chemical-free.
It starts with the fish tank at the bottom. All natural byproducts from the fish—yes we’re talking about fish poop—get filtered to the plants growing above the tank. This creates nutrient-dense fertilizer. The plants in turn clean the water, removing the need ever to clean the tank.
No chemicals, just a healthy self-sustaining ecosystem.
5- ”Smart” Garden Monitor
Every gardener has different questions throughout the season. “Am I over watering? Is there enough sunlight for my vegetables? Do I need to apply more fertilizer?”
Consider those questions answered.
The Edyn Kickstarter project created a way for you to become more connected to your garden. This powerful sensor brings to light all sorts of data about your specific garden. It gives you detailed insights to soil nutrition, temperature, watering needs, daily sun intake and more. It even goes so far as to compare your conditions against regional data, helping you decide the best plants for your garden.
It’s your guide to what is happening in your garden at this very moment. In the creator’s words, “Take the guesswork out of gardening.”
6- Virtual Garden Planning
This innovative Kickstarter applied the paint by numbers concept to gardening. Go online and create a virtual garden with their easy to use software. More than just a design tool, this program will give you zip zone specific insight to what plants will thrive in your garden. It even calculates days until harvest.
Once your virtual garden is completed, they will ship your specific “Seedsheet” to your door, complete with seeds embedded into the weed barrier. All you need to do is lay it down on your garden and add water. No weeding necessary! Gardening has never been easier.