Hi-tech for the garden

Lou Marzeles Editor

The May/June 2023 issue of Consumer Reports magazine has some fascinating tips for home and garden.

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For example, have you heard of a smart hose? The magazine says there is such a thing. You can buy a smart watering timer that connects to an app on your phone. You hook the timer up to a soaker hose, and the app automatically checks your local weather forecast and adjusts watering as needed. It skips a day if rain or wind is imminent, which minimizes water evaporation. How much easier can watering get? A search on smart hose timers yields a lot of results, some pretty pricey. There’s one for around $28 on Amazon: https://tinyurl. com/4ry9vds6.

Then there are things called water-sensing irrigation controllers that can monitor the hydration level of plants and adjust overall watering accordingly. That can save a bundle on water usage. Here’s a link to a comprehensive story on them from the Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov/watersense/ soil-moisture-based-irrigation-controllers.

PHONE YOUR HOSE: Smart hose timers bring hi-tech gadgetry to the garden. With a connected app on your phone, you can have your garden hose water according to local weather reports and your own remote control.

Heard of xeriscaping? It’s a landscaping technique that aims to conserve water through soil analysis, plants adapted to local rainfall, the use of mulch, and more. People report savings of hundreds of dollars using the process. The Spruce, a good home improvement website, has a very useful guide to xeriscaping at www.thespruce.com/xeriscape-landscaping-meaning-2131129.

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