Koubachi – Green App Tells You When Plants Need Watering

I am a plant killer. Please don’t judge my gardening ineptitude. If you have ever drowned, fried, parched, wilted, exsiccated, dehydrated or burnt your plant than you know what I am talking about. I brought home a plant on the hottest summer’s day and left it on the porch to torch. The next day it was burnt and wilted. What?! The clerk said it needed sunlight! I’ve killed a cactus and turned it into gloop… Aren’t cactuses supposed to survive in the desert? It was only a month since I last watered it… who told me they were tough? Liars!

There is a cure now with technology and a simple sensor. You may think this is not really a food related post… Ah but it is. You see we bought some herbs to grow in our herb garden… Some fresh cilantro, rosemary, thyme and basil… Everything seems to be doing fine except cilantro – wilted from life.

Koubachi, a new app developed by technical universities in Germany (ETH Zurich) and Switzerland (Swiss Institute of Technology) will now give you thirsty houseplants more TLC (tender loving care) it deserves. It uses a Wi-Fi sensor and an iPhone app to collect data (soil moisture, light intensity and temperature) and sent to your smartphone. It will tell you when they crave some water, when you are murdering them, or simply want to commit suicide than to be tortured. The app tracks over 135 species of plants including orchids, cilantro, tomatoes and other floral bloomies.

The app is free but the sensor costs €122.60. For now during my Dummy stage of my gardening career I think I will pass. The price is a bit steep, but I do wish my plant will text me next time it’s about to drown or burn!