Skip to main content

Farm to table is easy with the Cick & Grow Smart Farm in your kitchen

Old MacDonald had a farm, and you can, too — without buying up lots of land. If your gardening ambitions can’t be contained by window planters, but a full-on farm doesn’t fit your lifestyle, there’s a happy medium. You’ll be able to have your produce and eat it, too.

Cick & Grow, a maker of automated indoor home garden technologies, is making home-grown produce easier to come by. The company currently offers smart herb gardens and smart flowerbeds that grow with “zero effort” on your part, according to the company’s website. Thanks to the its own proprietary nanotech Smart Soil growth medium, ultra-efficient LED grow lights, and electronic precision irrigation systems, it won’t matter whether or not you have a green thumb. The plants are automatically provided with the ideal amount of water, light, and nutrients, enabling them to grow more efficiently.

Click & Grow Smart Farm
Click & Grow Smart Farn

Currently in the works are Click & Grow’s Smart Farm and Smart Mini Farm, which will bring higher yields to families, restaurants, and even the pharmaceutical industry — without pesticides or GMOs. Additionally, they will use up to 95 percent less water relative to traditional farming methods, according to the company. If you don’t want such a hands-off approach, you’ll be free to customize your plants’ growing parameters through a mobile app.

The Smart Mini Farm is, of course, smaller than the Smart Farm. Where Smart Farms will be available in two sizes (with either four or five shelves), as well as customizable shelves, the Smart Mini Farm will come as a kitchen cart with two trays that can grow up to 30 plants each. You’ll be able to grow delicious kale, lettuce, tomatoes, chili peppers, strawberries, peppermint, and more. Priced at $299, it will be an affordable way to increase the amount of fruits and veggies in your diet.

Click & Grow Smart Mini Farm
Click & Grow Smart Mini Farm Click & Grow

“[The] Smart Mini Farm … is going to revolution the way everyday people get their food,” said Click & Grow CEO Mattias Lepp in a statement. The company announced Wednesday that it has secured an investment from Y Combinator, a San Francisco-based venture fund, and will participate in the fund’s three-month program before bringing the Smart Mini Farm to market. Click & Grow hails the product as the first to allow consumers to “easily grow enough fresh produce for an entire family, priced under $300.”

The Smart Farm will launch for retail in 2016. No date has been released yet for the launch of the Smart Mini Farm.

Editors' Recommendations

Stephanie Topacio Long
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
Echo Show 8 vs. Echo Show 10: is the bigger device a better smart display?
The Echo Show 10 on a kitchen counter.

Amazon has an impressive roster of smart displays, but few are as popular as the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10. The Echo Show 8 is now on its third generation, offering an HD display and a small footprint that's great for most homes. The Echo Show 10 is also on its third generation -- though it's much larger than its sibling and comes with a few exclusive features.

But is the bigger smart display better? Both products share much of their spec sheets, and it's not immediately evident that the Echo Show 10 does enough to deserve its hefty price. Here's a look at the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10 to help you determine which is best for your needs.
Pricing and design

Read more
What is IFTTT and how can you use it in your smart home?
A bunch of colorful shapes on a black background.

If you've spent any time shopping for smart home gadgets, you've probably noticed that many are built with support for Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home. These are smart home platforms, and they let you access all your devices through a single app or interface. You've probably also noticed support for something known as IFTTT. But what exactly is IFTTT? And is it something you should be concerned with? Here's a closer look at the unique (and incredibly useful) software.
What is IFTTT?

IFTTT stands for, "if this, then that." It's terminology often used in programming, allowing software to chain together functions and perform certain tasks if other tasks are detected. For example, if the user inputs the incorrect password, then they'll be notified to try logging in again.

Read more
Echo Show 8 vs. Nest Hub: Does Amazon or Google offer the best smart display?
Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen on table.

Anyone in the market for a reasonably priced smart display has probably stumbled across the Echo Show 8 and Nest Hub. Both clock in at under $150 (often less when on sale) yet provide homes with many of the same features found on premium alternatives like the Nest Hub Max and Echo Show 10.

But is the Echo Show 8 better than the Nest Hub? And what exactly is the difference between these two smart displays? Here's a comprehensive look at both to help you decide which one to bring into your smart home.
Pricing and design

Read more