Skip to main content

The SproutsIO soil-free smart garden is looking to turn everyone's thumb green

As the 21st century moves forward, many traditional ways of getting things done have been supplanted by the recent surge in on-demand solutions. Uber and Lyft are challenging the taxi industry, Apple Music and Spotify are disrupting the music industry, and now, SproutsIO has its sights set on revolutionizing the gardening industry.

Recently launched via the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter, SproutsIO reimagines the at-home garden by ditching soil while still offering owners the ability to grow fresh fruits and vegetables year-round. Even better, those without a particularly green thumb won’t find it difficult to produce fresh greens as SproutsIO is built for anyone to use.

Recommended Videos

Originally developed by Jennifer Broutin Farah at MIT’s Media Lab back in 2011, the team behind SproutsIO (including Farah, who is the company’s founder and CEO) decided to refine the initial concept prior to seeking crowdfunding support. Operating with a focus on connecting people with the food they consume, and connecting them to the place where it’s produced, the brand wanted to find a way to allow people to enjoy growing their own fruits and vegetables and to make it easy. After years of research, the company developed an intelligent hybrid hydroculture gardening system that literally just needs to be plugged in to start working.

“We’ve been growing food for thousands of years, it’s part of what makes us human,” said Farah. “When cities were built, we became more industrialized. When we put growing in the hands of others, we lose transparency. We no longer know where our food is coming from. SproutsIO is a smart microgarden that makes it effortless to grow indoors, year-round, and soil-free.”

So what can you grow? According to the Kickstarter campaign, SproutsIO lets anyone grow basil, Lacinato kale, parsley and cilantro, arugula, Tiny Tim tomatoes, and much more. In just three weeks, the device allows users to grow roughly 18 servings of leafy greens wherever the machine is set up. Furthermore, maintenance of the produce requires watering just once a month and is ready to eat as soon as it is harvested — no rinsing necessary.

As of this writing, early bird versions of the SproutIO are available to early adopters at a special price of just $559, while it figures to retail for around $799 once the campaign concludes. With 28 crowdfunding days remaining, the innovative device had already raised $23,282 of its $100,000 goal.

Rick Stella
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rick became enamored with technology the moment his parents got him an original NES for Christmas in 1991. And as they say…
Aqara is “fully committed” to Matter, reveals support for 50 new device types
A stylized image depicting Aqara products and Matter

Aqara is responsible for a wide range of smart home devices, including smart locks, smart lights, and security cameras. Today, the brand revealed its increased support for Matter, with a staggering 50 Matter device types gaining compatibility with Aqara Home. That’s a huge win for the platform, as it’ll allow you to seamlessly connect your Aqara devices with hundreds of other products beyond the Aqara lineup.

Aqara had already partnered with big names like Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Home, but this massive Matter expansion takes things a step further. Full support will roll out later this month with Aqara Home version 5.19 and firmware version 4.3.5 for Matter Controllers. Here’s a quick look at some of the Matter device types that’ll work with Aqara Home:

Read more
Samsung’s new ‘Lite’ cordless vacuum is as powerful as Dyson and has AI smarts
Samsung Bespoke AI Jet Lite

Samsung announced a number of new products during its World of Samsung event in Frankfurt in the middle of march, including new fridges where Bixby can open the doors, and the world's most powerful cordless vacuum. With the dust having settled on those launches however, the company has thrown another offering into the mix after announcing the Bespoke AI Jet Lite on its newsroom. 

Matching the same suction power as Dyson's flagship Gen5Detect, the Bespoke AI Jet Lite has 280W of power within its lightweight build thanks to Samsung's HexaJet Motor, which is the same motor the company also put in the top-of-the-range Bespoke AI Jet Ultra. The motor is said to rotate at 140,000rpm, which is in fact 5,000rpm more than Dyson's offering, though we're not going to count so we're taking Samsung's word for that.  

Read more
Dreo reveals new smart home devices to help you beat the summer heat
A fan from the Dreo Summer 2025 lineup.

Summer is just around the corner, and Dreo is gearing up for its arrival by launching several new smart devices. Some products are available now, while others will arrive within the next few months, though all are specifically designed to help you stay cool and improve your indoor air quality.

The Dreo Summer 2025 lineup includes fans, portable air conditioners, air purifiers, and humidifiers, most of which are bundled with useful smart features to improve their performance and give you easy ways to control their settings. The most premium of the bunch is the Dreo Portable Air Conditioner 319S -- its 10,000 BTU system is powerful, quiet, and drainage-free, making it an excellent way to cool your home. It also works with both Google and Alexa, and voice controls are supported for ease of use.

Read more