Other people will love this but the analog nature of gardening is what keeps me interested. This sort of ruins the meditative joy I get out of the hobby.
But if Homelab + Dirt = awesome to you, more power to you.
Open Source Farming Robot
121–130 of 236 posts
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#122I've built robots. I've built greenhouses. I like software and the occasional bit of farming. Thirs looks cute and fun, and I hope they iterate, but it's not really solving the right problems, and introduces its own. 1 - there are no straight lines on a farm. Maybe in a hydro setup built on concrete slab, in which case, why robot? 2 - needs a way to cover more ground. If it's not able to travel linearly indefinitely…
Your argument is a strawman, this obviously isn't for commercial farming. This is for personal use for people who have a 120 sqft+ in their backyard.....
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#123I've built robots. I've built greenhouses. I like software and the occasional bit of farming. Thirs looks cute and fun, and I hope they iterate, but it's not really solving the right problems, and introduces its own. 1 - there are no straight lines on a farm. Maybe in a hydro setup built on concrete slab, in which case, why robot? 2 - needs a way to cover more ground. If it's not able to travel linearly indefinitely…
This is a for small hipster raised bed farming in back yard. Maybe it doesn't have to scale to a size of a commercial farm
Slightly off topic, but what is it about raised beds? Why not till and fertilize the soil you already have?
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#124Maybe this product is an April fools joke gone Theranos? The first thing I noticed was the overhead water sprayer, which is a SFG anti-pattern.
Avoid overhead watering with automatic sprinkler systems. Those systems are designed for large areas (like lawns) that need a broad application of water, not your Square Foot Garden that’s designed to take up little space. The overhead spray never gets to the root zone beneath your plants’ leaves, so the watering winds up being insufficient. That overhead spray also quickly evaporates, leading to water waste, and leaves foliage wet which can lead to pest and disease issues.
https://squarefootgardening.org/2020/05/watering-methods-for...
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a for small hipster raised bed farming in back yard. Maybe it doesn't have to scale to a size of a commercial farm
Slightly off topic, but what is it about raised beds? Why not till and fertilize the soil you already have?
Texas checking in -- the dirt in my backyard is full of clay and totally unsuitable for growing anything other than grass and weeds. Many places are like this.
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a for small hipster raised bed farming in back yard. Maybe it doesn't have to scale to a size of a commercial farm
As a fellow backyard raised bed hipster, part of the point for me is going out and tending it. I struggle to see the value in this unless it’s about scaling.
Some day I hope everyone has a backyard farm to supply at least some of their food. Some of those people will need assistance to do it.
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#127I've built robots. I've built greenhouses. I like software and the occasional bit of farming. Thirs looks cute and fun, and I hope they iterate, but it's not really solving the right problems, and introduces its own. 1 - there are no straight lines on a farm. Maybe in a hydro setup built on concrete slab, in which case, why robot? 2 - needs a way to cover more ground. If it's not able to travel linearly indefinitely…
Your argument is a strawman, this obviously isn't for commercial farming. This is for personal use for people who have a 120 sqft+ in their backyard.....
Which is why this product is named "gardenbot"?
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a for small hipster raised bed farming in back yard. Maybe it doesn't have to scale to a size of a commercial farm
> small hipster raised bed farming in back yard As a small hipster raised bed farmer (or rather, gardener), I actually looked into this at one point - the $1500 price tag put me off of it really quick. There's no way that kind of investment makes sense unless you're planning to sell the vegetables to recoup your investment - and it's doubtful that the machine will realistically last more than five years or so, so you…
I think you pay to get hands off garden.
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
> a slug-hunting robot powered by fermented slugs Isn’t that called a duck?
Ha. But actually, if most people weren't so averse to biological organisms, perhaps we would've had computer controlled ducks, rats, hens and other small animals by now. Why bother reinventing the whole thing when you could just replace (part of) their brains. Experimentation would be pretty gruesome though.
I dream of cyber-moles.
Seriously. If you've ever watched utility crews installing or repairing underground fiber, and then had moles colonize your yard, there is only one logical conclusion: silly humans, you are doing it wrong.
Re: Open Source Farming Robot
#130Earlier quoted context omitted.
Slightly off topic, but what is it about raised beds? Why not till and fertilize the soil you already have?
Texas checking in -- the dirt in my backyard is full of clay and totally unsuitable for growing anything other than grass and weeds. Many places are like this.
That makes sense, and maybe I'm sweeping aside many places similar without thinking about them. In the Midwest I've always had good luck in the ground.