Modern Sprout: Planters for Stylish Indoor Urban Gardening
Would you love to grow your own herbs, veggies or flowers, but just travel way too much or seem to forget about watering your plants far too often? Chicago-based Modern Sprout has come to your rescue with an attractive solution for style savvy plant lovers that is simple, self-sustaining and fertile with success. The concept behind Modern Sprout is a planter that contains a hidden hydroponics system that automatically feeds and waters its plants, making it the ideal bit of garden for city-dwellers, the forgetful type or those that are often away from home.
Perfect for an apartment windowsill, office, shop or a small café, Modern Sprout planters add a subtle touch of sustainable sophistication to any décor. The simple finishes and minimalist design are easy to blend into most settings, and a bit of greenery always brightens up a space. Whether you want to grow veggies and herbs for cooking, or are just looking for a more dependable way to grow flowers indoors, Modern Sprout is the attractive shortcut to gardening in small spaces.
These planters use a soilless medium with liquid mineral nutrients to deliver water and nutrition to plants in three separate pots. The flowers, herbs or veggies grow in clay pellets, which better regulate water and nutrient absorption, and also allow the roots of the plants to breathe better. A timer and air pump work together to push water and liquid fertilizer from a reservoir into the separate pots, allowing the plants to become beautiful and healthy even if they tend to be neglected.
The coolest part? There is a solar powered option available for running the pump: a small solar panel is placed into a white enclosure that hooks to the top of the planter and connects to a battery mounted underneath the planter. This means that although the planter should be placed on a sunny windowsill or table, the battery will kick in if overcast conditions occur.
A similar Kickstarter project has been launched by Click & Grow, a California-based company that is delving into its second shortcut gardening venture with its Smart Herb Garden. This small container garden comes with an LED lamp that allows the plants to thrive, and is set up with a technology that provides its plants with correct amount of nutrients, oxygen and water at any given time. However, there is no solar option available and the planter looks a bit techy with its LED light and plastic finish.
Available in four different finishes (chalkboard, rustic gray pine, glossy white and reclaimed wood) the 16-inch long Modern Sprout planter can grow a large variety of plants. Anything from basil and tomatoes to orchids and nasturtiums have successfully been tested, with established transplants or seeds in grow cubes recommended for best results.
Modern Sprout planters are available through the founding duo’s Kickstarter campaign page, which will run until the 13th of May. Each planter comes with 3 small pots, re-usable clay pellet growing medium and 3-6 months worth of organic liquid fertilizer comprised of kelp and other natural ingredients. Also included are the programmable timer, quiet and powerful eco-friendly air pump (only costs about $5-7 per year to run), optional solar panel, and an adjustable control value for providing more or less water and fertilizer to different plant types. At $75 per planter, we’d recommend you order yours before they’re gone!
Images: Modern Sprout
