An indoor greenhouse that creates ideal growing conditions
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An indoor smart greenhouse allows users to easily create the perfect growing conditions for almost any plant
Spotted: Want to grow plants but don’t have a green thumb or outdoor space? Plantee Innovations has a solution for you. The Czech startup, founded by Valery Mezencev and Ondra Zbytek, has designed a small, smart indoor greenhouse that gives users total control over the environment in which their plants grow.
Plantee allows users to control conditions such as light (including timing and intensity), soil moisture, air temperature and airflow. Users can also upload “plant profiles,” automatically creating the perfect environment for different plant species. These profiles are publicly available, and gardening enthusiasts can create and share their own.
By working with any soil or seed products, Plantee maximises sustainability as users are able to support local producers. Components are highly durable, and those that are most likely to wear out can be easily replaced without special skills or tools. Committed hobbyists can even print their own components using open-access FDM 3D printing files.
Co-founder Ondra Zbytek is passionate about horticulture, yet has often struggled to get growing conditions just right. This proved to be the inspiration for Plantee. In an interview with Springwise he explained, “I always loved experimenting with different conditions for my plants, but when I got one thing right, the others just backfired. I thought I can’t be the only one who struggles … So, as an electrical engineer and entrepreneur, I decided to change that and invent a solution that would make any plant at home never struggle again.”
Interest in growing plants exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people were stuck inside and craved the chance to grow their own food and decorative plants. In fact, access to nature has been shown to have benefits for health and wellbeing. That is why a number of new housing projects are building in access to greenhouses in addition to garden spaces, and why even airports are now building in green space.