While you might not immediately associate gardening with smartphones, technology keeps finding new ways to enhance and complement this age-old past time.
If you’re looking to improve your gardening skills or start growing plants as a hobby, there are a variety of apps that will help you develop a green thumb whether you stay in an apartment or a freestanding home. From plant identifying apps to platforms that share tips and community input, here are four of the best gardening apps you should try.
PictureThis
When it comes to gardening, it’s important to know what type of plant you’re dealing with. After all, different plants have different needs. PictureThis saves you from exhaustive Google searches or trying to find someone who can identify a plant, using image recognition to find the answer instead.
The app lets you take a photo with your camera or upload from your gallery, using AI to search for and match your picture with the correct plant. When the plant is found, PictureThis not only provides you with its name but also tips on how to care for it and answers to frequently asked questions. The app also uses image recognition tools to help you identify plant diseases. The downside is that a premium subscription is required if you want unlimited searches to identify plants. Otherwise, you are limited to a certain number each day.
Candide
Candide is a social gardening app that connects you with a community to help you learn more about gardening and expand your skills. You can share pictures of your plants, ask the community questions, and read up on popular plant varieties. The knowledge tab includes information on trending plants in different categories. Meanwhile, the discovery section curates content on gardening -- including tips and ideas for your own garden.
PlantSnap
PlantSnap is an app that combines plant identification with social networking. You can use the app to help identify plants from images, but also add friends and share images within the PlantSnap community. The app lets you search for plants, upload a personal plant collection, and read key information on your identified plants.
Vera
If forgetting to water your plants is a major problem for you, then Vera: The Plant Care App will keep track of everything for you. You can set up different profiles with a watering and fertilizing schedule for your plants, depending on their watering and care needs. The app will then send you notifications whenever it’s time to water or fertilize the plant. You can also mark which plants you have already watered and check any upcoming tasks on the daily schedule. It’s a simple but useful app if forgetfulness is a major barrier to keeping your plants healthy.
But before you start downloading the apps, download the My Vodacom App first and buy Just 4 You tailor-made data personalised for you.
