Did you know we have been looking after indoor plants for five millennia? Over the years, indoor gardening has evolved with innovative solutions. Fast forward to the present, and smart indoor gardening sectors were valued at USD 2.36 billion.
As an entrepreneur, you’re probably thinking of looking after indoor plants or wanting to start a business in this sector. Irrespective of your motivation, did you know that gardening can make you a better entrepreneur? It helps provide therapeutic benefits like stress relief and mood improvement that help you stay calm and make better decisions.
However, you must know a few ways to transform traditional gardening practices and make the process more fun. In 2022, USD 300 million was invested to bring an indoor vertical garden to Richmond, Virginia. Can you imagine how popular indoor gardening is based on this story and its unique market potential?
In this blog post, we’ll discuss a few innovations in the indoor gardening technology sector that entrepreneurs should know about.
3 indoor gardening innovations aspiring entrepreneurs should know about:
1. Hydroponics Systems
According to the National Agricultural Library, a hydroponics system is a unique technique for growing plants using water-based nutrients. With this indoor gardening innovation, you won’t need soil to grow indoor plants. Instead, you can use aggregate substrates like coconut coir, perlite, vermiculite, etc.
Hydroponic production is perfect for hobbyists and commercial enterprises. This method promotes faster growth and higher yields, leading to better plant health. With this technique, you’re eliminating soil-borne diseases and the need for pesticide use. As a result, you’re enhancing urban gardening and promoting sustainability.
As an entrepreneur, you can use hydroponic technology to light up your office space. It’ll improve indoor air quality and help enhance the aesthetics. You can also promote a green workplace that can help reduce stress.
Moreover, you can become the distributor or manufacturer of hydroponic setups and kits. These can range from simple nutrient film techniques to unique aeroponic systems. Each will offer precise control over the pH, oxygenation, and nutrient levels needed by specific indoor plants.
2. AI-Driven Planting Recommendations
Needless to say, AI is everywhere. In the next 11 years, this technology is expected to improve productivity by 40%. In the horticulture industry, generative AI, computer vision, robotics, and digital twins are playing a huge role.
When we talk about advanced artificial intelligence technology in indoor gardening, there’s one name that keeps coming up. Tolu Salami successfully created a smart planting innovation that uses cutting-edge technology to make gardening practices efficient and sustainable.
He had a dream to address common indoor gardening challenges to maximize plant yield, reduce resource usage, and use sustainable development. Soon, his vision received pre-seed funding from the reputed Henley Business School in the United Kingdom.
With the funds, Tolu Salami went on to create AI-driven tools that can enhance the smart planting experience. His indoor gardening innovation paved the way for the following:
- Generating optimal planting strategies based on weather patterns, plant recommendations, and soil conditions with AI technology.
- Helping with real-time monitoring of plant growth and health with automated monitoring systems to make data-driven decisions.
- Allowing efficient resource management of plant nutrients and water to offer a suitable indoor gardening environment.
Entrepreneurs can learn a lot from this instance. Perhaps you can get inspired by it and innovate something similar for the indoor gardening industry or use such technologies for your gardening practices.
3. LED Grow Lights
Optimizing planting processes using state-of-the-art LED grow lights has become popular. This industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.7% between 2021 and 2031. By the end of 2032, it’s estimated to reach USD 14.8 billion.
But what are LED grow lights? This is a transformative technology that allows gardeners to optimize plant growth and energy efficiency. The emission of specific wavelengths can be adjusted based on the plant’s growth stages to enhance photosynthesis.
Industry leaders believe LED grow lights consume less energy and are easy to install. Moreover, these are durable, have a longer lifetime, and produce less heat.
Entrepreneurs can take this information in two ways. First, you can create an ecosystem with LED grow lights to facilitate year-round indoor cultivation in your home or office. Secondly, you can distribute and manufacture LED grow lights of different light intensities and spectrums to enter the profitable indoor gardening market.
As you can see, the indoor gardening sector is fostering technological advancements to offer great results. Examples include AI-driven plant recommendations, LED grow lights, and hydroponics systems.
By leveraging cutting-edge technology, you can become one of the best indoor gardeners. Similarly, if you want to offer services in this area, indoor gardening technology will help promote sustainability, address real-world challenges, and streamline planting processes.
