Countertop Nanofarming? New Kitchen Device Grows Fresh Produce Indoors
Countertop Nanofarming? New Kitchen Device Grows Fresh Produce Indoors
A new device could bring fresh, homegrown produce directly to the kitchen.
The Replantable Nanofarm is an at-home agriculture kit designed for people who want freshly-picked produce but don't have the time and space for a garden.
As the name suggests, Replantable is a small, indoor farm, about the size of a mini-fridge, which could easily be placed on a kitchen countertop. The set is composed of a grow cabinet, water tray, plant pad and harvest light. And with a few steps, homeowners could grow their crops in the machine.
"The nanofarm started off as a simple hydroponics system where users plant seeds and add fertilizer manually. We chose hydroponics because it is convenient to do indoors and allows us to avoid the use of pesticides," Ruwan Subasinghe, co-founder of the Atlanta, Georgia-based company, told Digital Trends.
"As we made prototypes and sent models to early customers, the consistent feedback was that it was still too much work. We started developing technology that would take more and more of the work off the user's hands. Where we ended up is the 'set and forget' system we're bringing into production."
The device simplifies farming into three steps: setting the number of weeks required to grow the crops, pressing the "Start" button, and pressing the "Harvest" button. Anyone could use the device, especially those without gardening experience, Subasinghe said.
The Replantable Nanofarm is made of powder-coated steel and natural wood, and its doors are corrosion-resistant and made of marine-grade aluminum to make sure that they won't break or rust. The device is also fitted with a smoked glass door to keep most of the light inside the device, and features a "whisper-quiet" ventilation system that pumps carbon dioxide to the crops while venting oxygen-rich air into the home.
The device has been under beta testing and will be launched via a Kickstarter campaign on Aug. 22, where it will be priced at $350.