Modern Homestead Technology: 5 Ways To Use Tech To Your Advantage
Ever wonder how you can use technology on your urban homestead? Is technology overwhelming and foreign? Learn how to embrace modern homestead technology.
Not a day goes by when you don’t use something with a screen or an electronic circuit board.
After all you’re reading this article either on your smart phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer. Maybe halfway across the world.
I work with technology everyday in my day job supporting faculty and staff at my local university. I help provide computer systems and services that make university administration easier and help our faculty, staff and students do their work.
So I see technology as being useful and necessary in our lives, unlike how it’s sometimes portrayed in media. Yes, it can be addicting, but there are ways to limit its use so it doesn’t become a problem.
In homesteading and gardening, there are many ways to use technology. Whether it’s to get information or automate work, the correct applications and services can make things easier and we can have better success in growing food for our families.
Online Gardening Information
In years past we had to go to a library or nursery to get info on gardening. Without the internet, we couldn’t just Google how to grow broccoli or when we can transplant peppers as an example.
It took much longer and sometimes the info was just not available.
Sharing info really was difficult and garden clubs were popular as a means to talk to other gardeners in urban areas.
Rural homesteaders in some ways had it easier as they had next-door neighbours doing the same things and could help each other out. Trips into town to the local feed store were valuable not only for the supplies you could buy, but also the information you could get for free.
Today with the internet virtually at our fingertips and always available, we now can get almost any info instantly. And that in itself is a bit of a problem as there is so much info out there and there are many conflicting views. So you do have to do a lot of sifting to get the right info.
So what kinds of online resources do you have at your disposal:
- Blogs (such as this one!)
- Forums (gardenweb.com is one of many)
- Facebook Groups (I’m in a few local ones and learn quite a bit from the questions that are asked and the answers)
- YouTube Videos – be sure to check out my channel too!
- Pinterest – usually pins are linked to informative blog posts, check out my boards
- Google Search
- Ebooks – check out my ebooks here
- E-courses (distributed either via email or a website you login to)
- Podcasts
Just don’t fall in the trap of spending all day reading, researching and not spending any time in the garden!
Electronic Timers For Gardening
These are a time-saver! And in many cases also a plant-saver!
Timers are typically used with irrigation systems, either in-ground sprinklers or with drip irrigation. You set the timer for when you want your plants to be watered and for how long. No more forgetting to water and killing your plants!
Here is one I recommend if you have a full in-ground sprinkler system like I have. It is hooked up to your wifi so you can control it from anywhere:
If you just have a drip system or soaker hoses attached to a hose bib, this is a simpler timer:
