I’m trying something new this year! I need simple, I need cheap, and I need quick advice on successful gardening in the desert, so I’m turning to AI to plan out my garden.
You know me, I'm all about experimenting and seeing what works in the garden. And being in my 40s, I feel behind when it comes to new technology. I don't want to live my life afraid of AI and its capabilities.
I’m on a budget this year, and I don’t want to put a lot of effort into my garden. I’ve got elementary school-aged children, and our lives are full and beautiful and busy. My kids quickly lose interest in helping me out in the garden, and I know by now it’s not going to yield a whole bunch of fun veggies to eat. Not to mention, it’s still 100 degrees out, yet all my gardening books say to plant away right now! Enter AI to assist me with the mental work of planting a garden.
Planning a Raised Bed Garden with AI
I’ve heard of people using AI to write school reports, plan birthday party games, and more. So why not use AI technology to plant a garden? Last month, I asked it, what can I plant in a 2×4 raised bed with chard, basil, and garlic? And it delivered, in seconds!! No guesswork and looking up each individual plant to see if it’s the right time to grow it and if it’s a good companion plant. No charts or calendars or sizing up to see if everything would fit in my container. The information is just right there!
What I’m doing is telling it what I have and asking it to do the mental work of planning around that.
So I plugged in the basil and chard because I need to transplant those. I heard chard doesn’t like to be replanted, but I’m going to try anyway because my chard has been a prolific beast from day 1, and I think it will survive. My basil is currently in a pot on the porch with a dead tomato, so I need to put it in a better, sunnier space so I can keep cooking meals with yummy, fresh basil leaves. And, the garlic in my fridge is sprouting, so why not see what happens? (Spoiler alert: it gets moldy and dies.)
Here is what I got when I plugged in my parameters:
Whoa, AI is cool! I had heard of square foot gardening and wanted to try it. The little guide is on my wishlist and this method seems foolproof for a beginner like me.
So, I decided to put my trust in the future, and I planted it out exactly this way. I got the kids involved and enticed them with the AI element of this garden, telling them that the computer used a coding process to plan it out! The kids were totally excited about this prospect and had no problem planting seeds with me.
The only thing I changed was I replaced radish with more beans because I didn’t have any more seeds, and I’m on a budget. I used arugula for my lettuce variety. The amount of bean plants in one square foot is giving me pause, but knowing my garden, it will probably get its leaves chomped up before it gets big anyway. (Spoiler alert: about 25% of the plants got eaten).
The budget is playing a huge factor in what I’m planting this year. In previous years, I’ve put hundreds in the ground in the fall, but I just don’t have as much fun money right now. I don’t normally do this, but I just reused old soil from pots that contained plants that perished from the sun instead of buying bags of dirt. My plan is to fertilize, fertilize, fertilize!
Today, my AI garden is doing great! Would you just look at that chard? The beans are a joy. I had to replant some arugula seeds in the corner because those never popped up. I’ve got plans to put more carrots where the garlic remains are (short and sweet variety because those stubby little carrots make us all laugh and I have a little dog who just loves them as a treat).
And, I got a few surprises in this bed! Two tomato plants are popping up, as well as some nasturtium. Great! I love free plants!
Planting a Container Garden with AI
What’s better than one AI planned garden? Two AI planned gardens!
Here’s what I got for this prompt:
Plan a 24 inch across barrel planter garden with cilantro and other companion plants i can plant right now in zone 9b California desert
The AI went on to describe care of the garden, and so on.
The great thing about this little container garden is I can thin it out as needed, and the little pea plants are just so adorable! I saw some plants near the back never came up, so I planted a couple sunflowers and nasturtium. Not too many nasturtium, as they can easily overwhelm a small container like this one.
It’s early days for my AI gardens, but I am convinced that AI is a gardening tool as useful as a trowel, and I plan on using this method again next season.
Want to get started with your own AI garden? Just pull up your regular old Google on your phone, select AI mode, and ask it to plan it out for you
Here’s some tips on what to include in your plan:
- Dimensions of the garden space
- Seeds or starts you have or want to plant
- Your gardening zone (it probably already knows this but can’t hurt to include)
Here’s the beauty of relying on a computer to do the work for you: if you don’t like what it suggests, you can change it up. It’s a lot easier to pick apart an existing plan than make one from scratch. Gone are the days of using graph paper and a pencil to plan out a garden. You can use your phone and have a portable plan to take with you to the nursery.
If you’re on the fence about AI, just try it on something low stakes that you don’t want to spend the time and energy to put thought into. It might surprise you!
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