On 2009-05-20 19:42:09 +0100, David in Normandy
said:

Personally I wouldn't want such a level of automation. Part of the
attraction of gardening is being close to nature and working with it -
not distancing oneself from it through technology.

Some chores are so repetitive and very laborious, you would have to be
a masochist to insist that automation wouldn't be a godsend, freeing
you up to devote more time to the creative jobs.

Digging is nobody's idea of fun. Nor is weeding. Nor is watering when
you have dozens of containers demanding twice-daily irrigation
throughout the summer. Why not distribute drippers around, connect them
to a tap timer and save days of your life? My timer has a sensor
attached which detects rainfall and stops the irrigation program when
Mother Nature is doing the job. Only a Luddite would say no.