On 2009-06-04 17:34:54 +0100, Stan The Man said:

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.

My back won't let me do digging but when I did, I found it satisfying -
something accomplished and importantly, a feeling of connection with
the earth. Watering for me is just lovely, all dreamy and spacey
because it has to be done and you're justified in taking time out to do
it while enjoying and appreciating the plants you're rewarding for the
pleasure they give. For a gardener boilling it down to bare bones, it
gives you a chance to look at your plants, to see if they need a bit of
feeding, or aphid attention etc. Some philosopher or other remarked
upon this notion of 'saving time'. "What will you do with the time
that you save?" Me? I'll water the garden. ;-) So, masochist?
No. Self-indulgent? Perhaps. ;-)

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Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon