Tech-tastic flowerpot makes pro growing a cinch

Houseplants don't last long in the average geek household (we spend too much time playing Words With Friends to water a fern) but as with most problems, tech can come to the rescue.

Click and Grow takes the toil out of home horticulture. It's an electronic flowerpot that pretty much does all the hard work for you, leaving you to sit back and think up ridiculous two-letter words that no one's ever heard of.

Spotted over at TechCrunch, Click and Grow is fitted with sensors that determine how the plant is doing. Fertiliser and water are dispensed automatically when required. There's no soil -- the pots use a combination of hydroponics and aeroponics -- and all you need to do is top up the water supply when it's depleted. You'll probably need to do so about once a month, so this really is put-yer-feet-up stuff -- just sit back and let nature take its course.

The only other thing you need to worry about is making sure there are four AA batteries in the pot, and that the plant has enough light. And let's face it, if you can't manage that, you don't really deserve to be in charge of a living, breathing, growing thing.

A Click and Grow pot costs €59 (the company is based in Tallinn, Estonia), which includes a Busy Lizzy 'cartridge' to get you started. Other cartridges, which include basil, chilli pepper, tomato and painted nettle, cost €8 apiece. Sadly, it seems as if you can't make your own cartridges, so you're limited to growing what the company has to offer.