How thirsty plants ask for water via Twitter

Are you notorious for killing your plants? Would you like a system where thirsty plants could let you know they need a drink?

Well wait no more. According to Reuters, researchers at New York University’s interactive telecommunications program have come up with a device that allows plants to tell owners when they need water (or if they’ve had too much) via Twitter.

The device, called Botanicalls, is essentially soil moisture sensors attached to a circuit board. When the moisture levels are too high or low, a message is transmitted via a wireless signal to Twitter, which then sends an appropriate automatic message.

Botanicalls co-creator Kate Hartman said the language used in the Twitter messages can be modified to suit the situation.

“There’s always a basic “I’m thirsty, could you please water me” message. But they also accelerate in terms of need, so there’s an urgent message: “I’m desperately thirsty, please water me”,” Hartman told Reuters.

Hartman’s plant, “Pothos”, has more than 2300 subscribers on Twitter.

“I feel a bit more guilty when I don’t water Pothos, because everybody knows,” she says.

The kit costs $US99.