Solar-powered machine may be weed-hating gardeners’ dream

Most gardeners would agree that weeding is one of the very worst parts of the gardening experience. For most of us, it seems as soon as those pesky weeds are cleared, new ones pop up and take their place.

But the good news is that that could soon become a thing of the past, because a robotics company in America has developed a prototype for a solar-powered weeder. The weeder – called Tertill – works like a Roomba (a popular robotic vacuum) but for the garden. 

And it looks like something gardeners will welcome, because gardening enthusiasts contributed US$312,810 (AU$389,000) to the development of the weeder, which was far more than the US$120,000 the company hoped to raise when it opened a campaign on Kickstarter for backing.

The prototype was created by Joe Jones – the inventor on the Roomba – for Franklin Robotics and is advertised by the company as an environmentally friendly solution to the weeding woes of gardeners everywhere.

How does it work?

Starts at 60 had a quick chat with Rory MacKean, the CEO of Franklin Robotics, to get an idea of what the machine does and how it will help gardeners.

“Tertill is a solar-powered weeding robot for home gardens,” he explained. “It lives in the garden, and every day it charges itself up in the sunlight. When the battery is full, it will wander around the garden, avoiding plants and any obstacle taller than an inch (2.5cm). As it’s doing this, it’s looking for weeds, and if it finds them, it cuts them with a small weed trimmer mounted on the bottom of the robot.”

The Tertill is also waterproof so you can leave it out in the garden to patrol until it runs out of energy. The Tertill does have an energy port you can use if it has been overcast for an extensive period. Gardeners don’t need to fear about small plants or seedlings as the Tertill comes with an additional ‘collar’ you can place around your seedling so they are no longer on the chopping block. 

MacKean explained that the Tertill was designed to run on dirt or mulch and can’t be used as a lawn trimmer. He says that having a few pathways in the garden is not a problem as the string trimmer comes close to the ground, but doesn’t actually hit it. He does caution, though, that you need to make sure your backyard area is fully enclosed so the machine doesn’t ‘wander’ away.

MacKean says that though the product is helpful for gardeners of all ages, it can be especially helpful for Baby Boomers who want to spend more time on the fun parts of gardening.

“Weeding a garden is time-consuming and frustrating. As we get older, and it gets a little harder to bend over and pull the weeds out, it can become painful, too. Tertill lets the gardener spend more time on the more fun parts of gardening.” MacKean said.

Members of Starts at 60’s Facebook gardening group were pretty much in agreement that weeding was by far one of the worst garden chores out there – so there is definitely a market for the technology.

“Weeding my very large garden feels like a never-ending circle. I like to feel a job is completed but this one is never completed,” Linda Maher said, while Lyn Fletcher has a few weeds she hates dealing with, specifically nut grass and onion weeds. “Other weeds don’t seem so bad, but those two are the pits,” she reckoned

But Margaret Hunter may not be a future Tertill customer. “I love weeding, I find it relaxing. But then I am weird and no, I only love weeding my garden – so don’t ask!” she joked.

Unfortunately, the Tertill weeder is not available commercially yet, but it is good to think that there could be something to make our time in the garden a little easier.

If this technology became commercially available, would you use it? How long does it take you to weed your garden?

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