As the legal cannabis industry moves further and further into the cultural mainstream, there’s a rapidly expanding market for expensive, luxury cannabis products. From luxurious hardwood cannabis humidors to 24 karat gold rolling papers, the term “high society” has an increasingly apt double meaning. One of the more interesting high end cannabis products we’ve come across is the Grobo One automated indoor grow box.
The idea behind the Grobo is to allow a cannabis connoisseur to grown their own plant without the work, stress, and expertise typically required for cultivation. It’s a fully self contained, automated hydroponic grow box that’s designed to be an attractive part of your living space, rather than something you hide in a closet or basement.
The Grobo features a full suite of sensors that monitor temperature, humidity, plant height, water level, pH, and PPM. It includes custom designed full spectrum LED lights which use very little electricity and generate basically no heat, and provide the specific spectrum for optimal growth. The specially designed glass panel in the door is electrochromic smart glass, capable of becoming full opaque or fully transparent. During the night, the glass automatically turns opaque, ensuring zero light leaks during the dark cycle. The door has an automatic lock, preventing kids or pets from opening the box. And the Grobo features a proprietary carbon filter as part of the fresh air exchange system, which prevents flowering cannabis from stinking up the house.
The Grobo is has integrated wifi, and is controlled through a smartphone or desktop app. The Grobo app allows for real-time control and monitoring of growing conditions, from anywhere in the world. It provides continuous updates on plant growth, nutrient levels, light activity, and days until harvest. The glass in the door can be controlled through the app, allowing you to turn the glass transparent to show off the growing plant, by simply pushing a button on your smartphone or computer. The app has an extensive library of growing recipes, and allows users to add their own, or choose from those added by other users. Each recipe gives detailed information, and controls every aspect of the Grobo’s hydroponic and nutrient systems, to ensure optimum growing conditions at every stage from seed to harvest ready flower.
After filling the water reservoir, installing the nutrient bottles, and inserting the seed into the coco grow medium, the Grobo requires basically no additional input from the user, aside from occasionally refilling the water. And the design of the Grobo is both attractive and space efficient, requiring just one square foot of floor place. If you’ve always wanted to grow your own cannabis, but don’t have the time, space, or expertise for a traditional indoor garden, the Grobo might be a perfect solution.
It’s not by any means an inexpensive product, carrying a price tag of just under $2,000 currently. The complete GroKit, which includes nutrient bottles, coco grow medium, and a replacement carbon filter, will run another $50 per harvest. On Grobo’s FAQ, they say they’ve seen an average of around 29 grams dry per harvest in the single Grobo. 29 grams is just over an ounce, so assuming 4 successful harvests per year, you’ll see a little over 4 ounces per year. Ounce prices vary greatly from state to state, but assuming an average ounce price of around $200, the Growbo might save you $600 per year accounting for the $50 GroKit per harvest. So it’ll take some time for the Grobo to pay for itself, but it’s pretty clear this isn’t a product primarily aimed at people looking to save money. It’s most likely intended for people who want an interesting conversation piece, and want the satisfaction of growing cannabis at home without the huge investment of time and effort.