Noku Canvas is a self-watering planter made from recycled plastic

When I was a kid, my dream was to have plants in my house when I grew up. Now that I’ve grown up, I realised I need to first have a house. Jokes aside, it’s a challenge for me to have plants around for two reasons. First of all, I don’t have space in my apartment where the plant would get enough sunlight.

I tried to bring the plant out into the sun regularly, but I’m rather forgetful. So it withered because I forgot to water it. My friend gave me two suggestions. Either I make a shelf on the part of the wall that gets a lot of sunshine and make that might little wall garden. Or I should consider growing cacti instead.

Now, I’m not sure if I can execute the brilliant plant shelf. And I’ve killed my share of cacti. So I was starting to accept that I would only be able to decorate my home with fake plants, until I came across Noku Canvas.

It is a self-watering planter made from recycled plastic that you hang on the wall. That blew my mind. Someone actually faced the same problem as me and bothered to create such a product. Sniff.

What is it

Noku Canvas is a self-watering planter that not only brings greenery into your home and improve the environment, but is also environmentally friendly as it is made from recycled plastic and cork.

It waters your plants via a wicking hydroponics system. No more worrying about your plant because you remembered that you forgot to water it. The watering mechanism is similar to the capillary effect that plants use to move water from their roots to their leaves. It draws the water when needed and you’ll only have to fill the reservoir every 3 weeks. 

People who live in the tropics might want to keep in mind that mosquitoes can breed within that time. So you might want to refill the water in shorter intervals.

This is perfect for people like me who love plants but are terrible at taking care of them. Turns out, it wasn’t all my fault that my plants died. I had the wrong planter!

Who is it for

If you’re looking to spruce up your home with some greenery, but can’t spare the space, this is for you. Or if you’re as lazy or forgetful as I am.

As the world’s population explosion continues, owning your own small garden becomes harder than finding true love. A modular wall-mounted planter is the next best thing. It also creates an artsy vibe mixed with a closeness to nature in your home. You get to design a nice looking wall that is good for your eyes, and it is Instagram-friendly at the same time!

What problems does it solve

Noku Canvas is wall-mounted, so that it is perfect when you don’t have much space to spare. If you are lucky enough to have the luxury of space, you can come up with fun ways to assemble the modular Noku Canvas units.

Watering plants is not a problem if your plants grow outdoor and it rains regularly. But if your plants are indoors, you need to water them or they die. Noku Canvas comes with a self-watering system that needs to be refilled every three weeks. It has a gauge that tells you when you have to refill the tank. If you forget to refill the water tank, then you can forget about growing plants.

Is it innovative

Self-watering planters are nothing new. Come on. People are lazy. Do you think no one would have thought of this already? Selling products to lazy people is the one of the best markets. The Planterhoma self-watering wall planter on Amazon is an example that is a lot cheaper.

You can tell that you get what you paid for. The Planterhoma is a plain generic design. It is what planters should look like. Whereas Noku Canvas chose to go with a hexagonal design that lets you place the modules together to create a larger patch of greenery on your wall. The removable adhesive patches ensure you don’t destroy your wall should you want to remove the Noku Canvas.

Is it worth it

Noku Canvas retails at £40, which is around $49. If I wanted to only get some planters for cultivating greens in the house, this is a little pricey. Wall-mounted self-watering planters fall within $10 to $30 on Amazon, and these comes in a set of two to four planters compared to the single Noku Canvas.

As much as I appreciate good design and functionality, I would still hesitate when the price is so much more than other offerings in the market. That said, I only speak for myself. You might find that the price range very reasonable, then good for you! Your wall, your choice!

Are there any alternatives

Yes and no. While there are many wall-mounted self-watering planters out there, it’s hard to find one that is made from recycled plastic. So if you want to go green, then Noku Canvas is the best pick.

Check out some options for planters:

• 3-Pack Self Watering Hanging Planters; $13.99
• Sungmor Self Watering Wall Planter 3 pcs; $29.99
• T4U Wall Planter Pots; $14.99

And here are some options for big houses with gardens:

• 2205 Apex Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90039; $1,495,000
• 5004 Budau Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90032; $799,000

What? Wall-mounted garden will do? I thought so too.

Conclusion

Water makes up about 71% of the Earth’s surface. Out of the land that humans can live on, us humans tend to congregate at places that provide more opportunities in exchange for poorer living conditions. As the population explosion continues, we increasingly find ourselves restricted to bird cages in a big concrete city.

If we want more freedom, we either work hard to afford houses with gardens, or we end up moving into the suburbs or rural areas. The longing to get closer to nature is a trend. We can see this from the popularity of products like the Noku Canvas and Terra, which we wrote about before.

Since we want to feel closer to nature, we should then do our part to protect our environment. This is where products like Noku Canvas and Terra are setting great examples for the industry. The former uses recycled plastics, and the latter works on conservation of wildlife.

Before I go, I have a suggestion for the Noku Canvas team. Why not take it a step further and use recycled water for the self-watering part? I would definitely not hesitate if the product could do that.

Hi, I’m Rainee.

I’m a reindeer that identifies as a bear. I’m the Critical Bear that does standup comedy.