I feel as though the article is using &quot;open-sourced&quot; more as a buzzword than as a phrase to convey actual meaning.<p>The only concern most gardeners have related to patents or copyrights is in their seed acquisition.  Those who care at all use heirloom seeds and save portions from their previous crop, whereas those who don&#x27;t just buy seed packets.<p>Now, if we&#x27;re talking minimal-effort gardening robots, with open hardware and freely modifiable firmware, that&#x27;s a different story, but the fine article didn&#x27;t mention anything more in that vein than a vague reference to optimized tomato boxes.<p>What would be a more truthful headline?  Summary of a Conference Talk on the Future of Gardening by Caleb Harper of MIT.