Subj : Re: moisture sensor
To   : Jeff
From : Avon
Date : Mon Jan 24 2022 17:11:22

On 19 Jan 2022 at 11:12p, Jeff pondered and said...
 
 Je> This week I built an indoor herb starter garden.

sounds cool.

 Je> I found and 3D-printed some seed planters that consist of two halves that
 Je> snap together. When it's time to transplant, the two halves can be

have you found the design to be good Jeff?

 Je> I also bought 5 capacitive soil moisture sensors and wired them, a 16x2
 Je> display, and an LED to an Arduino Nano, then programmed it to monitor the
 Je> soil moisture. The display cycles through the 5 sensors, displaying pot
 Je> number, plant name, low-moisture threshhold, and current moisture
 Je> moisture level. The plant name and low-moisture threshhold are
 Je> hard-coded for each pot. If the moisture level of any pot drops below
 Je> that pot's low-moisture threshhold, then the LED will light and a
 Je> watering-alert indicator will show on the display when that pot cycles
 Je> around. The cables included with the sensors were somewhat short, so I
 Je> also built a support for the sensor protoboard that attaches to the
 Je> aforementioned bracket and keep the electronics above the water level.

That sounds really neat. I have not played with Ardunio gear but it sounds like it would be something ideally suited for what you have used. Are there scripts along these lines you can download from other Ardunio users or is this something you just whipped up yourself ;-)

 Je> moist," "when the top is dry to the touch," etc.) I planted oregano,
 Je> thyme, basil, and rosemary (the latter in two pots). Upon reflection, I
 Je> think I should have planted the same plant in all 5 pots, but set the
 Je> threshholds at different values and see which plant did best. I might do
 Je> that next time, or I might build a second garden.

I agree, same plant in all pots may have been the way to go, but then given the way you went you get more herb goodness :)

Best, Paul

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