Arduino based plant watering system using Soil Moisture Sensors

epicseeds · Nov 20, 2016

I feel like this is the holy grail of watering systems for coco - a digital blumat!

[YOUTUBEIF]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0WRY56i8RA[/YOUTUBEIF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0WRY56i8RA

Here is another video with really good editing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_Q1WKCtWiA

Many respected coco growers here claim coco's true potential is unleashed with multiple feedings per day, keeping the moisture consistent.

Some even have found that you don't need runoff with a multifeed system.

The above video shows a system where actual moisture levels can be constantly monitored and recorded. When the coco hits a specifically defined moisture level, a dripper system can be activated.

Anyone here ever make something like this?

I have never soldered or coded a thing in my life but I make computers/servers for a living and am up for the task. Just trying to find a set of detailed instructions for it. Most other projects with arduino growing bots seem to revolve around climate control.

Thescot · Nov 21, 2016

The project is certainly doable but in my experience the Arduino moisture sensors are not to acurate. Often they just have a open/closed circuit with a potentiometer to adjust. I use a photon (Arduino with wifi) for monitoring environment it also has a nice development environment for people new to coding. Another issue may be the amount of units you would need to build. Which would include multiple arduinos. In most cases following k.i.s.s. is the way to go. Ive had great luck with blumats and Coco.

Carlz0r · Nov 22, 2016

I'm currently in the process of automating a micro-grow using a TI CC3200 launchpad microcontroller as well as a variety of sensors for soil moisture, temperatures, humidity, etc. The plan is to have it serve a simple webpage so that I can monitor my plants from wherever.

Fourtay · Nov 22, 2016

has anyone found a good moisture meter / probe?

ridoo · Nov 24, 2016

give a look to Grove sensors and shield
it's very simple to use, you can design whatever you want
the coding is not that hard

i assembled and coded a simple thermometer with ldc display and a led alert if temp goes above 25°C and screen change color from green to red in same time...lol...just wanted to test things okay

all this took me 4hours, and i'm not electrician nor electronician neither a coding guy

AgentPothead · Feb 18, 2019

Fourtay said:
has anyone found a good moisture meter / probe?

Still got the same question 2 years later! Anybody found a decent one that the traces don't dissolve in a week?

OakyJoe · Feb 18, 2019

i've tested a few different moisture meter sensors so far the last months & years...

from crazy cheap to expensive ones there isnt a HUGE difference to em... from what i've seen there a 3 different basic models...

AgentPothead · Feb 18, 2019

Alright thank you for the info! I just picked up a kit so I'm excited to try a bunch of stuff out and I noticed all the reviews for the moisture sensors said they sucked hard.

OakyJoe · Feb 18, 2019

FC-28

YL-69

HL-69

Analog Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensor- Corrosion Resistant
(This product measures soil moisture levels by capacitive sensing, rather than resistive sensing like other types of moisture sensor. It is made of a corrosion resistant material giving it a long service life. Insert it into soil and impress your friends with the real-time soil moisture data!)

Gravity: Analog Soil Moisture Sensor For Arduino

AgentPothead · Feb 18, 2019

The top 3 are the trash kinds that lose their electrical connections in a week, from my understanding. That 4th one looks promising, but some of the reviews for it mention it stops giving meaningful voltages within a month or two. I think it's just really hard to make something that is electrically capacitive but also have it survive in the soil we use which is chock full of "stuff". Thank you though I will check out that dfrobot gravity for sure!

OakyJoe · Feb 18, 2019

The top 3 are the trash kinds that lose their electrical connections in a week, from my understanding

this is what i also have figured out... they also doesnt work that precise...

AgentPothead · Feb 18, 2019

OakyJoe said:
this is what i also have figured out... they also doesnt work that precise...

It's weird that all the soil meters use prongs, like a metal stake, but all the arduino addons use like a printed circuit board. I bet somebody could make a decent one if they used the metal spike method. This guy has a video and he agrees with you on that fourth one being the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udmJyncDvw0

OakyJoe · Feb 18, 2019

AgentPothead said:
It's weird that all the soil meters use prongs, like a metal stake, but all the arduino addons use like a printed circuit board. I bet somebody could make a decent one if they used the metal spike method. This guy has a video and he agrees with you on that fourth one being the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udmJyncDvw0

indeed some interesting comments on this video

thanks for sharing!

AgentPothead · Feb 18, 2019

OakyJoe said:
indeed some interesting comments on this video thanks for sharing!

Very welcome bro! I'm falling down the arduino rabbit hole :biggrin:

$am · Mar 22, 2019

What software are you diy guys using to visualize data?

AgentPothead · Mar 22, 2019

Mostly the built in mathlab stuff on thingspeak.com. I did sign up for another one that I didn't use yet lemme find the email. AnswerMiner.com was the other one. I also really like ifttt.com it lets you set conditionals, so like you can have it fire off an email or send an SMS if your temperatures go above/below certain amounts, or any other data you have like humidity/moisture/co2/etc.

Ringodoggie · Mar 22, 2019

I use Google. https://developers.google.com/chart/

AgentPothead · Mar 22, 2019

Ringodoggie said:
I use Google. https://developers.google.com/chart/

What co2 monitor are you using if I can ask?

dank.frank · Mar 22, 2019

Tensiometer. Water retention curve.

Far too often we find ourselves trying to re-invent things that are standard in traditional agricultural. If these devices can trigger a well pump to irrigate hundreds to thousands of acres, then they can be utilized in our gardens as well.

dank.Frank

Ringodoggie · Mar 22, 2019

AgentPothead said:
What co2 monitor are you using if I can ask?

I went though a number of them before I found one that actually worked. Some models worked but without the proper math, they were useless and they had no drivers or programming.

I finally went with the MH-Z19. I have several different models in operation but the MH-Z19 is the only one I found programming for.

https://www.winsen-sensor.com/d/files/PDF/Infrared Gas Sensor/NDIR CO2 SENSOR/MH-Z19 CO2 Ver1.0.pdf

Arduino based plant watering system using Soil Moisture Sensors

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