Category: City Gardening

High Prairie

The prairie grasses on our balcony are looking happy. Today I upgraded the irrigation system electronics: it delivers water via 48 micro-drippers; moisture is measured by capacitive sensors in the soil at three points; the system communicates wirelessly with a Hubitat hub.

Prototype Soil Sensor

Did a science experiment: measured soil moisture with an inexpensive (as little as $2 apiece) capacitive sensor wired to a cheap Arduino computer which communicates wirelessly with our home hub. If I deploy this system, the biggest expense will be waterproofing the circuitry.

How to Control a Houseplant Irrigation System

I’ve just finished building an irrigation controller supporting two watering zones for a rolling houseplant rack. As I learn and experiment, I’ve changed the design of our irrigation controllers several times. Currently, the focus is simplification, reliability and autonomy. With the previous design, the Internet had to be available for plants to be watered at… Continue reading How to Control a Houseplant Irrigation System

Yet Another Controller

Finished building the latest controller for watering and misting one rack of houseplants. It communicates wirelessly over a Z-Wave mesh with a Hubitat home automation hub.

How to Build a Houseplant Irrigation Manifold

Different plants have different watering needs, including the volume and frequency of water that is delivered. It’s therefore convenient to divide an irrigation system into watering zones. Each zone delivers water to plants with similar water needs. An irrigation manifold distributes water to multiple irrigation zones. After experimenting with various designs for irrigation manifolds, I’ve… Continue reading How to Build a Houseplant Irrigation Manifold

Interior Landscape

Worked on expanding our houseplant irrigation system. My work (automated irrigation and lighting) is almost invisible. Dwight’s work (interior landscape) is very visible. The chairs are meant for the balcony, but, particularly in this hot weather, we’re happy to sit here.

Rewiring A Garden

Rewired this manifold for an irrigation system for a rack of indoor plants. The system has been performing well for two years. Next, I’ll replicate this system for a second rack of plants. When we start traveling again we’ll be able to water our plants from anywhere in the world.