So this is going to be a rather strange post as at the time of writing its not actually implemented, the system is built in a waterproof container as well as the networking setup and so on. I figure that since I will only be able to get another Arduino and ethernet shield at a later stage I may as well write it up for now. Below are a few pictures of the system completed:

Completed System

Completed System

Completed System

With regards to the requirements for the system my part spec was as follows:

• One large reservoir – I got an 80 litre orange bucket for about R100
• Arduino + Ethernet shield – pretty stock standard
• 4x 10K resistors – used for the sensors
• 4x ‘sensors’ – sensors setup as before, coiled wire (soldered if you can) and taped on
• 8x galvanised steel washers – used as the actual sensors
• 2x transistors - used for the relay setup
• 2x relays - I used LT-5GS’ for this to switch the pumps on and off
• 2x Diodes – used for my relay setup
• 2x Water pumps - I used two (1 per pot) honestly because it was cheaper, although not as elegant as having a electrical valves and a more intricate watering system, mine were the 1.5A 12V bilge pumps (about R150 each)
• 2x Water pump power supplies – Obviously used for the pumps power, I used some cheap power adapters that didn’t cost much
• 1x Arduino power supply - See http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/WhatAdapter for more information
• Wires, Tape, Tv Series, Patience -  essential in setting this up :)

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I’ve always been harping on about growing my own tomatoes and other veggies and earlier this year i attempted it for a while.Unfortunately with me going away for various conferences and generally being a forgetful lout i managed to kill many many plants!

What i wanted was:

What I got was:

So recently I was playing with my arduino and thinking about this, and got the idea to try and create an automated gardening system where my plants where automatically given water/light/etc without me having to worry about it. There are some fantastic resources online like http://www.instructables.com/id/Garduino-Gardening-Arduino/ and http://makeprojects.com/Project/Garduino-Geek-Gardening/62/1.

I began planning something i’d want, and ideally it would have to be this:

• Moisture control for water
• Water pump to water them
• Light sensors for Lights and LEDs (red and blue for optimal growth)
• Humidity to keep my plants cosy
• Interface via LCD/Web to see how things are doing (if more water is needed etc)
• Solar panel to allow the system to be completely stand alone

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