Frigid-Care

Outdoor Garden Climate Regulator

Anna Elizabeth Clark

Background Methodology Conclusion

The article "Drought stress had a predominant effect over heat stress
on three tomato cultivars subjected to combined stress" brings
awareness to how factors such as nature affect plants negatively and
occur frequently. For instance, according to Zhou et al. (2017),
coupled drought and heat is harmful to plants because "shoot fresh
and dry weight, leaf area and relative water content of all cultivars
significantly [decreases] under [combined] drought [and heat]
[conditions]" ( p.1). By detailing the effects, people can perceive that
dryness in conjunction with hot weather is detrimental to plants.
Additionally, the journal tells how these two factors are the most
"common [experienced by] the crops cultivated throughout summer"
(Zhou et al., 2017, p.1). Considering high temperatures and drought
are almost inevitable, hobbyist gardeners need a way to protect their
plants when they are away. Therefore, at home, horticulturists could
benefit from a product that preserves their plants from these
stressors.
Engineering Goal
To construct a machine that protects outdoor plants from hot/dry
weather by automatically shading and watering them throughout the
day.
1. Attach a water timer to a hose spigot This system that automatically shades and waters outdoor plants is a
2. Drill holes that start small and progressively get larger in a straight line on a piece of PVC pipe reasonable and effective choice for protecting plants from hot and
3. Prime and cement a tee that has a female end to one side of the PVC then an elbow to the other dry weather as long as a more reliable motor is used in the process
of building it.
4. Prime and cement two PVC pipes to the bottom of the connectors
5. Twist in a male hose connector then a female hose connector to the tee
6. Create two hand-made wooden stakes to glue into the bottom of the two PVC legs
Next Steps
7. Build two rectangular wooden frames out of eight thin pieces of wood Different materials could be used to make this product sturdier. For
8. Attach the two wooden frames with a hinge crafted from plastic and staples example, a more reliable motor could be used. Also, changing the
9. Sew a cover out of tightly woven fabric for one of the frames base material to aluminum would help stabilize the base of the system
better than PVC. Furthermore, changing the Raspberry Pi to an
10. Secure the cover with two pieces of wood screwed to the back of the frame
Arduino could lower the cost of the entire product. Finally, modifying
11. Attach the non-covered wooden frame to the PVC leg that is connected to the elbow using zip-ties, screws and latex
12. Allow the other frame to lay over the PVC pipe with holes drilled in it the legs of the system could create a more adjustable and useful
outcome that could fit a wide variety of plants.
13. On the same frame, nail in a middle wooden insert
14. Coil a wire around the insert
15. Position the wire upwards and wrap it around a new thin piece of wood Citations
16. Attach a small pulley to the top of the wood with wire and Gorilla Glue
Zhou et al. (2017) Drought stress had a predominant effect over heat
17. Move on to creating a system to move the fabric covered frame up and down stress on three tomato cultivars subjected to combined stress.
18. Place a motor shield on top of a Raspberry Pi and screw them together Drought Stress Had a Predominant Effect over Heat Stress on Three
19. Connect the four wires from a stepper motor to the motor shield by screwing them in place Tomato Cultivars Subjected to Combined Stress. Retrieved from
20. Connect a battery cap to the motor shield by screwing the two wires in place then attach the 9 volt battery to the battery cap https://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=16
&sid=c28c4114-efee-4dc3-af54-f0cd19a1223c@sdc-v- sessmgr01
21. Supply power to the Raspberry Pi by attaching a battery pack
22. Place the motor shield, battery pack, Raspberry Pi, and the 9 volt battery in a water proof box

Results 23.
24.
Drill five holes in the top of the box
Place the stepper motor shaft in the middle hole
Results of Testing the System With the Weaker Stepper Motor 25. Secure the stepper motor with two zip ties that are threaded through the remaining four holes
Figure 1 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 26. Hook the Raspberry Pi up to a monitor and code two if- then statements using a Bluetooth keyboard that will tell the stepper motor when to turn
Water yes yes yes yes yes forward and backward and how many times to turn
turned on
27. Detach the Raspberry Pi from the monitor and place it back in the box
Water yes yes yes yes yes
28. Once the box is closed attach it to the wooden frame that is attached to the PVC leg by using zip ties and Gorilla glue
turned off
29. Place a roll of monofilament on the stepper motor shaft
Shade no no no no no
lifted 30. Thread the monofilament through the pulley and attach it to the other end of the second wooden frame
Shade no no no no no 31. Place the two stakes in the ground and attach the hose
lowered

Results of Testing With a Stronger Stepper Motor

Figure 2 Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5
Water yes yes yes yes yes
turned on
Water yes yes yes yes yes
turned off
Shade
lifted
Shade
no

no
no

no
ye no

no
no

no
no

no
lowered

Note: Before the second trial the stronger burned out.

Figure 3: Shade lifted Figure 4: Shade lowered

Figure 6: This is a close-up view of the box
Figure 5: This a blueprint for Frigid Care for electronics from Figure 1 opened.