instructables

Arduino Plant Monitor

by stregoi

Favorite The plants can be monitored online as well. In my

It can be hard enough to keep your plants alive and
healthy if you dont have time to water them. It gets
even harder if you are a trying to plant different
species that requires different climats conditions.
The Idea with this build is to make a seedstarter /
mini-Greenhouse where i can mimic the necessary
conditions for different plants.
Every one of my plants, have a special watering /
lightning and temperature needs. The requirements of
each one are stored in a database, and the plant is
monitored through 3 sensors (Light / Temperature /
moisture). Whenever a sensor register a value bellow
the saved threshold the Arduino reacts, by turning the
water pumps, lightning or the fan to cool the plant.
setup i have 16 plants. To make this Instructables
short and clear i am not going into details explaining
how software and hardware works, instead i will link
to Instructables, that can explain topics. I will also
share Both my code and schematics, which are
commented.
Enjoy, and please remember to comment if you have
any suggestions and ideas .... and if you like my
Instructable project, please vote for my entry to the
contest:)
( I will keep editing the Instructables over the next
couple of days, uploading my code and so on :)

Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 1

Step 1: List of materials

Here is what you needs : 74HC595 shift registers - 1 USD for 10 pieces

Micro-Sprinklers, 20 nozzles, 10 meter hose - 8.90 74HC4051 multiplexers - 1,85 USD for 10 pieces
USD
16 channel 12 V Relay - 12,52 USD
Storage Plastic box, 45 L, 56x39x28 cm - 5.73 USD
NPN resistor - 1,35 USD for 5 pieces
Mini Water pump DC 3-12V RS-360SH - 3.94 USD
moisture sensor - 1,12 USD
Normally close, solenoid valve, 12 V - 5.2 USD
PCB manifacturing - 17 USD ( you get 10 copies ! )
Ultrasonic Module HC-SR04 - 1.21 USD
Aquarium Plastic tube, 3 meter - 2,89 USD
Photoresistor Sensor Module - 0,99 USD
many x wires and connectors
Arduino mega 2560 - 6 USD

Adafruit CC3000 wifi module - 44 USD

Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 2

Step 2: The Frame And Earth trays
The Frame:
The frame it self is made of an old IKEA Expedit, the
one i had laying around had 16 holes in it, which was
great for what i intended to do. It wasn't manipulated
what so ever. Every square was 39x39x39 cm, large
enough to starting a grow of a plant.
Cost : I had stuff so i used - 0 USD ( A new IKEA
Expedit - 82 USD )
Step 3: Watering Sprinklers
Watering Sprinklers:
I was quite in doubt here on how to proceed , there
are different options, starting by just setting the water
tube into the tray and let the water run or use
something to spray the plat from above. I decided to
go with the second Option.
I found some Micro Sprinklers in E-bay, They seemed
fine since they only sprayed on a small area, so the
wall of my boxes didn't became wet. Once received,
Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 3
The Trays:
The trays were made from som cardboard, i cut it so it
could fit inside the boxes of the closet, and the
cardboard pieces were taped together. The cardboard
tray was then set inside a plastic bag, to make it
water resistant and then filled with some earth.
Cost : I had stuff so i used - 0 USD
the holes of the sprinklers were too narrow for my low
pressure pumps so i had to make the hole a bit bigger
using a drill, i went with 1 mm hole, that worked fine.
Then i secured the sprinkles at the top of every box
with some wires and staples.
Cost : Micro-Sprinklers, 20 nozzles, 10 meter hose -
8.90 USD
Step 4: The water Container
The Water Container:
The water container is made of a storage plastic box
from IKEA, The box holdes 45 L. In the cover i cut
holes with my soldering iron according to the
placement of my pumps. That way the wiring of the
pumps was outside the box.
Cost : Storage Plastic box, 45 L, 56x39x28 cm - 5.73
USD
Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 4
The Pumps:
For the pumps i chose 3-12V low pressure pumps,
although they are a bit noisy, but it wasn't that bad,
and they worked as they should. The pumps were
secured to a piece of wood of the length of the water
container, and went through the holes that were cut in
the cover of the plastic container cover.
Cost : Mini Water pump DC 3-12V RS-360SH - 3.94
USD ( I used 16 of these = 63 USD )
Step 5: Adding Filling valve and Ultrasonic sensor
The Filling valve:
The Filling valve is a normally close 12 V solenoid
valve. At the side of the plastic container i cut a hole
with my soldering iron, and the valve is secured with
a wire and glued with a glue gun. The Valve is then
Attached to a watering hose.
Cost : Normally close, solenoid valve, 12 V - 5.2 USD
Cost : Ultrasonic Module HC-SR04 - 1.21 USD
se this instructable for more details about measuring
Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 5
The Ultrasonic Sensor:
For automatic refilling the container, i had to know to
level of the water. To achieve that, a couple of
options are available. You can either use a water
sensor with a couple of wires or use a Ultrasonic
sensor. I went with the second option as i found it
more reliable. I cut a couple of holes at the cover of
my plastic container and then i secured the Ultrasonic
sensor to it with a glue gun.
water level
Step 6: The software : The web interface
The Web Interface:
I wanted to be able to control the growth of my plants
through my plants and also be able to follow the
statistics of every plant. I am no programmer, so
surely the code can be written more effectively, but it
works !.
The website is programmed through JQuery/PHP and
i used a MySQL Database. The website is hosted at
000webhost.com which is a free web hosting service.
I wont go into details of explaining the code, but i will
be listing the function of pages i have. I will attach my
code here so it can be used freely.
Index.php
The index page, listes the plants i have, their picture
and name, date of planting and the remaining days to
harvest. It simply reads the database and displays it.
The info page shows different informations about the
plant.
Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 6
Details.php
The detail page, shows information about the chosen
plants, here it displays the last read sensor value
from the moisture, temperature and light sensors, the
values are read by connecting to thingspeak.com. in
addition to that i have toggle switches to manually
activate the water pump, the growing light and the
fan.
Stats.php
The stats page shows the values mesured by my
sensors. The values are presented in a chart. The
values are read by connecting to thingspeak.com.
There i made a channel of every plant. Every channel
have 3 fields; moisture, temperature, light.
Info.php
Step 7: The Software : The Arduino
The Arduino software:
The hardest part for me was the electronics and the
coding for the Arduino, as i mentioned earlier i am no
programmer, so i had to make a lot of research and
many questions at the Arduino forum. A Special
thanks for Kurt Mckelvey, who helped with some
good advices.
I am not planning to go through my code here, as i
am going to attach it here and share it, but i will just
explain the logic behind it.
In the loop section, the program starts by connection
to the internet through the wifi module, then reads the
sensors values through the multiplexers, and then
Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 7
upload the values to the thingspeak.com website,
then those values are compared to each plants
needs, if the program findes it necessary the pumps
are turned on, so the plants gets water, light and air
according to its need. Those are turned on though a
shift register. Between every second watering, the
ultrasonic sensor measures the depth of water inside
the container, and then open the solenoid valve if the
water level is low. The internet connection is then
closed. The cycle runs 3 times a day.
Se This tutorial to understand more about shift
registers, and this tutorial to know more about
multiplexers.
Step 8: The Electronics
The Electronics:
That was a confusing part, and needed a lot of
research, a journey where i learned a lot of stuff, and
this was a big reward itself. At the beginning, i was
only thinking about making a project involving
moisture sensors for 32 plants, and as the project
evolved and got a bigger picture, the light and
temperature sensors idea emerged. I had also a
better idea on how to optimise the hole settings.
Unfortunately i am only going to share my old
hardware involving the first set-up, since i want to
want to add my project to contests, and i did not
receive the parts for the light and temperature just
yet.
I am sure this part will confuse alot of
people,sorry for that, but as soon as i will get the
boards and solder, i will update this step.
I had a lot of trial and errors soldering the parts, and
due to the many connection of the shift-registers and
the multiplexers and lot of wires i got confused. The
solution to that was to make a PCB, that was a totally
new field to me. After a bit of research i made my self
familiar with the Eagle software, i drew the
schematics and then sent it to manufacturing though
dirtypcbs.com, a cheap, and reliable service.
Costs :
1 x Arduino mega 2560 - 6 USD
1 x Adafruit CC3000 wifi module - 44 USD
4 x 74HC595 shift registers - 1 USD for 10 pieces
Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 8
5 x 74HC4051 multiplexers - 1,85 USD for 10 pieces
2 x 16 channel 12 V Relay - 12,52 USD each
1 x NPN resistor - 1,35 USD for 5 pieces
32 x moisture sensor - 1,12 USD Each ( 35,84 USD )
many x wires and connectors
PCB manifacturing - 17 USD ( you get 10 copies ! )
Shift registers and multiplexers:
I went with an Arduino Mega due to the many pins
needed. In hope for decreasing the number of the
digital pins i used 4 shiftregisters, that way 3 Arduino
pins allowed me to control 32 water pumps, and for
the analog pins i used 5 multiplexers, 1 Master, and 4
slaves, that way using 6 digital and 1 analog pin of
my Arduino i could control 32 sensor inputs.
Wifi and moisture sensors:
I used the Adafruit CC3000 wifi module. For the
moisture sensors i used 32 cheap moisture sensors,
To avoid corrosion of my sensors i used a transistor,
so the moisture sensors are only powered when the
reading takes place.
Relay:
The pumps and solenoid valve are connected to the
Arduino though 2, 16 channels, 12V relays.
Step 9: Testing

Here i am sharing a bit of my testing of the fan, the water pumps and the lights though my relays. Sorry for the
quality of the video. I was using my Gopro, so a bit difficult to sight when you don't have a screen. But anyway it is
showing the Concept :)

https://youtu.be/rPVhWhPvuyk

Step 10: Final Thoughts

Arduino Plant Monitor: Page 9