Fresh flowers for the wife?
Erlend
Posts: 612
I have googled around for a watering/moisture monitoring system for plants - I assumed that it was already invented. What I found was both inelegant and expensive. Now before I start putting toether a few probes with moisture sensors and bluetotooth, and a central unit - or maybe only an android app to receive signals direct, I am thinking surely this jmust have been invented before? I have a vision of just asking my wife to power up an app - and all her plants and their state are shown. Has anyone some tips for me? Something to bulid on?
Erlend
Erlend
Comments
A thumb and a watering can.
Taking care and responsibility of living things is half the fun of having plants at home. Else why not just get plastic ones?
Of course if you are going to get to an industrial scale growing tomatoes or whatever then yes that is a solved problem.
Better yet, make metal ones... this vid from our own Vern Graner uses a BS2 Homework Board. Just need to slow down the motion somewhat.
Monitoring soil moisture levels and controlling watering is not complicated. Moisture sensors can be made with two metallic pins or windings and an adc to measure soil resistance, and pumps or valves can be controlled to provide water when needed. The hard part is determining when the plant needs water. Soil resistance varies with the type of soil, and different plants need different levels of soil moisture for optimal growth.
Erlend
That's pretty cool :-)
Thanks for sharing.
And so, a one way fits all is never quite going to work if your house-mates have a passion for diversity in what they are growing.
If technology is a must, drip irrigation is definitely a plus. Providing humidity may be another handy item, but it can curl the paint right off the walls. Drip irrigation can be gravity feed and cuts down on both the mess and risks of over-watering. But it is never that simple. Some plants want warmth to grow, others do well in a cooler temperature and many just love to cycle. (You are never going to get a tulip to flower again unless you put the bulb in a refrigerator for a few weeks to fool it into thinking it has wintered over.)
And some plants really love high humidity (like many orchids), while others are happy with long dry spells.
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In other words, if you really are going to add technology to the mix -- taking an interest in identify what the plants are and what they specifically require will go a long way toward success.
If you are not interested in all that, you will continue to kill, but with more sophisticated gadgetry. Hydroponics is pretty much a mono-culture thing, so I woundn't bother with it unless you are into a cash crop.
BTW, flower production is indeed seasonal... unless you really desire to get ambitious and intentionally grow flowers out-of-season. So expect to see a parade of different flowers through out the year.
We have learned that plants 1) like a regular watering schedule and have different needs based on size and type, 2) are picky about the amount of sunlight they get - direct, indirect, indoor, outdoor, etc... 3) need nutrient rich potting soil and occasional nutrient supplements in many cases, and 4) need replanting into a bigger container as they grow. Usually the plants we buy have guides to these needs.
I'm interested in technology for supplementing our already healthy plant collection and helping me avoid trouble when I'm solely responsible for maintaining them periodically.
Sometimes just throwing in some water-soluble general plant food can work, sometimes it can't if the plant requires a particular of pH and NPK.
Google "Hobby Hydroponics" and see if the "mono-culture thing" still rings true for you..
Hydroponics is how you and I will be growing 90% of our food within the next twentyfive years.
in my household, We are at nearly 40% Hydroponic crops, right now...
Anything grows, from Asparagus, to Zebra melons.
-Tommy
Erlend
And many plants simply die off after flowering (these are called annuals). Other are biennials and perinials. Management for flower production and longevity are different. http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/wildseed/growing/annual.html
In some cases, you can extend the flowering by picking off spent flowers before they go to seed, but not always. In the case of orchids, removing the spent flower might actually take away from the the plant's future vitality and is often left to die all the way back before removal.
IOW, people that are said to have a Green Thumb are more likely to be aware of all the nuances and wide variety of tactics required to get the most pleasure out of gardening.
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Giving your plants a voice? Listening to your plants? Talking to your plants? I guess we still have a few hippy flower children that are tending their gardens.
How are you going to get all this right with technology. I dunno... LOL.
An if mosquitoes ever get rights to humane treatment, we are all in big trouble.
http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Plant-Whisperer/
It was done with 12Blocks, and produces Spin Code.
Plant: "Erlend".
This half wakes up Erlend.
Erlend: "What?"
And Erlend drifts back to sleep.
Plant: "Erlend"
This wakes up Erlend. And he is annoyed.
Erlend: "What now?" in an angry tone.
He rolls over and tries to get back to sleep.
Plant: "Erlend"
Now Erlend is fully awake and angry at being so.
Erlend: "What the **** do you want now" He shouts.
Plant, in a quite tone: "Can I have a glass of water?"
Sorry, but while you may; I won't. If I desire a vegetable garden, I will just do it all outdoors without the electric bill.
That's funny. I did Google "Hobby Hydroponics". The first few results I followed (that weren't for the actual book) were to blogs where people were using hydroponics to grow stuff outdoors on their balcony or roof.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics
keep researching the subject, And if you really want to see plants living on the edge, search for "Aeroponics"
It is a little unnerving to look down a long tube full of plant roots, and you wonder how do they live that way? where is the soil? this is not possible...
Sure, if you can get the vegetables to grow under your car, or if you are one of the lottery winners in your building, you can use a 5'X5' plot on top of the roof.
Hydroponics does not require electricity to grow plants, it makes it convenient for sure, but is not required, Hydroponic gardening is older than you might think.
For to keep a house plant alive during the primary care givers absence, just dump a cup of clean water on the base of the plant every three days,
they won't thrive, but they should survive until the real green thumb comes back to save them.
-Tommy
Tomatoes can be grown in pots as easily as in soil. And mildly fertilized with fish emulsion.
But the real trick is to get a toasty south facing wall and provide something to support the ability of the tomato vines to climb. Just one health tomato plant can easily cover 3 meters by 3 meters fo wall.
You can use drip irrigation by preparing a gallon or five gallon container with a small tube for watering.
If you don't have the space and can't provide the warmth, the tomatoes will not do well. And of course, if you buy plants already started; the plants may suffer transplant shock if you don't protect them from direct sunlight for a week or so after transplant.
I love that!
Maybe a moisture-detection triggering a speech synthesizer? It wouldn't say "Erlend" of course, it would say "Lisa", hehe.
Erlend