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Summer of Green Tech Design Challenge
Forum Deceptive Smart Garden needs to be Smarter
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  • State Not Answered
  • Replies 28 replies
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  • smart planter
  • click and grow
Related

Deceptive Smart Garden needs to be Smarter

cstanton
cstanton over 2 years ago

image

I was gifted this rather smart indoor planter.

Its advertising and marketing is somewhat deceptive, for example, the title claims:

"Click & Grow Indoor Herb Garden Kit with Grow Light | Easier than Hydroponics Growing System | Smart Garden for Home Kitchen Windowsill | Vegetable & Herb Garden Starter Kit with 9 plant pods, White"

There's nothing "smart" about this (it only has lights and a timer), nor would you keep it on your kitchen windowsill (it has LEDs, why use outdoor light!?) and I would argue there's nothing hydroponics about it (you sit the plants in a bath of water).

Further to extend its height, you have to buy (or 3D print) extensions to the arms, and there's no temperature control or pump for the water.

Since it has 9 slots for 'plants', but frankly, you wouldn't want to fill each one as you're then starving the neighbour of food, I'm thinking it gives an opportunity for electronics to fit into one, maybe create an enclosure, have some temperature control, add something else.

The last time I tried anything involving moisture though, it resulted in degraded and rusted electronics, it did not end well. Obviously, I'm not using the right components.

So this gives an opportunity for hacking and making. I'm open to suggestions, and what components to use.

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  • cstanton
    cstanton over 2 years ago +2
    I was having problems with my 3D Printer, but I've discovered the issue was caused by having the fan pointed at the hot-end turned on too soon and too strong. The first 'mod' I've needed to make to this…
  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 2 years ago +1
    cstanton said: nor would you keep it on your kitchen windowsill (it has LEDs, why use outdoor light!?) I would probably keep it on the windowsill anyway and then use the LEDs at night. If the LEDs were…
  • cstanton
    cstanton over 2 years ago in reply to beacon_dave +1
    beacon_dave said: I would probably keep it on the windowsill anyway and then use the LEDs at night By default, the 'timer' is 16 hours on and the remaining hours off, there's no control and would definitely…
  • beacon_dave
    0 beacon_dave over 2 years ago
    cstanton said:
    nor would you keep it on your kitchen windowsill (it has LEDs, why use outdoor light!?)

    I would probably keep it on the windowsill anyway and then use the LEDs at night. If the LEDs were offset so that they lit the side furthest away from the window, then it might help keep the growth upright. Could you get enough solar during the day through a window to power the LEDs sufficiently through the night ?

    Monitoring the bath of water / soil moisture would be nice - I never manage to get that right.

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  • cstanton
    0 cstanton over 2 years ago in reply to beacon_dave
    beacon_dave said:
    I would probably keep it on the windowsill anyway and then use the LEDs at night

    By default, the 'timer' is 16 hours on and the remaining hours off, there's no control and would definitely involve invasive hackery.

    beacon_dave said:
    Could you get enough solar during the day through a window to power the LEDs sufficiently through the night ?

    I don't believe so, I don't even have an adequate window sill for the unit Smiley

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  • dougw
    0 dougw over 2 years ago

    LEDs typically wouldn't provide as much light as the sun so it would be interesting to try one growth season with LEDs versus one with sunlight. It looks like the main thing you might need is a little indicator of when to add water. Is there some sort of liquid fertilizer involved?

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  • beacon_dave
    0 beacon_dave over 2 years ago in reply to cstanton
    cstanton said:
    I don't believe so, I don't even have an adequate window sill for the unit

    Need to start over and 3D print one to fit... Slight smile

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  • charlieo21
    0 charlieo21 over 2 years ago

    Conformal coating to protect your electronics.

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  • beacon_dave
    0 beacon_dave over 2 years ago in reply to dougw

    Didn't someone on here do such a study ? Ben / Karen ?

    /challenges-projects/project14/goinggreen/w/documents/2959/build-awesome-technology-for-the-garden-or-backyard-by-going-green

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  • cstanton
    0 cstanton over 2 years ago in reply to dougw
    dougw said:
    so it would be interesting to try one growth season with LEDs versus one with sunlight

    Heh well, so far I've solely been using the LEDs. Though I've been using the 'pods' that they sell as it came with a collection of them.

    dougw said:
    Is there some sort of liquid fertilizer involved?

    No, but they allege that there's a "special formula" in their soil pods.You simply add water by default, but I'm definitely not sold into buying more of their soil pods.

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  • robogary
    0 robogary over 2 years ago

    My wife had something like this in a vacated bedroom and forgot about it. We had leaf lettuce 4 feet long, not too many good lettuce leaves on it.

    It needed to have growth detection switches and a beeper to remind someone to harvest .

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  • cstanton
    0 cstanton over 2 years ago in reply to charlieo21
    charlieo21 said:
    Conformal coating

    Any examples?

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  • beacon_dave
    0 beacon_dave over 2 years ago in reply to beacon_dave

    Follow up video

    /challenges-projects/element14-presents/benheck/w/documents/1827/ti-plant-booster-update

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