GreenPiThumb
Hardware
raspberry pi gardening bot
SHOW HN2017
537points
181comments
#20of 2,242 in 2017
Top 1%of 2017 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
15 positive, 49 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 21 critical, out of 86 comments about the project. Thread score +0.01.
Idea: 7 for, 11 againstExecution: 2 for, 5 againstDesign: 1 for, 3 againstDocs: 3 for, 0 againstPricing: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Well-written, funny and informative project write-up
From 2 comments
One of the better laid out Pi project summaries I've seen. Good work, I say.
inetknght on HNThis was a hilarious read (as well as informative). Fantastic work, fantastic writing!
_devillain_ on HN
Clean, readable codebase, open-sourced
From 2 comments
the codebase is really elegant. thanks for open sourcing everything!
water42 on HNThanks! We put a lot of effort into making the code readable, so I'm glad you found it pleasant to read.
mtlynch on HN
Fun hobby project in the spirit of tinkering
From 2 comments
I love these projects. They are always destined to fail from experience but are great fun anyway. I've tried a few times to do similar things. I'll catalog my disasters quickly:…
setq on HNSo great to read. This is exactly the kind of project the Raspberry Pi was designed to enable - doing something a bit odd (and arguably pointless!) but having fun and learning…
jnty on HN
Objections
Soil moisture sensors corrode or degrade when left in soil
From 3 comments
So the reason your moisture sensor project failed is because those types of moisture sensors are really designed for "stick it in, test it, and pull it out" testing. If left…
exelius on HNI vaguely remember that when I read about soil moisture sensors, they all needed to be cleaned and dried after every use. Basically, you couldn't leave them in the soil. Seemed…
fpgaminer on HNI am so excited to see this! I've been working on a very similar project to monitor my outdoor vegetable garden using a raspberry pi and some ESP8266's. Like you, I'm using this…
nrs26 on HN
Raspberry Pi is overkill for this; cheaper microcontrollers or timers suffice
From 3 comments
I had good results with using a simple timer board that switched the pump on and off at fixed intervals. The total setup (for 5 potted plants) costed around $25 including the…
option_greek on HNA raspberry pi is the wrong choice for this project from my perspective, complexity is far too high for a simple project. I looked at building the same thing (minus watering)…
grw_ on HNI recently build something similar for my balcony. But instead of a $30 raspberry I used a $9 NodeMCU: https://www.splitbrain.org/blog/2017-06/10-automated_plant_watering Also…
splitbrain on HN
Watering a single point with a tube leaves soil uneven; needs drip irrigation
From 2 comments
> The first time we pumped water into our planter, the tube directed a small stream into one spot, completely soaking that area but leaving the rest of the soil dry. I use…
un-devmox on HNIn the water distribution section the author mentions the other gardening software doesn't mention how they distribute water. There's a longer history of irrigation than there is…
thedaniel on HN
Lack of flyback diode risks damaging the MOSFET and Pi
From 1 comment
Hmm. A MOSFET for a motor switch might be overkill. Also, there's no flyback diode. So your Pi pretty much will let its blue smoke out when you get a flyback voltage, or at least…
lloydjatkinson on HN
Roots may be waterlogged; drainage and schedule need work
From 2 comments
The plants look waterlogged; the roots need air to breathe. Drain the water back into the reservoir (use a simple filter to prevent damage to the pump) and just use a schedule…
tp3z4u on HNDid the pot you use have holes in the bottom? It looks like you have it just sat on a desk so I'm assuming it's basically just a bucket? Your moisture problem could just be that…
danhardman on HN
Requests
Use a timer or fixed-interval watering instead of moisture sensing
From 3 comments
I'm not much of a gardener but the idea of measuring the moisture level seems ill-conceived... Namely because you are measuring at only a single point in your 3D region of soil,…
ldp01 on HNI had good results with using a simple timer board that switched the pump on and off at fixed intervals. The total setup (for 5 potted plants) costed around $25 including the…
option_greek on HNInstead of measuring soil moisture try: ``` - measuring air moisture of small upside down cup on top of the soil - measuring weight of the whole pot ``` Or don't measure at all…
bfu on HN
Better soil moisture measurement method
From 2 comments
I really like the addition of the web camera - it's a nice bonus on top of the more traditional temperature/humidity/light/moisture readings that most people incorporate into…
Eduardo3rd on HNI bought this moisture sensor for a gardening project https://www.tindie.com/products/miceuz/i2c-soil-moisture-sensor/ Haven't had the chance to try it out in soil yet, but…
2III7 on HN
Questions
How often should plants be watered between cycles
From 1 comment
Oh, thanks for the feedback. There are holes at the bottom of the planter. Is there something different we need to be doing to get it to drain properly? How much time do you…
mtlynch on HN
Is the code open source
From 1 comment
Thanks for reading. Your project looks really cool! Is your code open source? I'd love to check it out.
mtlynch on HN
Alternatives named
Parrot Flower Power
From 2 comments
A raspberry pi is the wrong choice for this project from my perspective, complexity is far too high for a simple project. I looked at building the same thing (minus watering)…
grw_ on HNI have a pretty similar project. But the problem with the mainstream moisture sensors is that they break after some time (or I did not find a good one). For myself I found the…
Dlotan on HN
Xiaomi Mi Flora monitor
From 2 comments
A raspberry pi is the wrong choice for this project from my perspective, complexity is far too high for a simple project. I looked at building the same thing (minus watering)…
grw_ on HNYou may also hack this product by Xiaomi.…
ShirsenduK on HN
Autopot self-watering system
From 1 comment
As a city dweller who has grown a lot of plants on balconies and in apartments I have also been down that road but I found a much easier solution to the watering. Autopots[1].…
INTPenis on HN
Tropf Blumat watering drippers
From 1 comment
As for the faulty soil moisture, check out tropf blumat. It's made in Germany (you know the Germans make good stuff). It uses osmosis and gravity to keep the soil moisture…
joshribakoff on HN
Grafana for monitoring
From 1 comment
I bought this moisture sensor for a gardening project https://www.tindie.com/products/miceuz/i2c-soil-moisture-sensor/ Haven't had the chance to try it out in soil yet, but…
2III7 on HN