Project Components: The Heart of GardenPi
In the GardenPi project, each component plays a crucial role in turning our garden into a data-driven ecosystem. Let's delve into the physical components that make GardenPi a reality.
Raspberry Pi: The Brain
The Raspberry Pi, a compact and powerful computer, serves as the central processing unit of our project. It's responsible for coordinating the sensors, running the software, and managing the data for visualization. I work with a Raspberry Pi Zero 2w for my project, but anything like it (RPi3b,4,5) or more powerful should work
Wires: Sending Signals Everywhere
Wires connect everything together so the sensors can sense. You need all types (m2m, m2f, f2f) so I got a couple multi kits
breadboard: the signal backbone
The breadboard connects the sensors and compute in a non-permanent semi-expandable fashion. I provide diagrams showing where you will place wire pins so that signals can travel to and from various components.
Capacative Moisture Sensors: Keeping Tabs on Thirst
Moisture sensors are vital for monitoring the soil's water content. In GardenPi, we utilize four capacitive moisture sensors, strategically placed to provide accurate readings for different plants
BME280 Sensor: microclimate Monitoring
A BME280 sensor is employed to keep track of the temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure offering a comprehensive understanding of the garden's microclimate
Light Sensor
A binary light sensor is included to monitor the presence of light based on a physically tuned threshold
PLANT WAtering Add-on
List of components needed for added capability to automatically water plants
Relay 4 Zero 3V 4 Channel Relay Shield
Gives relay control capability to the raspberry pi. This allows us to control the water pump (or anything else)
Water Pump
To deliver water to your plants
Wire Stripper
Helpful in cleanly accessing the bare wire without damaging it
Tiny Screwdriver
You need this to un/tighten the relay screws
Deep Tupperware Container
A simple basin to hold the water
Extras: connecting the device inputs
One of the big benefits of a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W is the small size and low power. This does often require extra dongles to connect i/o devices like keyboards and monitors. These are what I use and recommend:
HDMI to hdmi mini dongle
USB Micro 3 port dongle
small monitor
If you want a decent portable monitor for the pi that you can plug in in a remote location, this is a great 800x480 IPS option
garden Project enclosure: only the finest
Mobile Shelving
This was very helpful to place all my plants near a sliding glass window. It easily allows you to hold all of your components and several plants with wheels for easy mobility.
If you get everything listed you will spend under $300. If you are frugal and resourceful you can get away with as little as $100 probably. These are the components I use but you can expand however you want once you understand the basics of the project. I encourage you to use the affiliate links above so that I can help fund this as future projects. (Thanks!)
Now let’s setup the Raspberry Pi.