To do this, we needed three different sensors:
- A Light Sensor, which measures the ambient light cast on the plant;
- A Moisture Sensor, which measures the amount of water in the soil;
- A Temperature Sensor, which measures the temperature of the soil.
The Light Sensor was the simplest, and just required soldering wires onto the ends of a light sensor so that it could be extended to the board.
The Soil Sensor was a little trickier, as it involved taking two galvanized steel wires, affixing them to a foam base, and then soldering the wires to longer wires that plug into the arduino. Based on how much current passes through the soil (eg, how much resistance the soil provides) we can see the current amount of water in the soil.
The Temperature Sensor was the last piece was probably the least important and, unfortunately, one of the hardest. It required soldering several resistors and wires to each of the three prongs of the temperature sensor and then heatshrinking them so that they wouldn't short circuit at any one of the many points of failure. We did it incorrectly the first time, getting readings that were totally bonk, but when we rebuilt it again it ended up working out.
However, all said and done, we got the three sensors to work and all give us the correct readings! Now, onto our plants, and the hardware~!
-Maddy and Ben's Cool Team Extraordinaire
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