https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/categories/garden/ Recent content in Garden on Cocoacrumbs Hugo -- gohugo.io en Tue, 15 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-15-preparing-the-receiver/ Tue, 15 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-15-preparing-the-receiver/ Now that we have a nice enclosure, time to put everything inside. This time I used a Arduino Uno. For the display, I opted for the well known 32 by 8 dot matrix display, with MAX7219 drivers. At the back, a DHT22 humidity and temperature sensor will be placed and the 433 MHz receiver module. To round it of, an infrared receiver will be placed at the front for the remote control. https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-14-making-a-nice-enclosure/ Mon, 14 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-14-making-a-nice-enclosure/ For the enclosure I wanted something special and not some boring metal or 3D printed box most projects end up in (if at all). For this I found inspiration with DIY Perks on YouTube. First job is making a mold. Luckily, having a CNC mill, this is easily done (once you’ve decided how big you want to have the enclosure). Otherwise, it will take a bit of manual effort to saw the pieces to measure. https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-12-preparing-the-sender/ Sat, 12 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-12-preparing-the-sender/ Going wireless Since it’s a bit hard to get a dedicated wire into my house just to transfer the measurements to where I want to see them, I decided to try out a wireless solution. I ended up using the very inexpensive 433 MHz RF modules for Arduino which seems to work well for me since the signal only has to cover a distance of a few meters. On the other hand, the sender will be located below ground level and there is a metal lid above it as well that can block the signal. https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-11-getting-electricity-to-the-rainwater-storage-tank/ Fri, 11 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-11-getting-electricity-to-the-rainwater-storage-tank/ Getting electricity to the rainwater storage tank. Since an Arduino will be inside the rainwater tank, I will need some electricity there as well. I could exclude using batteries since an Arduino isn’t exactly low power and I needed to power some sensors as well. I have an electrical cable running through my garden to provide a garden shed (that still needs to be constructed)) with electricity. So, that seems ideal. https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-10-rainwater-storage-tank-levelmeter/ Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000 https://www.cocoacrumbs.com/blog/2018-05-10-rainwater-storage-tank-levelmeter/ How it started. I finally moved from an apartment to a house. That also meant, I suddenly had a garden to take care of. The first year was spend with cleaning up the ground. There was plenty of construction material leftovers from the construction company. And a lot of weed. Every evening I cleaned up a small area of the ground with a sieve sifting out stones and weeds up to 30 cm deep.