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Rooftop Garden Bed 01

A project log for Indoor/Outdoor GrowBot

This is an opensource, modular garden system designed specifically for automation, IoT monitoring and remote control.

progressthProgressTH 04/08/2016 at 19:470 Comments

April 9, 2016 | ProgressTH The first 1x1m raised bed is up and running. There's some vermiculture taking place in it on one side, basil and eggplant growing on the other. There is also an attempt being made to prototype a basic solar-powered irrigation system.

It consists of a 12v peristaltic water pump, a small solar panel, and a water reservoir. When the sun is intense enough, it will empty the water reservoir into the raised bed. The small pump moves about 6000mL an hour and we're not really sure how this can be even distributed over the entire 1x1m bed.

Of course this will eventually require a charging solution for a battery to run an automated system using moisture sensors, timers, or weather data, and one that could run off battery power at any time day or night.


More immediately will be the construction of beds 02 and 03. 01 is built using ferrocement. 02 and 03 will be using bamboo to test their resilience in the hopes of perhaps growing a little bamboo as a renewable source of building material in situ. We have a mountain of 3m long 40mm diameter bamboo poles waiting to be cut and bound to construct the beds this week.

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