Hydroponic Garden

This is a Hydroponic Garden we made for growing herbs, and leafy vegetables conveniently. The garden is designed to require low user input and take up a minimal amount of space.

Materials List:

• Wooden planks & nails (Any relatively strong type of wood and nails work),
• 3 2-2.5" diameter PVC pipes (cut to desired length)
• plastic garden mesh net pots
• a drill bit with approximate diameter of the net pots
• drill
• PVC cutting device (such as a handsaw)
• PVC end caps (matching diameter with pipes)
• rubber hosing 2 sizes: (Small size fitting a water pump and another approximately 1/2 inch diameter).
• drill bit with matching diameter to rubber hosing
• Screw eye-rings
• String
• Approximately 10 gallon Bucket
• Approximately 3/4 " diameter PVC pipe with accompanying drill bit size.
• Hot Glue or Silicone glue
• Rock Wool
• Plant Seeds

Electronics:

• Arduino board with jumper wires & bread board
• 2 Relays
• 3 Thin strips of wood (same length as PVC pipes)
• 3 LED strips (same length as strips of wood)
• Wires
• Soldering iron & solder
• Small Water pump

Decide upon the length of the Hydroponic garden rows you want. I'd recommend around 3 feet. Then, cut 3 PVC pipes of the decided length. Also cut the thinnest PVC pipe around a foot long. Now, drill (Rubber Hose size) holes on 2 of the endcaps with the bottom of the hole right below the center of the endcap. Drill one hole using the approximately 3/4 inch drill bit (for the smallest PVC pipe) in the bottom the the bottom pipe. Now, drill holes using the largest diameter drill bit on one side of the 3 large PVC pipe, make sure the holes are all aligned. They should be spaced about 3-4 inches apart from each other. Attach the endcaps to the PVC pipes. Insert the smallest pipe into the corresponding hole until the pipe reaches about half-way into the tube. Seal and secure the last pipe using waterproof glue/sealant.

Create a support shelf for the PVC pipes using the Wooden Planks and nails: position two strong planks of wood (3/4-1" x 1-2" x 4.25-4.5') parallel to each other and as far apart form each other as the outer diameter of the large PVC pipes, nail them perpendicularly into a sturdy platform/base (I used a 1.25 foot long piece of wood) Repeat this process one more time. Now, cut a piece of wood about half a foot shorter than your large PVC pipes, secure the tops of the parallel wood pieces to the bottom of the ends of this plank. You should now have a rectangular frame with supports on the bottom and a support on the top. The PVC pipes should fit snugly between both vertical pieces of wood on both ends. Now, cut small pieces (6) of the 3/4-1" x 1-2" wood and insert between the parallel wood strips. Position the first small piece about 1.5 feet of the ground and each subsequent piece a foot above the previous Do this for both sides, 3 on each side. Nail them in. Now insert the PVC pipes so that they are resting above the small pieces of wood, make sure the pipe with the protruding PVC pipe below is on the bottom. Each PVC pipe should be directly above or below and parallel to the other pipes. Attach the endcaps so that each pipe is alternating the hole side.

Insert larger Rubber Hose cut about 1.75 feet long into each of the holes in the endcaps. put the other end into the hole closest below. Position the bucket so that the small protruding PVC pipe on the bottom is within the bucket. Drill a hole the size of the smallest rubber tubing into the top of the top PVC pipe. Attach the small hose to the pump on one end and insert the other end into the hole on the top PVC pipe.

Wire the Arduino according to the above image. Make sure that the wires go into the adequate spots for the relays: they should be on the side that says: GND, VOC, and IN#. Import the code into the latest version Arduino and send the code to the board. Remember to connect it to a power source.

Solder/attach the power and ground wire to the pump, solder on two separate wires to the original power wire, insert them into the right two attachment areas of the relay. Connect, the remaining power wire to a power source. Directly connect ground to the power source. Now, wire 3 led strips in parallel, connect ground straight to a separate power source and split up the power into two cables for the two right pins on the second relay. Make sure the LEDs have more than a foot between each other.

Input the code into the Arduino application, modify timeDelay based upon personal specifications, and upload to the Arduino board, then, run the program.

CODE:

const int relayPin1 = 9;

const int timeDelay1 = 9000;

const int relayPin2 = 10;

const int timeDelay2 = 1000;

;

void setup()

{

pinMode(relayPin1, OUTPUT);

pinMode(relayPin2, OUTPUT);

}

void loop()

{

digitalWrite(relayPin1, LOW);

delay(timeDelay1);

digitalWrite(relayPin1, HIGH);

delay(timeDelay1);

digitalWrite(relayPin2, LOW);

delay(timeDelay2);

digitalWrite(relayPin2, HIGH);

delay(timeDelay2);

}

Glue each LED strip to one of the small wooden strips. Now, screw on eye hole screws on the sides of the wooden strips spaced about the same distance as the support stand (These strips will hang below above each large PVC pipe). Screw matching eye hole screw on the bottom of the support wood pieces for the PVC pipes, make sure they are aligned with the wooden strips. Pass a length of string into the top eye screw and then through the screw on the wooden strip so that it is arranged as a pulley. Repeat this step for each pair of screws on each level. You should be able to raise and lower the LED lights using one end of each string.

Add a cube of rock wool into each plastic net cup and plant 1-2 seeds, let them germinate. Once sprouted put them into each hole on the PVC pipes except for the hole for the rubber hose. Add water to the bucket and turn on the program. Adjust the timing in the code based upon how often you want to water the plants and turn on the lights. Adjust the height of the LEDs based upon the size of the plants.