:L Mustard

a prototype IOT Hydroponic Garden       

Concept
Construction
Connected
Crops

Meet :L Mustard

For several years now I've had the idea in the back of my head that I want to, hope to and/or that I am going to build myself a hydroponic garden "one day", and aside from a list of features I’d hoped to include in the project, no actual schematics, blueprints or planning of any sort really was ever done.

As of Nov19, 2022 that is no longer the case, as :L Mustard v1.0, or "the Colonel" as I like to refer to it, has been constructed and is online.

Currently, the Colonel consists of a single 5 foot bed with 7 pots spaced 6" apart, and was constructed from a length of vinyl downspout. My plan is to allow for easy expansion by stacking extra layers vertically, with the drain of each level feeding the mouth of the one below it, until eventually returning to the reservoir when draining out of the lowest level. There is a second bed ready to be installed,  I just need to come up with a permanent frame/rack for it. (expansion is on the books for v2.0)

There is a 95 Gallon per hour aquarium pump to circulate fluid, and a large juice jug as the Colonel's reservoir. (The jug may need to be replaced/enlarged when the second bed is added as part of the 2.0 upgrade.)

Construction Journal

Through this page, I will track my journey in making an IOT hydroponic garden in my living room; The important considerations, steps taken, and what I'm learning with every success and failure along the way.

For the sake of organization, I’m going to break this project down into 3 key areas:

  • The Body will include anything structural. The troughs, pots, frames, support skeleton etc.

  • The Heart involves the circulation system: irrigation lines, the pump, and fluid.

  • The Brain relates to the data, sensors, computers and programming.

There are two onboard computers working together to monitor a small array of sensors, and automatically post their data to a google spreadsheet. Currently connected are a TDS sensor for the growing solution, as well as a combined  Temperature and Humidity sensor, with lots of room for extra expansion.  

The details of what it took to get this far are outlined in the Construction journal below.