Soil Hydration Monitor and Watering System - Orchid Board

GVSU Grad Student · #1 02-06-2006, 08:58 PM

Havent received any feedback here, so I changed the questions and updated a feature: it would allow the user to monitor the light exposure to the plants.

Doing a small project for grad school, and looking for some feedback on a potential soil watering control system. The idea is to enable growers in semi-arid areas to control / optimize the water they use on their crops. This would be a networked sensor system that has a small battery backup but gets its power primarily from the sun. It would enable the user to measure the amount of water dispensed from the unit, and also measure the soil hydration level as the control variable. My questions are:

(1) Would the product be useful for home/personal usage, or business usage?

(2) How much time do you spend daily watering your plants?

(3) Have you ever had problems over- or under- watering your plants?

(4) Would you prefer a networked system or standalone units?

(5) If a standalone unit is preferred, would you prefer a lightbar display (i.e. Low -- Med -- High) or a numerical display with characters?

(6) Would you be willing change batteries in the unit? How often?

(7) How large could it be? Size > Remote Control / Breadbox / Monitor - sized?

(8) Would you install this system yourself, or would you rather have it be professionally installed?

(9) How much would this system be worth to you?

< 200.00, 200.00 - 250.00, 250.00 - 300.00 , > 300.00

(10) Are there any options / requirements that you would like to add to this product?

(11) Could we contact you again for further questions / demonstrations?

Thanks,

GVSU Grad Student

GVSU Grad Student · #2 02-14-2006, 08:31 PM

:?

This has been viewed > 20 times, perhaps someone could reply please?

:wink:

Susan in Houston · #3 06-05-2006, 09:26 AM

1. Anything that makes life easier would be useful. I would think it would be more useful in a commercial business application.
2. Orchids, except mounted, are not watered daily. I probably spend half an hour per day spraying the mounted ones, checking out the others, talking to them.
3. I tend to underwater.
4. For a greenhouse, a networked system would be better, for inside a standalone.
5. Low-Medium-High
6. Once or twice a year.
7. Individual ones should be at least as small as a cigarette pack, smaller would be better. Networked ones could be larger.
8. I would install it myself.
9. This would not be particularly useful to me, so I probably would not buy.
10. For orchids, it would be nice to include a humidity monitor.
11. yes

RobertT · #4 04-03-2007, 10:30 PM

1 Depending on the cost, size and the cost would determine the usefulness along with features.
2 I spend a couple of hours a day watering in the outside and inside plants.
3 yes to problems over and underwatering
4 That would depend on sensor and operational / control options
5 A numerical display indicating % moisture would be best as I would be using it in soil, hydro, and bark mixtures
6 Yes but a solar cell to recharge the batteries would be a benifical item
7 Sensors should be as small as you are able to make them if using radio transmission to the controller then the controller size would not matter as it would not need to be directly in contact with the sensor unit and could be programmed with software and a laptop
8 It would be better if I could install it myself for home/personel use, but a professionally installed unit would be good for busisness use.
9 The value of the unit would depend on the features and ease of operation and control variables
10 I would like for you to look into flow control for each sensor as the different sensors could then be programmed for the type of soil or soiless medium it is used in and also to control misting systems for humidity.
11 Yes you may contact me again with further questions, T&E / demonstrations as I do T&E of products other than gardening ones as a part time job and would be glad to assist.

Ray · #5 04-03-2007, 11:13 PM

Measuring the moisture content of SOIL is easy. Doing so in an open environment of a good orchid-growing medium is much more difficult.

You had better figure out how to do it reliably before worrying about the marketing factors.

Shadow · #6 04-04-2007, 06:11 PM

Soil watering control system? Blumat makes them but I didn't buy it because it is useless for my orchids because they don't grow in soil.