Week 2

This week Sam and I went to a few local stores to look at more hydroponics equipment and we looked at lighting options. We are still having a hard time getting the equipment we need due to the chip shortages. We also have talked with Susan Erikson in order to get a place on campus in west hall. We prepared what we currently have to be moved so that next week when we gain access to the room on campus we can transport items and start building the growing setup. I also worked with some of the controllers we do have and getting them set up to work with our Pi. As soon as we gain access to the workspace we can start building and implementing our project.

Week 3

This week we got the space on campus and we moved a good amount of things up to there. We set up what we had and got the space ready for building the grow system. We are also still in the process of trying to get the anyleaf controller still. I worked on setting up the bread boards for the more basic input controllers we have. I have began looking into plants to purchase and how to transition them into the water solution as we do not have time to grow them from seedlings. This following week we plan to have the build phase of the grow setup and hopefully we will get that up and running. Again the chip shortage is putting a wrench in our plans but we have alternative workarounds we are considering.

Week 4

This week we got the growing systems into a working form and staged everything to be joined more permanently. We also ended up purchasing our second choice for the monitoring system for atlas. It is a much nicer product but is more money and less open source. Growing finally started this week as well with the planting of Bok Choy seeds into our rockwool medium. We also worked on some of the sensors and now have one working sensor for the water level. Now that we have a work space we are making good progress towards our goal. Another big thing we did this week was meet with different faculty members to show what our project is and talk about the big picture of this type of system and how it can tie together different aspects of champlains teachings. I am very happy to be getting my hands working and putting all the pieces together.

Week 5

This week we integrated sensors into our hydroponics system I checked for watertight seals on the build as well as installed the first submerged sensor into our basin. The seedlings are doing well and the pipes are ready to be glued after thoroughly cleaning them. We also got 2 sensors working and piped into mycodo and two webcams. Things are starting to come together and it seems like we will be able to implement many of the things we originally planned on. Once the monitoring system arrives we will be in good shape to complete our milestones. The seedlings will be transferred within the next week and we will have water being monitored and moving through the system soon.

Week 6

Week 6 consisted of drilling holes and rethinking a good portion of our operation. We finally got our monitoring package in and we found that it uses an open cloud service called ThingSpeak. We are tooling around with the idea of switching everything over to this service as it has a number of benefits and seems to be very compatible with a very large array of IoT devices. The sensors we currently have working could be switched over to this service with a few edits to the python code Sam has been working on. We are also waiting on the seedlings still but have been adding nutrients and additional lighting to increase the growth rate.

Week 7

This week we got Thingspeak starting to work and have gotten some sensors working with that instead of mycodo. We also ran water though the whole system for the first time and for the most part everything held. There are still a few small sections that need to be tweaked in order to get the water safely flowing. We also have used the pump and the flow meter in conjunction. The seedlings are showing true leaves and will be transferred over this week from the tray to the grow setup. We have been testing the water PH and nutrients as well and the conditions we have will be good for growth.

Week 8

Week 8 we did a live run of water through the systems as well as integrated the sensors into the water basin. We need to get an adjustible pump to allow for less overall water into the system. We also worked on getting the arduino sensors working well with thingspeak. This is the last stage of building and implementing things. Next week we will be fully monitored and growing.

Week 9/10

Over spring break I kept and eye on the plants and ensured they were getting what they needed. The week following spring break we transferred the plants into the tubes and installed the new pump and water distribution system. The plants are now fully automated for watering and lighting. From here we are planning on making adjustments and adding additional features but for the time being the system is working fully. I also planted lettuce seeds and hopefully we will be able to grown an additional type of crop for this project.

Week 10

This week we ran the water system full time and I have been doing daily checks to see if leaks are occurring. We have had really good plant growth and minimal leaks. The system is up and running and now we can focus on adding on the extras and monitoring the plants. This week we had a networking issue that we had to work out. The next step is playing around with alerts and possibly a twitter bot. I will also be researching alternative pipe configurations and plants to grow. I am very happy with where the project is currently at.

Week 11

This was a big week for our project for the first time the system ran the entire week without having to mess with it or shut it down. The plants are looking amazing and doing very well. I had a chance to network at the trustees dinner and told a few people about our project and found someone who seemed very interested in supporting the project. I also talked to some students who may be willing to pick up this project. I am super happy with how this project has come along I only wish we had more time to work on it and makes something more out of it. On a side note the system worked as intended today and it sent a low water alert as we had used enough water with the plants to trip the switch which was fantastic news once we realized we did not have a leak.

Week 12

This week went by with not much change our project is very close to being finished. Sam and I have been working on polishing documentation as well as writing down all of the possible improvements to the project. The plants are happy and healthy and we had to add more water to the system other than that things are wrapping up for the most part.

Week 13

Everything is wrapping up and the system is functioning well. We harvested and consumed a few of the plants to make room for the next set of plants. Our documentation is all polished and up to date. We now just need to make a power point presentation for Thursday and harvest the rest of the greens to show the class. Tomorrow I am giving an overview to the person who will be picking up this project after we leave. It has been a super fun and educational project and im very happy with everything we accomplished and learned.