Collaborate Disseminate
Watering and fertilizing crops to provide enough food for a changing world is a major challenge in agriculture. Now, scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a “smart soil” that can keep plants better hydrated and provide a contro… Continue reading “Smart soil” grows 138% bigger crops using 40% less water
Plants tend to need a regular supply of water to stay happy. If you’re a green thumb, it’s one of the primary things you should take care of before you …read more Continue reading Automated Drip Watering Device Keeps Plants Happy
Farmers will often place sheets of plastic on the ground along their crop rows, in order to help hold moisture in the soil. According to a new study, however, the use of wax-coated sand may be a cheaper and greener way to go.Continue ReadingCategory: S… Continue reading Could wax-coated sand replace plastic mulch in farmers’ fields?
While solar farms are a great source of green energy, many people don’t like the fact that they occupy land which could otherwise be utilized for agriculture or housing. A new project is exploring an alternative, by placing solar panels over canals tha… Continue reading Project Nexus aims to cover California canals with solar panels
While it’s important to keep crops irrigated, you certainly don’t want to overwater them – particularly in regions where water is scarce. With that in mind, scientists have now developed a method of gauging the moisture levels in soil, using an ordinar… Continue reading Consumer camera tech used to measure moisture of agricultural soil
Irrigation controllers have been around for a long time, often using similar hardware inside that would be familiar to the average maker. However, many of the products on the shelf at your local hardware store can be quite expensive for what amounts to a microcontroller, display, and relay board. [oscillatory] …read more
Continue reading Irrigation Controller Uses Google Calendar To Make Things Easy
Climate change could disrupt nearly half of the world’s groundwater supply within 100 years. Continue reading We’re Sitting on a Groundwater ‘Time Bomb,’ Scientists Warn
Our five rounds of Hackaday Prize 2018 challenges have just wrapped up, and we’re looking forward to see where the chips fall in the final ranking. While we’re waiting for the winners to be announced at Hackaday Superconference, it’s fun to take a look back at one of our past winners. Watch [Reinier van der Lee] give the latest updates on his Vinduino project (video also embedded after the break) to a Hackaday Los Angeles meetup earlier this year.
Vinduino started with [Reinier]’s desire to better understand what happens to irrigation water under the surface, measuring soil moisture at different …read more
Continue reading Vinduino Water-Smart Farming – Now with LoRa!
Watering the garden or the lawn is one of those springtime chores that is way more appealing early in the season than later. As the growing season grinds along, a chore that seemed life-giving and satisfying becomes, well, just another chore, and plants often suffer for it.
Automating the watering task can be as simple as buying a little electronic timer valve that turns on the flow at the appointed times. [A1ronzo] converted his water hose timer to solar power. Most such timers are very similar, with a solenoid-operated pilot valve in line with the water supply and an electronic …read more
Continue reading Battery-Powered Watering Timer Converted to Solar on the Cheap
There are a few very popular irrigation systems entered into this year’s Hackaday Prize. In fact, last year’s winner for the Best Product portion of the Prize was the Vinduino, a soil moisture monitor for vineyards. Most of these irrigation systems use drip irrigation or are otherwise relatively small-scale. What if you need something a little more powerful? That’s where [Patrick]’s PTSprinkler comes in. It’s a massive lawn sprinkler coupled to a computer controlled pan and tilt mount. Think of it as a remote controlled Super Soaker, or the Internet of squirt guns. Either way, it’s a great entry for …read more
Continue reading Hackaday Prize Entry: Pan And Tilt Sprinkler