“Help your baby plants get the sunlight they need while protecting them from wild temperature variations.
Why this project?
Like many people, my parents grow plants from seed in the early spring. When the seeds sprout my parents place them outside in a box with glass on top to allow the seedlings to get the sunlight they need while protecting them from cold temperatures and wind.
The baby plants stay in the box until it’s warm enough outside that they will be okay on their own (about a month) and then they are planted in the garden.
The problem is that plants like a fairly narrow range of temperatures and the box can go from 50C all the way down to below freezing at night. So my parents are constantly going outside to check on them and keep them safe.
And most nights my parents bring all the plants back in the house just to make sure they are safe. The whole thing is very labor-intensive.
Disclosure: I received a free Arduino Oplà IoT Kit from Arduino to participate in this contest.
My solution
My plan was to take a “dumb” wooden box with a glass lid and make it regulate its own temperature.
I also wanted my parents to be able to know that the plants are okay without having to go outside. Arduino cloud (with the accompanying app), and the MKR IOT Carrier gave me plenty of options for letting them know the plants are okay without going outside.
Finally, because my parents live over 100km away from me, I am excited to be able to perform remote code changes if the system needs to be tweaked after they start using it.”