tmbrown97
Senior Member
Hi All,
Though many of you have had quite the winter, in California we're starting off the summer with one of the worst droughts in history. On top of that, about 3 years ago I re-landscaped my back yard (suburban tract home - only 1/10th of an acre so just nice plants/trees) and most of what we put in has already died. Our front yard is always a muddy mess even when it seems like I hardly water (yet the grass dies if I turn off the sprinklers); my back yard is hit and miss depending on the area.
So - What's the best way to accurately keep an eye on soil moisture? I don't want to spend $50 per plant area if I can avoid it, and I don't want anything unsightly or in the way of mowing - but wouldn't be opposed to something discreet if it gets the job done. Front yard is a 20x50 foot grass area and another tiny piece 20x20 between my neighbor's driveway and mine along with some planter areas; back yard is in the midst of going artificial turf but has about 5 separate distinct planter areas. I do have LV conduit to many of those areas that feeds into my garage; some would be impossible to retrofit but I have power in all but 1 I could access.
I want to be able to track if I need to tune up the drip system and adjust the watering schedules to match. Watering is handled by the Elk hooked to the automatic sprinkler zones, and the timers are controlled by counters in the M1. I have a license for HomeSeer Pro (but barely set up yet), and I have Ethernet/power and an Elk subpanel in the garage; from the garage to the yard I have LV and HV conduit (LV is empty but feeds two critical areas in the yard and enters the house at the Elk subpanel. The yard is small enough that wifi, Z-Wave, Zigbee, even Bluetooth could work.
Any ideas? I was initially wondering about 1-wire but I haven't found the best links on soil moisture sensors. But I've wanted to get a Brultech GEM which supports 1-wire so maybe that's still an option; I wouldn't be opposed to throwing a Pi or something out there or could do a POE switch and anything ethernet - again I just want to keep things relatively simple. I'm not opposed to changing batteries 1-2 times/year if needed; I even have a box full of DS10a's and an X10RF receiver - so lots of available options that I could do just about anything with. I also don't necessarily need 100% automation - though the closer I can get the better; I'm fine monitoring the values and adjusting; maybe over time I'd develop the HS scripts to adjust the timing for me based on the results somewhat tailored to my unique conditions.
Thx! Looking forward to hearing what you guys have had success with!
Though many of you have had quite the winter, in California we're starting off the summer with one of the worst droughts in history. On top of that, about 3 years ago I re-landscaped my back yard (suburban tract home - only 1/10th of an acre so just nice plants/trees) and most of what we put in has already died. Our front yard is always a muddy mess even when it seems like I hardly water (yet the grass dies if I turn off the sprinklers); my back yard is hit and miss depending on the area.
So - What's the best way to accurately keep an eye on soil moisture? I don't want to spend $50 per plant area if I can avoid it, and I don't want anything unsightly or in the way of mowing - but wouldn't be opposed to something discreet if it gets the job done. Front yard is a 20x50 foot grass area and another tiny piece 20x20 between my neighbor's driveway and mine along with some planter areas; back yard is in the midst of going artificial turf but has about 5 separate distinct planter areas. I do have LV conduit to many of those areas that feeds into my garage; some would be impossible to retrofit but I have power in all but 1 I could access.
I want to be able to track if I need to tune up the drip system and adjust the watering schedules to match. Watering is handled by the Elk hooked to the automatic sprinkler zones, and the timers are controlled by counters in the M1. I have a license for HomeSeer Pro (but barely set up yet), and I have Ethernet/power and an Elk subpanel in the garage; from the garage to the yard I have LV and HV conduit (LV is empty but feeds two critical areas in the yard and enters the house at the Elk subpanel. The yard is small enough that wifi, Z-Wave, Zigbee, even Bluetooth could work.
Any ideas? I was initially wondering about 1-wire but I haven't found the best links on soil moisture sensors. But I've wanted to get a Brultech GEM which supports 1-wire so maybe that's still an option; I wouldn't be opposed to throwing a Pi or something out there or could do a POE switch and anything ethernet - again I just want to keep things relatively simple. I'm not opposed to changing batteries 1-2 times/year if needed; I even have a box full of DS10a's and an X10RF receiver - so lots of available options that I could do just about anything with. I also don't necessarily need 100% automation - though the closer I can get the better; I'm fine monitoring the values and adjusting; maybe over time I'd develop the HS scripts to adjust the timing for me based on the results somewhat tailored to my unique conditions.
Thx! Looking forward to hearing what you guys have had success with!