This project is basically designed and programmed by my daughter, Sashrika with little help from me. She participated in 2021 do-your-bit contest where she prototyped indoor plant harvesting system using Micro:bit. Since then, she was asking me how enhance her project so that she can control certain things in a smarter way.
I suggested her to use Wio Terminal for some obvious reasons.
1. In-Build Display
2. In-Build WiFi
3. Rich community support
4. Easy integration with Blynk
Basically all you need to get started with cloud connected IoT solution. For more information about Wio Terminal, visit this
Though Wio Terminal has 40 pins where you can connect multiple analog and I2C sensors, it's nice to have an expansion board with in-build battery pack. I have used this chassis from Seeed's studio which has four additional digital/analog, one UART Grove connectors.
I am not going to document the steps here as there is a superb documentation already available on seeedstudio wiki. Follow the tutorial and you will be all set to build your own Blynk app.
Once you create your Blynk app, upload the code ( maalee.ino in code section ) after putting blynk auth code and your wifi credential.
Blynk WidgetsWhen you build your Blynk app, you need to add following widgets
1. One Gauge with Virtual Pin 1 for temperature
2. One Gauge with Virtual Pin 2 for humidity
3. One Gauge with Virtual Pin 3 for soil moisture
4. One Super Chart with 2 data streams - one for moisture and one for soil moisture
5. One Slider with Virtual pin 6 to control moisture threshold
6. One Slider with Virtual pin 7 to control darkness threshold
7. One Timer, choose your own timer to start and stop LED strip
8. One Notification
Hardware ConnectionsConnections used in this project can't be easier. I have used all grove sensors which are just plugged into grove sockets. No wiring, no soldering needed except LED strip.
#define PIN_PUMP 3
#define PIN_SOIL 2
#define DHTPIN 4
#define PIN_LIGHT 6
#define PIN_RELAY 0
Integrated pump and soil moisture sensor connected to top-right socket ( pin 2 & 3 )
DHT11 sensor connected to bottom-right socket ( pin 4 )
Relay is connected to top-left socket ( pin 0 )
Light sensor is connected to bottom-left socket ( pin 6 )
LED strip is connected to the relay via battery charging module.
FeaturesRealtime display ๐
Realtime display of room temperature, humidity, ambient light and soil moisture level on Wio Terminal's display. Same data can be viewed from Blynk app from anywhere. No matter how far you are from home.
Automatic Watering ๐ฐ
When soil gets dry, system automatically turns the pump on and water the plants. This threshold can be updated from the Blynk app based on your plants need. You don't need to change your code for different plants.
Automatic Lightings ๐ก
LEDs are on and off based on predefined schedule. You can set the schedule on Blynk app without touching the code. When the schedule is on, system also checks for ambient light. If it's bright, such as very sunny day, system automatically turn the LEDs off to save energy. This light threshold can also be adjusted from the Blynk app.
I hope this project will inspire some of you to try out Wio Terminal and start harvesting your own plants ๐
This project is also published on PCBWay
Parts and enclosures are part of the new version of this Smart Harvesting System๐!
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