The Inspiration Living in an apartment often means giving up on the dream of a vegetable garden due to lack of space. I didn’t want to accept that compromise. I wanted fresh salad and strawberries at Km 0, right on my balcony. That’s how IDROPOIMAKS was born: a compact, automated, and high-tech vertical hydroponic tower.How It Works The system is designed around a modular 3D-printed structure (printed with PETG for durability). The water is pumped from the reservoir to the top and cascades down, nourishing the plants’ roots suspended in net cups with clay pebbles.The Hardware Brain At the heart of the project is the powerful ESP32. It’s not just a timer; it’s a smart controller that:Monitors the Environment: Uses a DHT11 for temperature/humidity and a LDR for light levels.Manages…
The Inspiration Living in an apartment often means giving up on the dream of a vegetable garden due to lack of space. I didn’t want to accept that compromise. I wanted fresh salad and strawberries at Km 0, right on my balcony. That’s how IDROPOIMAKS was born: a compact, automated, and high-tech vertical hydroponic tower.How It Works The system is designed around a modular 3D-printed structure (printed with PETG for durability). The water is pumped from the reservoir to the top and cascades down, nourishing the plants’ roots suspended in net cups with clay pebbles.The Hardware Brain At the heart of the project is the powerful ESP32. It’s not just a timer; it’s a smart controller that:Monitors the Environment: Uses a DHT11 for temperature/humidity and a LDR for light levels.Manages Water: Checks the reservoir level with a float switch to prevent the pump from running dry.Smart Irrigation: Runs specific watering cycles based on day/night time (tracked via DS3231 RTC) and current temperature.Visual Interface: Features a stunning 1.28" Round RGB Display (GC9A01) that shows real-time stats.Power: It’s designed to run on 3x 18650 batteries with a BMS and Solar Panel support for autonomy.Software & Connectivity I wrote a custom firmware that includes a Web Server. By connecting to the ESP32’s WiFi, I can access a beautiful dashboard on my smartphone to monitor data and manually toggle the pump.Documentation & Open Source I believe in sharing knowledge. I documented the entire build process in a 3-part video series on YouTube (in Italian), covering 3D modeling, electronics, and assembly. 🎥 Watch the video here:
The project is fully Open Source! You can find the wiring diagrams, STL files, and the complete code in my repository. 💻 GitHub Repo:https://github.com/Ingeimaks/idropoimaks