The watering system of this project demonstrates how the system uses water and knows how much water is available for the garden. It includes 4 major groups that all play a critical role for this system. The four groups are as follows:

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• Water Collection

• Tank Level Monitoring

• Water Distribution

• Soil Moisture Monitoring 

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The water collection tank is the main storage tank that can either collect rainwater or be filled with a hose. For the purposes of this project, it is a 7 gallon tank that is 7"x9"x14". The amount of water that is taken from the tank for each time the garden needs it, is based on the dimensions. So, the sensors will tell the microcontroller what the zone needs for water. Then, based on the volume of water needed, the ultrasonic sensor will check the height as the water level drops. Since we know the surface area of the water in the tank at all times is 63 square inches, we can determine the height drop needed to reach the volume needed.

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The tank level monitoring is the part of the system that does just that, it monitors the level in the collection tank, and makes sure that the correct amount of water is being used for each watering. This is done by using an ultrasonic sensor on the top of the collection tank, and reads the distance of the the air in the tank, which we can use to know the amount left in the tank, and the amount of water being used for the garden.

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Water distribution is the plumbing of the system. This includes the tubing and the solenoid valves that direct the water flow for the system. This happens because the collection tank will be above the mixing pool, and the mixing pool is above the garden. So this uses gravity to move the water from one tank to the other, through the tubes and valves. The valves are solenoid valves and required its own circuitry for operation. To view the circuitry, visit the circuitry page of the Design page.

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Soil moisture monitoring always tracks the moisture percentage of the soil, so the garden can have the ability to be watered whenever it needs it. When the soil moisture percentage is too low, the correct amount of water needed is released from the collection tank, sent to the mixing pool through the valves and tubing, and then sent to the garden through more hose and valves to water the garden.