What's a hygrometer? An a rainwater diposit?
Do you know what an hygrometer is? What is it for? And a rainwater deposit?
Since one of our main project goals is to measure the water consumption used to water the garden, we have decided to introduce two devices which will be used to take the most advantage of this resource.
The first one is a hygrometer or a soil moisture sensor. This is a device with two thin metal rods which are fixed into the window box soil. The hygrometer is used to measure the humidity of the soil and through a display with numbers indicates if it is needed or not to water the plants. In this way we can take in to consideration other external climate factors, as the rain, to measure up if it is needed to add more water or not, so that we can control the consumption and be conscious. The kind of hygrometer that we have placed in our orchard, is not just measuring the humidity, but also measures the PH and the minimum amount of light which the plant needs in order to live and grow healthy and strong.
The other device introduced in our garden are the two rainwater deposits with a capacity of 150 liters each. With these two we can collect rainwater and use it to water our orchard. These deposits contain a dispenser faucet and have the possibility of adding a hose to water the plants directly. It is recommended that the deposits have a cover on the top, or at least, a filter which allows the rainwater to get in and preventing dirt (leaves, tree branches,...). Besides keeping the collected water cleaner, we avoid the insects to enter and lay eggs, like the Tiger mosquito, for example.
