What is it?

A simple project for beginners to start with soldering and making. All you need is this PCB and 8 super cheap components that you can find in every electronics store. It will let you know when your flower is dry and when you should water it. I am sure you will hear that super loud buzzer in the middle of the night :)

Why did you make it?

Why flower monitor? As I said, my flowers are not in good condition because I always forgot to water them. An annoying buzzer sound at 3 AM is the perfect way to make me water them :) that's the best way to keep them alive. That's the first step to automate my house. I mean this kind of device is not an automation, there should be some kind of pump to water flowers automatically, but then I should remember to put water in the pump tank...

I will work on that in the future :D

You may also be curious why I made it with analog electronics and not microcontroller. I like challenges and creating things that I cannot do is for me the best way to learn how stuff works. If it is good for me, it maybe good for you! So if you want to learn something, this project is perfect for you :)

About some more technical things. Transistors are cheaper than microcontrollers. You don't have to program it, so you don't need to have a programmer. It's less complicated and smaller, with less battery consumption (? I am not exactly sure about the last one, but I hope it's true).

What makes it special?

Simplicity. Just 8 really cheap components that are easy to solder so that beginners can easily make it and start with soldering. It is also really cheap to make. And the last thing, but important - it is very useful; it actually helped me to take care of my flowers and water them more regularly.