My Balcony Has Twelve Sensors and I Still Lost the Tomatoes

Description and use

The author installed twelve sensors on a balcony garden, yet plants still died. Realizing sensor data lacked context, he began taking daily photos to track trends, improving plant monitoring.

Problem

A balcony grower struggled to keep plants alive despite installing twelve sensors and a custom dashboard.

Outcome

Sensor data alone was accurate but lacked context; integrating daily photos provided trend information that helped the author better understand plant health, though overall plant survival did not dramatically improve.

Workflow

• Install soil moisture, temperature, humidity, light, and pH sensors on six pots
• Feed sensor data into a self-built dashboard
• Check dashboard each morning
• Take a daily photo of each plant at the same angle and time
• Compare sensor readings with visual changes over time
• Adjust care based on combined insights

Evidence

Twelve sensors. Soil moisture in six pots, temperature, humidity, light, pH. Feeding into a dashboard I built myself.

Source

The plants still died. Different ones, but they died.

Source

What finally worked was combining them. Sensors for the thing I can't do — notice at 2am that humidity spiked and my balcony has no airflow. Eyes for the thing sensors can't do — see that the lower leaves are yellowing, which no moisture reading will ever tell you.

Source