Your First Garden Setup

Overview

In this guide, you'll wire a soil moisture sensor, configure MudPi to read from it, and set up a basic relay to control a water pump. By the end, you'll have a fully automated watering system.

Hardware Needed

Step 1: Wire the Soil Moisture Sensor

Connect the soil moisture sensor to your Raspberry Pi:

Step 2: Wire the Relay

Connect the relay module:

Step 3: Configure MudPi

Edit your mudpi.config.json to define the sensor, control, and automation trigger:

{
  "name": "My First Garden",
  "sensors": [
    {
      "pin": 4,
      "type": "soil_moisture",
      "name": "Garden Bed 1",
      "poll_interval": 30
    }
  ],
  "controls": [
    {
      "pin": 17,
      "type": "relay",
      "name": "Water Pump"
    }
  ],
  "triggers": [
    {
      "source": "Garden Bed 1",
      "condition": "below",
      "value": 40,
      "action": "Water Pump",
      "action_state": "on",
      "duration": 60
    }
  ]
}

Step 4: Start MudPi

python3 mudpi.py

MudPi will begin reading your soil moisture sensor every 30 seconds. If the moisture drops below 40%, the water pump will turn on for 60 seconds.

Monitor the live output to verify everything is working:

redis-cli SUBSCRIBE "mudpi:sensors" "mudpi:controls"

Next Steps

Explore more sensors and controls in the documentation, or check out Wiring Sensors for more hardware guides.