Gardening Project
 

So I've been getting really into gardening for the last couple months. It has gotten to the point where I have so many different plants that need to be tended to in different ways, that it is taking up a significant chunk of time.

I don't have more than 2-3 plants that need lighting other than what they get in their permanent location, so watering is the problem. I've been brainstorming to see if I could figure out a way to have the watering controlled by a computer program that I could write. The only problem is the hardware. I have no experience with programmable controllers, and I don't know which ones I should/could use. I have found a few of these complete kits online like this one Cyber-Rain XCI 8-Zone Automated Sprinkler Controller - 01XCISC08 - Smarthome but they're too expensive and I'd also like to do it myself so I can write the scheduling program and also be able to hook it up to a larger number of plants.

I'm sure no one here will have all the answers to this since it's an outlandish question, but any suggestions or will be appreciated!

I can't say I know how to do this myself, but there are apparently some options available. From what I'm seeing, the Cyber-Rain is $295. That's too much for your budget?

This forum post over at iVillage Garden Web has a decent number of links on the subject and recommendations from a few folks on how to do it yourself.

Computer controlled - Irrigation Forum - GardenWeb

There is also this:

Embedded Linux Router Hacked for Sprinkler Control - Hacked Gadgets - DIY Tech Blog