Propagation Unit No. 01
Goals, and the full build list for the first semi-automated propagation bench.
Fig · The live board interface, as designed — telemetry publishes here once the controller API is onlineThe first Propagation Unit is a three-shelf bench that raises native restoration stock from seed and cutting with as little daily attention as the work will allow. It is deliberately small: one rack, off-the-shelf parts and a controller anyone could rebuild in a weekend. The aim was never novelty — it was to see how much of a nursery routine can be handed to a cheap sensor and a valve so the field crew can spend its hours in the sections instead of at the hose.
What it must do
Hold each shelf inside a target moisture band; run the lights on a per-shelf photoperiod; move air with a variable fan; water only when a shelf falls below its floor, and never more often than its cooldown allows. Log every reading and every cycle so a season can be reviewed, not just remembered.
- Rack — three growing shelves, 01 through 03, on a steel wire frame
- Controller — ESP32 reading moisture, temperature and reservoir level
- Water — 120 L reservoir, diaphragm pump, one solenoid valve per shelf
- Light — dimmable full-spectrum bars, per-shelf schedule
- Air — one variable-speed circulation fan per shelf, 0–10
- Interface — a 4.5″ touchscreen at the rack and a web dashboard
The interface is public. You can open the same rack screen and dashboard the crew uses under Instruments & Infrastructure — in observation mode, so you can click through every screen without touching the live bench.