The Thirsty Pi: a Wi-Fi Smart Plant Watering Hub (Pico W)

Say goodbye to crispy houseplants! Let’s be real for a second—we’ve all killed a houseplant. You buy a beautiful fern, swear you’re going to take great care of it, and then you leave for a weekend trip. You come back, and it looks like crispy autumn leaves. I got tired of the plant guilt, so I decided to over-engineer a solution. Meet The Thirsty Pi. This isn't just a simple water pump on a timer. I built a fully autonomous, Wi-Fi-enabled smart garden hub powered by the Raspberry Pi Pico W. It actively monitors soil moisture, calculates the room's "Real Feel" temperature, and waters the plant exactly when it needs it. Oh, and it hosts its own web dashboard so you can manually trigger the pump from your couch. I even designed a custom 3D-printed enclosure so it looks like a sleek, professional smart-home device rather than a messy science experiment. Let’s build it! Hardware Compatibility (What fits inside): Raspberry Pi Pico / Pico W L293D Motor Driver Module 1 x 18650 Battery Routing holes for a DHT11 Sensor, Soil Moisture Sensor, and 6V water pump tubing. Design Features: Built-in standoffs and mounts to keep boards secure. Dedicated cable routing holes to keep the build looking clean. ⚠️ Pro Tip: When routing your sensor wires and water tubes out of the box, make sure to leave a "drip loop" (let the wires droop down into a 'U' shape). This ensures any rogue water drops fall to the floor instead of traveling up the wires and into the case! Recommended Print Settings: Material: PETG or PLA (PETG is highly recommended if your plant sits in a sunny window or high-humidity area). Layer Height: 0.2mm for a good balance of speed and quality. Infill: 15% - 20%. Supports: None required if the main body and lid are oriented flat on the build plate. The Code & Full Build Guide: This download is just for the physical case! To get the full MicroPython code (which includes a non-blocking web server, custom "Cactus Mode" scheduling, and a local dashboard), check out my full step-by-step build guide here: 👉 https://www.instructables.com/The-Thirsty-Pi-a-Wi-Fi-Smart-Garden-Watering-Hub-P/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvyrBctB9TU Happy printing, and may your plants never go thirsty again! 🪴💧