Strawberry tower - with a smart watering system

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Strawberry tower - with a smart watering system

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P1P
P1S
X1
X1 Carbon
X1E
A1

0.25mm layer, 2 walls, 12% infill
0.25mm layer, 2 walls, 12% infill
Designer
29.4 h
13 plates
5.0(3)

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Description

I developed this vertical planter tower to grow strawberries outside, but obviously it is suitable for every small, edible plant you want to grow, for example lettuce, salad etc.

The main advantages are:

  • It is using normal soil as a growing medium
  • its equipped with a water distribution system, so every plant is getting the same amount of water
  • the watering is controlled by a water reservior in each section, so the plants are getting just the right amount of water each day. The rest of the overflowing water will exit on the bottom.
  • it can be connected to an irrigation system, if you dont want to water manually each day
  • on the bottom you can optionally attach a protection against snails
  • the venting openings prevent the soil from getting moldy
  • the tower can be fixed to the ground with printed nails or ground screws, stl's inlcuded (for a maximum of 3 modules)
  • alternatively you can fix the tower to the wall, so it doesnt tip over (for 4 modules or more its strongly recommended)

As its intended to be used outside, the best material for all components is PETG or ASA, as they are resilient against UV radiation.

For using, just snap together the parts, fill the modules with good quality soil (potting soil), put the plants or seeds in and dont forget to water every day. You dont need to pour water on the soil directly, the smart water distribution system will do the job for you.

 

If you want to connect the tower to your irrigation system:

  • print the planting modules for the “automatic irrigation”
  • insert one M4 heat insert into the hole of the top part, put an M4 screw in. This can be used as flow control, by squeezing the irrigation tube. Set to minimal flow, because the rest of the water will drain at the bottom anyway.
  • connect the standard 5mm small irrigation tube on the top part.
  • set the irrigation timer to 10 minutes per day.

Comment & Rating (19)

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How many of each piece do we need? Any assembly tips? Looking forward to printing and planting some herbs!
The designer has replied
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You need as many planting modules, as high you want it to be. Regarding the other parts, stand, cover, snail protection, wall mount, wall connector, you only need one. Assembling is just snap together, no other hardware is needed.
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Replying to @BENOengineering :
Ok, is there a difference between the sizes of the parts on plates 8 and 10-16? And any difference between the first and second plates? I see (what I think is) the watering channel seems to be extended up, is one used somewhere different from the other?
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Replying to @JohnDangle :
Plate 8-10-11-12-13 are wall connection pieces between wall adapter and planting module, if youd like to fix the tower to the wall. I made different lengths so you can choose your distance to the wall. Therefore, only one is needed. Regarding the wall-planter distance, please refer to the name of the stl's. Planting pot on plate 1 is for automatic irrigation, if you want to connect it to your home irrigation system. Planting pot on plate 2 is for manual irrigation These differences are indicated in the file names as well.
(Edited)
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I love your design, but don't see a top cover for manual watering. Can you add one to your design with a flip up lid over the water reservoir?
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0.25mm layer, 2 walls, 12% infill
cool design, great in PETG CF
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Why is the automatic watering option have a shorter channel in the water compartment than the manual one? Just curious the purpose/feature it serves, since it is not obvious to me.
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Basically: I am not ready to do automatic watering yet, but plan to so wondering if I can use the automatic ones and manually water for now. I am guessing the reason manual one is higher is so it fills up the compartment before moving to the next one, but not sure. Thanks.
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When you connect the tower to one of the automatic irrigation systems circuit, its usually running for several minutes. This is why it doesnt need an extra water tank, because the water quantity will be set not by the tank volume (like for the manual watering), but with the time, for how long you run the irrigation system. So, when you set it to run for 20 minutes, and you would have an extra tank inside, it will get much more water than necessary.
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Replying to @BENOengineering :
noted. so if I have more granular control to like just water the strawberries I could use the manual one and adjust my time to fill the reservoir. so that way I could start with the manual one and automate it later. thanks!
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Looks amazing in Copper Silk PLA. We are setting up on a shaded apartment balcony with a couple of LED grow light strips, so not enough UV to make the PLA choice an issue. Thanks for a great design.
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The model I needed
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Great design!
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0.25mm layer, 2 walls, 12% infill
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0.25mm layer, 2 walls, 12% infill
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