hanging garden

Hanging garden is a project that has seen various iterations. Starting with only plants and lamps I soon added a pump, water reservoir and plumbing to be able to water the plants automatically. Electronics based on an ESP8266 and some MOSFET control the lamps and pump and even allow for dimming of the brightness.

Later a friend gifted me an aquarium which I wanted to transform into a ecosystem similar to the local river Sihl. While I was collecting rocks and plants I saw that there were several leeches in this ecosystem. I became interested into how these leeches might also become part of system. As they were thriving and very interesting to observe, I added a moss island where they can build their cocoons. The leeches and herbs now work together as an ecosystem where the plants filter out the waste products the leeches excrete after being fed.

In a further step I included myself into this ecosystem. Now the lamps not only provide energy to the growing herbs but also simulate a sunrise and sunset to nudge me towards a healthy sleep cycle. To control the lamps and pump I wrote some logic in python and connected it to my website where I can now set different wake-up times for every weekday.