Background

The Research team was tasked with formulating the customization procedures for the watering schedule. This can be separated into two components: watering frequency and watering amount. Most sites and journals recommend planters and growers to water “when the soil feels dry”. To translate this into a feasible algorithm, we looked through various sites for information and foiled out multiple ideas to ultimately end with user-friendly and accurate scheduling formulas.

Water Frequency

As mentioned, watering frequency is determined largely by a qualitative observation of the water content in the potted soil. However, it can often be generalized to 3 categories based on water absorption by the plant. This generalization draws from the fact that different types of plants are native to different habitats and hence are accustomed to less or more water.

• Moderate Watering Needs - Twice a week
• Low Watering Needs - Once a week
• Very Low Watering Needs - Once every other week

Data concerning this frequency and generalization was pulled from the LA County Water and Power Department’s California Friendly Landscaping website.

Water Amount

When watering potted plants, the goal is to fully saturate the soil and then wait until the topsoil has dried out indicating that the root system has absorbed most of the water. To account for this, the research team concluded that the following parameters need to be known.

• Soil type
• Pot dimensions

These factors allow us to use equations based on soil type absorption and volume that lead us to the ultimate watering amount.