Mushroom Cultivation Automation: From Foraging to Fruiting

September 3, 2021May 13, 2022

Last Updated: April 13, 2022

Mushrooms are a unique and often mysterious organism. They’re not quite plants and not quite animals. As a fungus, mushrooms represent a distinct evolutionary lineage. Fungi grow as a single-cell yeast form (used in beer, wine, and bread making) and multi-cellular, thread-like mycelia that often produce fruiting bodies (mushrooms) and sclerotia (e.g. truffles), and are responsible for the decomposition of the vast majority of dead plant matter. Understanding life cycle of mushroom fungi is a valuable skill if you wish to harness this knowledge for mushroom cultivation.

Automated Hydroponic System Build

June 3, 2020August 28, 2022

Automation Cultivation Hydroponic Mycodo Raspberry Pi

Last Updated: August 28, 2022

Hydroponic farming is a method of growing crops without soil, with the main benefits of environmental and nutrient control, water conservation, and reduction of labor. This technique relies on a number of technologies that the principles of automation can be applied in order to improve yield and consistency. In this article and accompanying video, I’ll show you how to built a hydroponic system with basic components and automate it using the open source software Mycodo running on a Raspberry Pi single board computer.

Remote Radiation Monitoring

August 19, 2019May 8, 2020

Automation LoRaWAN Raspberry Pi Wireless

Radiation is the transmission of energy through space in the form of a particle or wave. These can be generated by instruments or produced naturally. One of the most common uses of radiation is from radionuclides, or radioactive isotopes, that release radiation during decay, or degradation. These radioactive materials are often used for cancer therapy, research, and energy production.

LoRaWAN Tracker and Mapper

April 4, 2019May 26, 2021

Automation LoRaWAN Microcontroller Wireless

LoRaWAN is a great long-distance, low-power transmission protocol. One of the questions that often comes up after deploying a gateway and nodes is “what’s the greatest distance I can successfully transmit between my gateway and node?” You could watch your Application traffic on The Things Network as you move to strategic locations and see if packets appear. However, an automated approach to this could save time and allow you to cover more ground. To do this, you’ll need a node with a GPS to send its location and software to aggregate the received data on a map to show the node transmission locations. This way you can have the node automatically transmit at a rapid interval as you walk, cycle, or drive to various locations.

Environmentally Controlled Apiary

December 30, 2015September 3, 2019

Automation Mycodo Raspberry Pi

Ascosphaera apis is a fungal pathogen of honey bees (Apis mellifera) that has been a significant contributor to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a phenomenon that results in the death of a honey bee colony. CCD has been responsible for a significant decline in honey bee populations around the world, and has been attributed to a number of factors, including pesticide use, subpar farming practices, parasitic insects, and pathogen insults.

Artificial Bat Cave

October 19, 2015August 30, 2019

Automation Mycodo Raspberry Pi

In 2012, the Tennessee chapter of The Nature Conservancy constructed an 80-foot, underground artificial bat cave. This was to serve as a site for bat research in order to develop knowledge about bat white-nose syndrome and explore potential treatment methods to help increase survivorship among bats affected by this deadly disease.

Mushroom Cultivation Revisited

April 10, 2015September 4, 2021

Automation Cultivation Mycodo Raspberry Pi

Update: A newer version of this project has been released. Read More >>

There have been many initiatives undertaken to maximize mushroom cultivation productivity, and although variations exist between species, manipulation of environmental conditions has demonstrated some of the most dramatic effects on yield. Temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration have been identified as some of the most crucial factors for promoting mycelial colonization, primordia formation, and growth of fruiting bodies, or mushrooms. Additionally, each stage of development requires specific conditions for optimal growth. As such, the more precise these conditions can be controlled, the greater the yields that are possible.

Mushroom Cultivation Automation

February 5, 2015September 4, 2021

Automation Cultivation Mycodo Raspberry Pi

Update: A newer version of this project has been released. Read More >>

There have been many initiatives undertaken to maximize mushroom cultivation productivity, and although variations exist between species, manipulation of environmental conditions has demonstrated some of the most dramatic effects on yield. Temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration have been identified as some of the most crucial factors for promoting mycelial colonization, primordia formation, and fruiting body (mushroom) growth. Additionally, each stage of development requires specific conditions for optimal growth. As such, the more precise these conditions can be controlled, the greater the yields that are possible.

Garden Irrigation Automation

March 28, 2012August 30, 2019

Automation Cultivation Microcontroller

I found the highest and brightest part of my yard, cleared the vegetation, lightly tilled the earth, and laid bricks and 4x4s to walk on. I erected a fence from bamboo harvested in the yard, to protect it from an American bulldog that shares the yard.

Distillation Automation v2

July 25, 2011August 22, 2019

Automation Distillation Microcontroller

With the acquisition of a new distillation unit, I decided to transfer and adapt the Arduino control interface from my previous distillation unit to this one. I wanted a redesign that would reduce size and increase functionality. The 120VAC solid state relays, Arduino, and a resistor were the only components that made the cut into the new design. A 16×2 LDC and a rotary encoder with a push button were picked up for input and feedback. The rotary encoder allows unrestricted rotation as well as having a normally open push button. This, in combination with an LCD, seemed to be the simplest interface with the greatest functionality.