TorresVault Documentation

This page documents the irrigation upgrade for the vegetable garden beds using real soil moisture data to trigger watering through the existing B-Hyve irrigation controller. The goal: water only when the soil actually needs it, not on a timer.

🥕 Project Overview

The system uses:

VegeHub WiFi Control Hub (Vegetronix)

Handles wired soil moisture sensors (1–4 per hub)

Sends readings to Home Assistant (local API)

Has an onboard relay (optional to use)

VH400 Soil Moisture Sensors (Vegetronix)

Extremely accurate, long-term stable, outdoor-rated

Low power consumption

Great for vegetable beds

B-Hyve Irrigation System

Already installed and working

Exposed to Home Assistant as zone switches

HA automations will trigger B-Hyve zones based on soil moisture thresholds

Your initial plan is:

Phase 1: 1 VegeHub + 4 sensors → one sensor per bed

Phase 2: If results are good → add a second VegeHub + 4 more sensors (8 total)

Goal: Each irrigation zone waters only when its beds are dry

🌱 System Diagram (Text Version) [ VH400 Sensor A ] \ [ VH400 Sensor B ] > → VegeHub → Home Assistant → B-Hyve Zone 1 [ VH400 Sensor C ] / [ VH400 Sensor D ]

Home Assistant logic: - Compute per-bed moisture (avg or median) - Compute zone moisture = min(bed A, bed B) - Trigger watering only when moisture < threshold

🔧 Parts List Required (Phase 1 – 4 beds) Qty Item Description Link 1 VegeHub WiFi Control Hub Outdoor WiFi hub for soil sensors https://www.vegetronix.com/Products/VG-HUB/

4 VH400 Soil Moisture Sensor Capacitive, highly accurate, waterproof https://www.vegetronix.com/Products/VH400/

4 2-conductor outdoor burial wire (18–22 AWG) For sensors to hub (Home Depot / Lowes) 1 Weatherproof mounting hardware To mount the VegeHub on a post/wall (Hardware store) Optional / Helpful Qty Item Description Link 1 5–12V DC power supply If not running battery mode (Amazon) 1 Drip irrigation tuning kit To adjust emitters per bed (Amazon) 1 Additional VegeHub (Phase 2) For 8 total sensors https://www.vegetronix.com/Products/VG-HUB/ 🌿 Recommended Layout

4 sensors → 4 beds Place each probe:

At root depth (3–6“)

About halfway between emitters

Not directly under the drip outlet

Angled slightly downward for better contact

When scaling to 8 sensors:

Place one sensor per bed (ideal)

Or two sensors in uneven beds (sun/shade differences)

🔌 Home Assistant Integration VegeHub → Home Assistant

Uses HA’s official VegeHub integration

Exposes:

sensor.bed1_moisture

sensor.bed2_moisture

sensor.bed3_moisture

sensor.bed4_moisture

switch.vegehub_relay (optional)

B-Hyve → Home Assistant

You already have B-Hyve zones like:

switch.veg_bed_1_2_zone

switch.veg_bed_3_4_zone

switch.veg_bed_5_6_zone

switch.veg_bed_7_8_zone

HA will use VegeHub moisture readings to trigger these.

💧 Watering Logic Rules

If moisture < dry threshold, trigger watering.

Only water in allowed time windows (early morning).

Water until:

moisture > wet threshold, or

max runtime reached (safety).

Example Thresholds

Dry threshold: 20–25% VWC

Wet threshold: 28–32% VWC

These are typical for vegetables; but calibrate based on your soil.

🧠 Example Automation (DokuWiki code block) alias: “Veg Zone 1 • Moisture Based Watering” trigger:

1. platform: numeric_state

entity_id: sensor.bed1_moisture

  below: 22

condition:

1. condition: time

after: “05:00:00”

  before: "09:00:00"

action:

1. service: switch.turn_on

target:

    entity_id: switch.veg_bed_1_2_zone
- wait_for_trigger:
    - platform: numeric_state
      entity_id: sensor.bed1_moisture
      above: 28
  timeout: "00:20:00"
- service: switch.turn_off
  target:
    entity_id: switch.veg_bed_1_2_zone

Replicate this for Zones 2–4 with their corresponding sensors.

✔️ Why VegeHub Is a Good Fit for Your Setup

Extremely reliable hardware made for outdoor farms

VH400 sensors are best-in-class for VWC accuracy

Uses WiFi (easy install, no Zigbee routing issues outdoors)

Seamless Home Assistant integration

Lets your B-Hyve stay in charge of actual watering

Scale to 8 sensors simply by adding a second hub

📦 Where to Buy

VegeHub WiFi Control Hub https://www.vegetronix.com/Products/VG-HUB/

VH400 Soil Moisture Sensor