Anybody out there into Arduino boards? I'm thinking about setting up some chips to control lighting/water/fertilizer/humidity.

Hey man do you mean like heating plates? Thats all i know about a growth aid environment. Those are sick, i want to build one because they help cuttings root incredibly well

Actually, no, Arduinos are microcontrollers you can program to do any number of things. I want to program one to control the light cycles, fertilization times, humidity, and fan controls of a potential indoor setup. See... goo.gl/zBbZ .

Arduino .. hmm - I will need to look into that for the future. Just in case I end up travelling a bit. Not sure my friends would know what to do with my trees.

Good idea Carl .. I will research that a little.

Woaah thats hardcore! Never even heard of that before! Dont think anyone has used one of those on this forum

Yeah, I've never heard of people using them to grow, but people use them for lights/appliances/locks in their houses. I'm on the go quite often, so I figured it might be a good idea to try. Plus, you can set them up to where you can control them via smartphone, so that adds a HUGE convenience factor. Also, I love technology almost as much as I love nature, so why not combine the two to create something beautiful?

Yeah exactly!

woh now you have me thinking...
overhead misting easy.
timed lighting easy.
watering may be an issue, there are drip irrigation setups but that leaves the soil damp at all times which isn't recomended for bonsai.
maybe basins with the pots in them that would fill with water for a few minutes to soak the trees then drain,water height can be regulated with a float switch.with misting controlled you may only need to do this every 2 weeks. the fert could be rigged into this system to add a certain amount through a drip system as the basins fill.
bonsai care, got an app for that?

Wowzers! I checked out the link you shared, Carl...way too high-tech for my poor brain to wrap around! LOL! Sounds like a bonsaier's dream machine tho! Keep us posted if you decide to get one. Thanks for sharing!

Ya'll got me thinking big !!

---> I fixed missile systems, night vision on Bradleys in the Army.
Electronics are something I enjoy .. to bad though

I can't even think about starting anything 'til next year.

thnx for getting the creative juices flowing though -- I will start a journal.