| Scenario | Photos/mo | Videos/mo | Docs/mo | Sensor rec/day | Retention (mo) | Backups |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balcony herbs journal | 60 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| Backyard beds and compost | 180 | 8 | 50 | 1440 | 24 | 2 |
| Greenhouse with cameras | 500 | 25 | 80 | 10080 | 36 | 3 |
- Photo MB/month = Photos per month × Avg photo size (MB)
- Video MB/video = (Bitrate Mb/s ÷ 8) × (Minutes × 60)
- Sensor MB/month = Records/day × Bytes/record × Days/month ÷ 1024²
- Monthly Total MB = Photos + Videos + Docs + Maps + Sensor
- Retention with growth uses a geometric sum over retention months.
- Final MB = Retained MB × (1 − Compression) × (1 + Overhead) × Backup copies
- Estimate monthly photos, videos, documents, and garden plans.
- For sensor logging, enter records per day and bytes per record.
- Choose how many months you keep the archive before trimming.
- Add growth, compression savings, overhead, and backup copies.
- Click calculate to see totals and download exports.
Capacity planning for seasonal media
Garden documentation often spikes during sowing, pruning, and harvest months. A way to forecast is to record one “high activity” month and one “quiet” month, then average them across the year. If you take 300 photos in peak months at 5 MB each, that single month adds about 1.5 GB before backups. Small adjustments to photo size, like switching to HEIC or lowering resolution, can cut totals quickly.
Estimating video impact from walkthroughs
Video is often the fastest-growing category. Storage depends more on bitrate than on file count, so track your typical camera setting. For example, 10 videos per month, 3 minutes each, at 12 Mb/s produces roughly 2.7 GB per month. If you publish only highlights, reducing bitrate to 8 Mb/s can save about one third with acceptable clarity for plant growth comparisons.
Sensor and automation logs
Moisture, temperature, and light sensors generate many small records. Even at one record per minute, 180 bytes per record yields about 0.25 GB per month. The calculator converts bytes and records into monthly totals so you can decide whether to keep raw logs, daily summaries, or only exception events. Summarizing to hourly averages typically reduces data by 60–90%.
Retention and growth assumptions
Retention months define how long content stays in the archive before pruning. Growth rate models that your library expands each year as your garden and projects scale. A 15% annual growth rate adds long‑term storage when retention is 24–36 months. If you regularly delete duplicates and failed clips, use a higher compression savings value to reflect routine cleanup.
Backup strategy and export workflow
Backups multiply your required capacity. Two copies (primary plus one backup) is common, while three copies fits higher-value research plots or client gardens. Overhead accounts for system metadata and versioning. After calculating, export CSV for planning spreadsheets, and PDF for sharing a storage estimate with teams or vendors when purchasing drives or cloud capacity.
1) What should I enter for average photo size?
Use a recent sample: check 10 photos, average their file sizes, and enter that number. Phone photos are often 3–8 MB, while edited exports can be larger.
2) How do I estimate bitrate for my videos?
Look at a video file’s properties or your camera settings. If unavailable, start with 8–12 Mb/s for 1080p and adjust after comparing your results with real monthly uploads.
3) Do sensor logs really matter for storage?
They can, especially with frequent sampling or multiple devices. Small records add up over months. If totals feel high, consider keeping summaries and exporting raw data only when diagnosing issues.
4) What retention period is practical for garden records?
Many gardeners keep 12–24 months of full media and longer for final reports. If space is limited, keep milestone photos and seasonal notes, and trim repetitive progress shots.
5) How does compression savings affect the result?
Compression savings reduces the estimated storage after accounting for optimized formats or cleanup. Use 5–15% for light cleanup, and 20–35% if you routinely compress videos and remove duplicates.
6) Why does the calculator include overhead?
Real storage needs include thumbnails, indexing, version history, and filesystem metadata. A small overhead percentage makes the estimate more accurate, especially when syncing across devices or cloud tools.