Yesterday I blogged about one of our gallery exhibits.

Read the article.

Even though it's an Autodesk Gallery exhibit, I have not had any personal contact with anyone from the company. I just know the product from the exhibit. Well to put my money where my mouth is, I bought one. I simply went to their website and ordered it:

It arrived a few Sundays ago.

I anxiously opened it.

It comes with a simple instruction book that basically tells you how to push a few buttons to add it to your wireless network.

I installed it in our garden by simply pushing it into the ground. No digging,

I downloaded and installed the free iPhone app.

The app tracks moisture.

It also tracks light.

It tracks humidity.

It tracks soil nutrition.

On Monday morning, I could see how the garden was doing.

I know our soil is not great at holding water, and the device is confirming that. Even though we've had about an inch of rain over the last few days:

In terms of recommending plants, based on our bad soil, it is recommending desert-appropriate plants:

When I plant plants, I add garden soil. Perhaps to get a more accurate reading, I should add some potting soil to the spot where I have planted the Edyn unit? I was also not sure as to how deep I should plunge it, so I posed the question to Edyn.

I got an almost immediate response:

Hi there, you want to place the tip of the sensor at root level for your particular plants. For most flowering plants that means leaving 1-2" of the metal shaft above the soil surface. For grasses you may want to plant a bit shallower.

Since i am the chairman of the landscaping committee for our homeowners association, this type of precise measurement will help us ensure that we continue to conserve our precious California water and only fertilize as needed.

Applied gardening research is alive in the lab.