Is there a way to test/verify the soil moisture percentages displayed in the various zones? Thanks.
I doubt it. They aren’t actual soil moisture percentages. They’re the percentage of water within the area of Allowed Depletion, and not at any particular depth. It’s all kind of theoretical, but does make sense IMHO. It’s a lot like the bucket descriptions they give.
I check my soil moisture regularly but it does not correspond to Rachio. They use field capacity(estimated) but you really want to know your VWC(volumetric water content).
Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! How do I get that for my yard!???
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It just takes money! The technology does exist however.
Is it an app you buy or equipment you purchase? If equipment what is it/
Thanks,Chris
What I’m using is more than a moisture meter. It’s a GPS, cloud based system that measures moisture, ec, and salinity. But you can find simple moisture meter to sample your home lawn.
You can check it out at PogoTurfPro.com
Uh, yeah, I think we can safely say that is not in my budget. Even without looking at pricing. You must be associated with a golf course or something, huh? VERY neat system!
Wowzers, ya that hardware is pricy. Its interesting to see that Rachio is being used on high end locations. Or is it that the groundskeeper is using company equipment for his own lawn? Such a teaser screenshot.
If you were to take a plug of soil and put it in a cup, weigh it, then dry it out like in the oven for 20min @ 100F (enough to dry water but not drive off much else), then reweigh and remember to subtract the cup weight from both measurements. You could determine how much water was in the soil. I suppose if you wet that same soil as much as it’ll hold (not sure how to do that without washing away soil), then you know its 100% capacity. So now you can compare those 2 water rates and know your current % of max.
I would assume you could pretty easily eyeball within 10-15% the moisture rates once you’d seen a few.
I just have a Rachio at my house. I am a retired golf course super but I sell this system to golf courses and sports fields.