Moisture indicating probe and method of use

Claim 1

A MOISTURE INDICATING SINGLE-ELEMENT DEVICE ADAPTED FOR FORCED INSERTION DIRECTLY INTO THE SOIL OF A POTTED PLANT AND MOISTURE-SENSITIVE TO UNDERGO A VISIBLE COLOR CHANGE IN RESPONSE TO MOISTURE PRESENT IN SAID SOIL, THEREBY TO PROVIDE AN INDICATION OF THE MOISTURE CONDITION OF THE SOIL, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, AN ELONGATED, LONGITUDINALLY-RIGID PROBE OF WOOD AND SIMILAR COMPOSITIONS INCLUDING FIBER BOARD AND OTHER CELLULARSTRUCTURED MATERIALS, SAID PROBE BEING FURTHER CHARACTERIZED BY MECHANICAL STRENGTH SUFFICIENT TO PERMIT FORCED MANUAL INSERTION OF SAID PROBE DOWNWARDLY INTO THE SOIL OF A POTTED PLANT AND THE LIKE TO A REGION NEAR THE ROOTS THEREOF, A CHEMICAL AGENT DEPOSITED ON AND CARRIED BY SAID PROBE IN A PERIMETRIC BASE ZONE THEREOF FOR DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE SOIL OF A POTTED PLANT, SAID AGENT BEING ADHERED TO SAID PROBE SO AS TO RESIST PREMATURE PHYSICAL DISLODGEMENT OF SAID AGENT FROM SAID PROBE WHEN THE PROBE IS THRUST INTO THE SOIL,

Claim 8

The method of making a quantitatively meaningful determination of the moisture concentration in the soil of a potted plant to establish empirically whether water should be added to the soil in which the plant is potted, said method comprising the steps of: immersing a probe in a solution containing a solute consisting essentially of cobaltous chloride in a concentration in the range of from about 2% to about 5% by weight, thereby to wet and partially impregnate said probe with said solution, withdrawing said probe from said solution and drying said probe to form thereon a visible deposit of cobaltous chloride to serve as a moisture indicator coating on said probe, inserting the coated probe into the soil of a potted plant to a region near roots of said plant, maintaining said probe in the soil of the potted plant for a dwell period of at least about 3 seconds to expose said cobaltous chloride to moisture conditions existing within said soil, withdrawing said probe from said soil and visually examining said probe to determine any change in the color of the cobaltous chloride coating thereon, thereby to establish any need to add water to the potted plant, said need being indicaTed by a disappearance of blue coloration from the cobaltous chloride deposit on said probe.

Claim 9

The method of making a quantitatively meaningful determination of the moisture concentration in the soil of a potted plant to establish empirically whether water should be added to the soil in which the plant is potted, said method comprising the steps of: immersing a probe in a solution containing a solute consisting essentially of cobaltous chloride in a concentration in the range of from about 2% to about 5% by weight, thereby to wet and partially impregnate said probe with said solution, withdrawing said probe from said solution and drying said probe to form thereon a visible deposit of cobaltous chloride to serve as a moisture indicator coating on said probe, inserting the coated probe into the soil of a potted plant to a region near roots of said plant, maintaining said probe in the soil of the potted plant for a dwell period of at least about 3 seconds to expose said cobaltous chloride to moisture conditions existing within said soil, withdrawing said probe from said soil and visually examining said probe to determine any change in the color of the cobaltous chloride coating thereon, thereby to establish any need to add water to the potted plant, said need being indicaTed by a disappearance of blue coloration from the cobaltous chloride deposit on said probe.