Dig This!

I confess to a love of gadgets --- especially helpful ones. I was browsing through the Lee Valley Tools website and few months ago and happened upon The WaterStik. It's an pen-sized moisture sensor that allows you to assess the watering needs of indoor plants with just the push of a button.

I'm not a lazy indoor gardener, but it is difficult to keep track of all of the specific watering needs of the full variety of plants I have. I grow Desert Plants (such as, the Madagascar Dragon Tree, Snake plants and Aloe Vera) to Tropical Plants (such as, Crotons), as well as common indoor plants (such as the Jade plant).

The WaterStik was pretty inexpensive, so I figured, "Why not?" Somewhat to my surprise, the thing really works! And remarkably well, at that. The trick to this gadget is placing the sensor at a specific depth, depending on what type of plant you're dealing with. It comes with a brief Depth Sensor-Plant Guide to move you in the right direction. Then it flashes one of four colors to give you a reading on your plant. Simple. Effective.