Upgrade Your Garden With Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensing
Take advantage of capacitive sensing when measuring your favorite plant's soil moisture!
Tired of your soil moisture sensors corroding after just a few weeks in the dirt? In our latest video, Malcolm takes a look at the SparkFun Qwiic Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensor, an improved and non-invasive new version of our classic sensor for better tracking of your plant's health. Check out the full video below to see us demonstrate the sensor in action!
This capacitive version of the Qwiic Soil Moisture Sensor solves this exact problem. Instead of relying on exposed metal leads that degrade over time, this breakout measures moisture levels using a capacitive plate safely embedded within the board, and managed by the CY8CMBR3102 Capsense® Express™ controller. This design makes it much more corrosion-resistant, ensuring a significantly longer lifespan for your connected garden and agricultural projects.
$9.95
The Capacitive Advantage
Traditional soil moisture sensors often rely on exposed metal leads that degrade over time due to electrolysis and corrosion. This capacitive version solves that problem by:
- Longer Lifespan: Moisture levels are measured using a capacitive plate safely embedded within the PCB, managed by the CY8CMBR3102 Capsense® Express™ controller.
- Consistent Readings: Unlike resistive sensors, this design doesn't suffer from fluctuating data as the probes degrade.
One Sensor to "Rule" Them All
Soil moisture levels can vary significantly depending on depth. To ensure consistent data, we've included a built-in ruler on the PCB with both imperial and metric units. This makes it easy to track exactly how deep your sensor is inserted, whether you're monitoring a small succulent or a large garden bed.
Curious where to start? A few weeks ago we decided to showcase projects that feature various forms of our soil moisture sensor - some projects are ours and some come from the community. All of these projects expand on the basic example of putting a soil moisture sensor in a pot or similar plant vessel and getting readings in the serial monitor on your computer.
As always, we can't wait to see what you make! Shoot us a tweet @sparkfun, or let us know on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn.
