Patent ID: 7644537

Claim:
An apparatus for watering plants comprising: a water reservoir having an encapsulated interior cavity and an exterior exposed to ambient air, and said reservoir has upper and lower ends and said located above the root level of a plant to be watered, wherein at least one drain opening is defined in said lower end of said water reservoir, and said upper end of said water reservoir is closed and is provided with an adjustable valve therein and an air conduit passing said valve and extending between said interior cavity and said exterior of said reservoir, whereby said valve is adjustable relative to said conduit to maintain a partial vacuum in said upper end of said reservoir as water drains from said lower end thereof, wherein said conduit has a flexible wall and said valve is a pinch valve, wherein said upper end of said water reservoir is provided with a fill opening and a removable cap that is sealable in fluid-tight engagement in said fill opening and said pinch valve is located within said cap, wherein said cap is provided with an upwardly directed, central, cylindrical positioning socket surrounded by a cylindrical, annular, cup-shaped recess, and said conduit passes through the periphery of said cylindrical annular recess and said pinch valve is formed with a dial having a cylindrical centering post that fits into said positioning socket and which is rotatable therewithin, and an annular valve closure member disposed about said centering post and extending into said cylindrical, annular recess, and said annular valve closure member is formed with a valve closure lobe, whereby rotation of said dial rotates said centering post within said positioning socket and rotates said valve closure lobe therewith to press against said flexible walled conduit to collapse said conduit against said cap to a variable extent in accordance with the angular orientation of said dial relative to said cap.