Patent ID: 8354852

Claim:
A method for performing soil moisture measurements utilizing radiofrequency, the method comprising: transmitting a radiofrequency signal from a wireless sub-surface soil sensor through a soil material to an above-ground receiver at a set frequency and power, wherein the wireless sub-surface soil sensor is buried at least three inches below a surface, wherein the wireless soil sensor comprises a main body having a sensing component, a removable sleeve positioned over the sensing component, an antenna and a processor configured to transmit the radiofrequency signal through the antenna at the set frequency and power, wherein the antenna is tuned utilizing a plurality of resistors and a plurality of inductors to maintain a constant impedance magnitude; measuring a signal strength for the radiofrequency signal received at an above-ground receiver; transmitting the signal strength for the radiofrequency signal to a control engine; comparing the signal strength to a table of signal strength correlated with moisture values for the soil material at the control engine; and determining at the control engine a real-time soil moisture measurement from the table based on the signal strength of the radiofrequency signal from the wireless soil sensor, wherein the lower the signal strength of the radiofrequency signal, the higher the moisture value for the soil.