While looking around Kickstarter yesterday I came across this project - which could be particularly helpful to anyone needing to re-do their garden and afraid it could all go to waste when they don't realise how much water is in the soil. PlantLink is designed to help solve this problem, by measuring the dampness of soil and either alerting you or automatically watering the monitored plants.
Not only this, but it is designed so it'll know how much water is needed for different plant varieties and different soil types to ensure your plants grow properly.
A basic system consists of a hub and three links - each of which monitors one plant. Virtual unlimited links can be added per system/hub. In addition to this you can add one or more valves, which reacts to data provided by the links - you attach it to a hose and when a plant screams "feed me", that's exactly what the valve does.
And yes, as expected of a high-tech gadget, it'll let you get notifications straight to your phone:
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As this is Kickstarter project, they'll only be manufactured if the project reaches its funding goal. Target delivery is June 2013, but Kickstarter project have a habit of running behind schedule and hitting delays. For those unfamiliar with Kickstarter, you basically pledge to commit a certain amount; if it doesn't reach the goal the project isn't funded and you're not charged anything. If it reaches the goal, then the project is funded.
Anyway, hopefully someone else thinks this is a cool idea for their garden.