Reinier van der Lee created the Vinduino project (Vineyard + Arduino) to better manage the irrigation of his Southern California vineyard:

Vinduino, a wine grower’s water saving project

Monitoring soil moisture at different depths to determine when to irrigate, and – more importantly – how much water is needed. Save 25%!

Reineir explains further on his project page:

If you want to learn about saving water, talk to a farmer. California farmers, including myself, voluntarily aim to reduce agricultural water consumption by 25%. This reduction is more than the annual urban water use, much more effective than any residential water reduction can achieve.

The project includes:

• DIY calibrated gypsum soil moisture sensors
• Hand held sensor reader for soil moisture, salinity & water pressure
• Solar powered remote sensor platform:
  • 3 electrically separated inputs for soil moisture sensors
  • Wifi (ESP8266) or Appcon RF module for long range connectivity (miles)
  • Irrigation valve control, optional pressure sensor for valve operation feedback
  • DHT-11 temperature/humidity sensor

Vinduino has produced impressive results:

• In 2015 we saved 25% , or 430,000 gallons, of irrigation water.
• Cost saving on water and labor was $1,925
• Cost to achieve these savings was $635
• Minimum configuration for developing countries, incl. salinity measurement: $60

 

ReiniervdL has shared two project on OSH Park:

Vinduino-R V0.1: Remote soil moisture measurement 

2 layer board of 3.69×3.15 inches (93.65×80.01 mm).
Shared on June 7th, 2015 21:33.

 

2 layer board of 2.39×2.00 inches (60.66×50.80 mm).
Shared on June 7th, 2015 21:33.