The upgrade
An Ecowitt wireless soil sensor and its gateway run about $50 together. Push the probe into the soil a zone waters. No wiring, no changes to your Rachio.
One from the Rachio app, one from Ecowitt. Garzed connects to both through their official APIs. About 10–15 minutes if the hardware is already set up.
Readings start immediately, every 15 minutes. Flip the zone to Full Auto and Garzed takes over its watering — it calibrates the soil, then waters from the reading. Garzed never changes what's programmed in your Rachio app, so turn that zone's old schedule off there once Full Auto is running it.
What changes
Watering fires from a measured reading
Rachio's Weather Intelligence is good at what it does — rain skips, seasonal shift — but its soil moisture figure is modeled from weather. It has never touched your soil. With a probe in the ground, the number is real, and the watering decision runs on it.
Each zone gets a measured target
Garzed soaks the zone, watches the soil drain, and takes the level it settles at as that zone's soil capacity. The watering trigger is a percentage of that measured number, set by what's growing there — lawn zones by grass type, garden areas by what's planted.
Watering stops at measured capacity
Full Auto waters in short pulses that pause to soak in and re-check the sensor, and stops when the soil reaches its measured capacity.
What stays
Everything you rely on. Garzed's Schedule mode carries the familiar features — schedules, rain skips — so watering moves into Garzed whole, and a zone not yet on Full Auto still gains a live soil reading, so you can see what its schedule is actually doing to the soil. Garzed never changes what's programmed in the Rachio app; you retire those schedules yourself once Garzed is running the watering.
Common questions
Does this replace the Rachio app?
For watering, yes - Garzed becomes the one place you run it. It drives your Rachio hardware through Rachio's own API with your key, and once your zones are set up in Garzed, turn the old schedules off in the Rachio app so everything is controlled from one place. Garzed never changes your Rachio app's settings itself, so nothing breaks while you switch over.
Which Rachio hardware works?
The Smart Hose Timer, and the Rachio 3 — Garzed fires its individual zones. Other Rachio controllers aren't supported yet.
I mostly water grass. Where does the probe go?
In the soil that zone waters — the edge of the lawn works as well as the middle, and a planted strip on the same zone works too. Lawn zones get watering profiles by grass type, since how far turf should dry down depends on what you're growing.
What does it cost?
There's a free plan — schedules and live soil readings for up to 3 areas, no card. Full Auto is part of Pro: 30-day free trial, then $39/yr, and the first 50 members lock $29/yr.
What if the sensor goes offline?
A backup schedule sized from that zone's own watering history covers it until the sensor is back. The zone doesn't go dry waiting.