Automatic vegetation watering apparatus and method

A method for automatically extracting liquid water from air with an automatic plant watering device, comprising:

• providing a soil sensor probe,
• sensing a moisture level of soil adjacent a plant with the soil sensor probe,
• providing a thermoelectric module with a hot face and a cold face,
• providing a controller configured to control the energization of the thermoelectric module upon receipt of a signal from the moisture sensor probe indicating a moisture level below a desired moisture content of the soil,
• connecting a power supply via the controller to energize the thermoelectric module and providing sufficient power to produce a heat flow in the thermoelectric module to reduce the cold face of the thermoelectric module below 32 degrees F.,
• thermally connecting a first heat sink to the hot face,
• thermally connecting a second heat sink to the cold face,
• providing a condensation member in the form of a container filled with a liquid and having thermally conducting walls thermally connected to the second heat sink, with at least one of said walls exposed to ambient air, the container being configured to allow a temperature of the at least one exposed wall to reduce below 32 degrees F. and be maintained below 32 degrees F. when the thermoelectric module is energized, and the liquid having a freezing temperature sufficiently below 32 degrees F. so as to maintain a liquid state while said thermoelectric module is energized,
• thermally conducting the second heat sink to the at least one exposed wall of the container to reduce the temperature of the at least one exposed wall of the container to below 32 degrees F.
• maintaining the temperature of the exposed wall of the container via the controller below 32 degrees F. for more than an hour in order to collect a layer of frost on the at least one exposed wall of the container,
• terminating the energization of the thermoelectric module via the controller to permit the temperature of the at least one exposed wall of the container to rise above 32 degrees F., so that the layer of frost on the wall will become melt water,
• providing a water collection chamber positioned below the at least one exposed wall of the container and configured to hold collected melt water from said at least one exposed wall of the container,
• collecting the melt water in the water collection chamber and retaining the melt water in the water collection chamber until a temperature of the melt water rises towards ambient temperature a desired amount above 32 degrees F., and
• dispensing the collected melt water onto the soil.