> I have 12 tiny temperature loggers, each > one about the size of a stack of three > quarters (the US 25 cent coin). I have > buried them in my garden for a quick > 3-day test to see how well this works > and then plan to put them out for 8 months. This should be a very informative experiment. Recall that the water in wet or damp soil will conduct heat quite rapidly relative to dry soil, so the wetter layer of soil might be closer in temperature to the atmosphere than would be dry soil. And wet soil will hold more heat than dry soil due to the water. A pile of wet soil will change temperature much more slowly than a pile of dry soil. This is one reason deeply planted things survive winters better: they may be below the winter wet zone. Leo Martin Phoenix Arizona USA