Finding the right soil moisture meter takes time! Source: IITA. Sometimes referred to as a soil moisture sensor, these devices do exactly what you expect. They gauge the moisture in soil. For gardeners, this is essential information. Most plants don’t like having “wet feet”.
![Soil moisture sensor meter Soil moisture sensor meter](https://www.smart-prototyping.com/image/cache/data/SKU%20Photos/10100012/1-750x750.jpg)
![Moisture Moisture](/uploads/1/2/5/6/125650240/309863447.jpg)
Soil moisture sensor systems take the guesswork out of watering by interrupting the normal functioning of automatic irrigation timers. Soil moisture sensors buried in soil feed information through underground wires to a system controller, which has an electrical circuit with an automatic irrigation timer. When sensors indicate that the soil moisture level is low, the controller maintains the circuit; but when sensors send information that soil moisture level is high, the controller breaks the circuit and the timer stops working. The moisture level that triggers shutting down irrigation is set when the soil moisture sensor system is installed. You can install soil moisture sensors and set the controller on a basic home system without professional help.
1Place the soil moisture sensor system controller next to the automatic irrigation timer. Dig holes for the soil moisture sensors 3 inches deep with a trowel in the irrigation area. The holes should be at least 5 feet from irrigation sprinkler heads, the house, property lines and hard surfaces, and at least 3 feet from garden beds.
Also, soil moisture sensor holes should be close enough to the automatic irrigation timer for the wires to reach them, and they should be in the area of the yard that requires the most irrigation, such as a full-sun area.