Testing
Soil moisture meters
Useful for comparing moisture at different depths before watering again. It should supplement a physical soil check, not replace one.
$15 to $40
Checking wet soil
XLUX Plant Soil Moisture Meter (battery-free)
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What to look for
- Long enough probe
- Clear analog dial
- No required battery
Why this matters
A moisture meter is most useful as a comparison tool, not as an absolute number. Push the probe down to where the roots actually are, several inches deep in a container and deeper still in a raised bed, since surface soil dries out long before the root zone does and a probe that only reaches an inch will read dry even when there's plenty of water below. Check a few spots and compare readings to each other over time rather than trusting one reading in isolation, and confirm what the meter says with an actual finger check before you water. Cheap or corroded probes can read wrong in either direction, so treat it as a second opinion, not the final word.
Source: Penn State Extension