XLUX Long Probe Soil Moisture Meter Review

Our Verdict

A lawn that looks dry on top is often fine two inches down, and a lawn that looks fine can be bone dry under a thatch layer. This settles that in a second, and the long probe is the point — a short probe only tells you about the surface, which is the layer that misleads. Battery-free is welcome. Now the honest framing, because it is easy to buy this for the wrong reason: this measures MOISTURE. It does not measure soil temperature, so it is no help with the pre-emergent timing our weed articles are built around — that needs a soil thermometer, which is a different instrument. Treat the readings as comparative rather than absolute too: these analogue meters are good at telling you 'wetter here than there' and 'wetter than yesterday', and not precise enough to argue about. A screwdriver pushed into the ground tells you most of the same thing for free; this is faster and easier to read.