Environmental Concepts MA10 Moisture Analyzer

I wanted the convenience of not sticking my finger into the soil, so I tried this gizmo. It works…up to a point. It’s not of much use with a deep rooted plant in a big pot, where the top layer of soil might be relatively dry but very moist a bit farther down. It has problems with fast draining soils such as the ones my succulents need, and might lead me to overwater, even taking the included guide into consideration. For plants like my orchids, it’s next to useless. These need to be drenched, then drain off quickly through coarse orchid growing medium, and moisture retained – by the plant - isn’t something this meter was made to register. Watch your plants. Jade plant leaves start to “wrinkle” a bit when dry; pothos starts to slouch. You can look this stuff up on the internets and knowing your plants is really better than relying on a strict schedule or a do-hickey to tell you when to water.

Previous moisture meters with one probe have lost their tip. This one has two probes which makes it more reliable.

I have, and still use, the other popular soil moisture meters posted for sale here. I've had the tips break off as others have experienced. Fortunately for me it's been the tips of the pH meter, which has never worked and has been useless to me. I noticed this meter did not have those tips, so I bought this one in hope. The probes are too short for most all of my house plants. And if that wasn't bad enough, I have the other moisture meters that read the plant soil is wet, while this meter reads the soil is dry. I returned it. I'll stick with the other. At least they work till they break.

I was skeptical about the device after reading reviews here, but was pleasantly surprised that it does work. I am a bit confused about how it works exactly, since it does not require batteries. I tried it on both nearly dried out and just freshly watered plants, and it did show about what I was expecting. 1 was when the soil was just about damp to touch, all the way up to over 10 for when I basically filled the pot (no plants yet) with water and let it drain from the bottom for a couple of minutes. Instructions are written in good English, and there is an extensive list of plants and how much water each of them needs. You cannot keep the device in the ground to monitor the conditions, you have to remove it and wipe the spokes after each use and keep them dry.

This works similar to other moisture testers I have had. To get a good reading you need to be able to push the prongs down almost to the bottom of the tester. If not you will get different readings around the same plant based on how far you push it into the soil. I find it works pretty good checking the soil around my root plants, like carrots. Unsure if the readings in pots are accurate due to soil air pockets. I rate it ok for the garden.

I ordered this for my wife, who is an avid gardener and keeper of house plants. We have three houseplants that she tested using this device. All three came up with different readings and the readings seemed consistent with her own analysis of the soil. The first plant was looking limp and even though the top of the dirt was moist, She already suspected it needed watering. This device confirmed that it did, in fact, require watering. The second plant looked fine and she suspected it did not need water. The device indicated that it was half way between dry and wet. The third plant had just been watered in the previous three days, and the device indicated that it was completely wet and did not need further watering. Overall for house plants, this device seems to be spot-on. She plans on doing some container gardening in the spring and will be interested to see how this device helps with that process. Five stars.

It is pretty sensitive to different conditions and if nothing else tells you what your finger usually does without getting your finger dirty. The chart that comes with it lists an impressive number of flowers but no vegetables or herbs. That’s disappointing. (Their soil thermometer’s chart includes only vegetables.)

This ENVIRONMENTAL CONCEPTS MA10 MOISTURE ANALYZER is just like all the other plant moisture testers that I've tried--it simply doesn't work for me. When I inserted it into a couple of outdoor pots that had just been soaked by a cloudburst, it registered in the 3-4 range (moderately dry), when it should have registered in the 8-10 range (wet to extremely wet). This moisture tester comes with a pretty good plant watering guide. The guide is printed on thin paper and folded up (like most gadget instructions). It tells you how often a variety of potted plants need watering. It also tells you whether a plant needs watering--according to the number shown on the moisture analyzer's readout--but of course that isn't correct unless the readout is accurate. This moisture analyzer doesn't have "sensor tips" made of different metal at the tips of the prongs. (Some soil analyzers have these.) The twin prongs look like ordinary metal wire that is cut to the appropriate length with wire cutters. The prongs on mine aren't quite the same length. Because this moisture analyzer is fairly expensive (about $13 on Amazon), and its readings aren't accurate or consistent, I rate it at 1 star ("I hate it" on the official Amazon scale).