This little gadget looks so simple you’d think it’s a toy, but it’s actually functional.

The item shown above is the Dr Meter Soil Moisture Sensor Meter. If you’re a gardener, this is a useful tool to have in your arsenal. In the Texas heat, this serves a very important function in our yard. I’ve almost lost our grass a few times from not being able to water our lawn enough. We don’t have a budget as of yet to have an automatic sprinkler installed, so I have to water everything manually — plants and lawn alike. Sometimes the ground looks okay from a distance, but I sometimes forget the effects of the Texas heat.

The Dr Meter Soil Moisture Sensor Meter allows me to take a quick look whether it’s about time to start watering the plants/grass. In a way, it helps save money… as I don’t want to over-water either. In addition, over-watering can kill some plants. I know… well, I learned the hard way, because I’ve inadvertently killed a few!

It’s really easy to use, by the way. There are no adjustments to make, buttons to push, or assembly required. Just stick the metal part into the ground, and that’s it! I told you it was simple!

The Dr Meter Soil Moisture Sensor Meter has a gauge that tells you quickly whether there is moisture in the soil to sustain and keep plants/grass healthy. It’s got a scale ranging from 1-10, marked from ‘dry’ to ‘moist’ to ‘wet’ as you can see in the photo above. My suggestion is that you try to get an idea how deep the root level of your plant is, then stick this in the ground as deep as the root tips. I’ve noticed that there are changes in the reading of the gauge, depending on how deep you insert the probe into the ground. Keep that in mind.

Here’s mine when I stuck it in the ground. Notice the gauge has moved up, but still close to dry position. It’s time to water the plants and lawn!

We’ve had a couple of days of heavy rain in south Texas this October due to the hurricane in Mexico. When I checked the Dr Meter Moisture Sensor Meter, it registered a 10 scale on the gauge. At least I know mine works!

I don’t know how long this meter will continue to work, especially left out in the sun with the kind of heat that we get in Texas. Hopefully, it will last for some time. We’ll see!

The packaging material is just simple. There’s nothing catchy about it, really.

However, the back has a pre-printed material that contains a plant-watering guide for the most common household plants.

As I’ve mentioned it looks like a toy, but actually has an important function. What’s even good is that it requires no electricity or battery at all! That adds to the savings, doesn’t it?

If you think this is something that could be useful to the gardener in your family (whether it’s a flower or a vegetable garden),or for basic use like getting an idea when to water the lawn, the Dr Meter Soil Moisture Sensor Meter is currently being sold at Amazon at a 73 percent discount at the time of this writing.