The video at the bottom of this post explains in 60 seconds the simple bamboo skewer stick soil moisture technique that will prevent you from drowning your young mirliton.
As you may know, we recommend that you overwinter your mirliton in a 3-gallon container filled with potting soil, which will enable you to transplant the plant in the spring with a healthy rootball. Watering is the main problem you may encounter. The mirliton needs very little water the first several weeks because it comes with its own water source–the fruit. You should initially thoroughly water it and leave it alone for some time so you don’t drown the roots. The only way the container will lose water is through evapotranspiration—by natural evaporation of the soil and loss of small amounts of water through the leaves (transpiration).
The best way to check the soil moisture is the bamboo skewer stick test. It works better than any expensive electronic tester. Insert and withdraw the skewer quickly and visually examine it. It will provide you with a graduated reading–each particle of soil represents the available moisture at that specific level. The bottom of the stake will show the moisture at the deepest level. Feel the skewer with your fingers to get a feel for moisture levels. Then leave the stick out to dry for the next test.
When you move the plant outside, it may lose moisture and need to me monitored more regularly. Here’s the quick and simple video: bit.ly/3w6vJ8o