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Bamboo Stick for Testing Soil Moisture

The easiest and most reliable way to judge soil moisture is a simple dry smooth bamboo 1/2 inch diameter stake about 3 feet long with no lacquer or plastic coating. This is a green garden stake from Home Depot that was left outside and the dye wore off. Select a place six inches from the base of the plant and push the stake down about three inches, then quickly pull it out. Examine soil particles that adhere to the stake. This is just like using a toothpick to test a cake. It gives you a graduated view of soil moisture content at different soil levels. Here is a dry portion of the stick indicating that the soil is quite dry at all levels and means you need to water the plant. You can buy an electrical soil moisture gauge but I find this more effective and you can feel the soil particles with your fingers to get a more accurate measure of water content. Mirliton roots are shallow so you don't have to worry about water content deep down. This is the stake before I did the moisture test. It should be dry and smooth. Always let the stake dry out for a few hours before you do another test.
Here is the bottom of the stick with loose soil particles indicating that the bottom two inches of soil are moist, but not overly saturated, so no need to water.
Loose particles for several inches indicate even moisture content for about the top six inches. What you want to watch for is a clean stick all the way which means the plant needs watering, or a saturated stick which means too much water.
Good distribution of soil particles means soil moisture levels are fine and no need to water.