Both under-watering and over-watering can be detrimental to plants. The best way to determine whether a plant needs water is to check the soil moisture. With the InGauge Soil Moisture-Tester it is now easy to know when and how much to water potted and garden plants, lawn & small trees. The InGauge Soil Moisture-Tester is a heavy-duty, recycled plastic gauge that tests soil dampness. Just insert the blade into the soil and pull it out. To determine dampness, observe soil color and how it clings in any of the five evenly spaced notches. The handy moisture-tester can be left in soil all-year as a beautiful garden accent and then used to test soil whenever needed.