Description:
The sensor consists of two probes which are used to measure the volumetric content of water. The two probes allow the current to pass through the soil and then it gets the resistance value to measure the moisture value.
When there is more water, the soil will conduct more electricity which means that there will be less resistance. Therefore, the moisture level will be higher. Dry soil conducts electricity poorly, so when there will be less water, then the soil will conduct less electricity which means that there will be more resistance. Therefore, the moisture level will be lower.
The Soil Moisture Sensor is a simple breakout for measuring the moisture in soil and similar materials. The soil moisture sensor is pretty straight forward to use. The two large exposed pads function as probes for the sensor, together acting as a variable resistor. The more water that is in the soil means the better the conductivity between the pads will be and will result in a lower resistance, and a higher SIG out.
To get the Soil Moisture Sensor functioning all you will need is to connect the VCC and GND pins to your Arduino-based device (or compatible development board) and you will receive a SIG out which will depend on the amount of water in the soil. One commonly known issue with soil moisture senors is their short lifespan when exposed to a moist environment.