Six Installation Tips
1.Play with instrumentation in the lab before going out to install sensors.
2.If you can, install the sensors the day after a good rain. It's always easier to install sensors into undisturbed soil when the soil is slightly moist.
3.Use a ½ inch notched pvc pipe to push the sensor into the bottom of an deep augured hole.
4.Run the cables through a PVC pipe from just below the surface to the data logger to prevent rodent damage.
5.If your soils are very rocky, use a sensor that measures water potential instead of one that measures volumetric water content. Because water potential measurements are independent of soil type, water potential sensors do not have to be installed in undisturbed soil. Therefore, water potential sensors can be installed by sifting the rocks from the soil and installing the sensor in a pocket of rock-free soil.
6.If you need to remove the data logger from your field area (for planting or harvesting purposes, for example), install an underground valve box to store the cables until you can put the logger out again. This also makes the sensors easier to find.