Each day growers make many decisions in order to grow the food that we eat. These decisions include deciding when to irrigate and for how long. Soil moisture sensors, buried next to a plant’s roots, provide growers with real-time data that help them decide when its time for an irrigation.

Gonzales high school students inspect row crops to find an ideal location for installation of of the soil sensors.
A special tool called an auger is used to dig a round hole into the soil next to the plants.
It can take a while to dig down far enough so the youth work in pairs.
Veronica clearing rocks out of the hole.
Almost deep enough for the soil probe.
The soil probe is placed in the hole and the dirt is filled in around the sides for a tight fit.

Elizabeth taking a break

The team at the end of a successful day