A controlled irrigation system can include a control device for determining whether to irrigate soil and at least one irrigation structure having an actuator for controlling water flow. The actuator can be communicably coupled to the control device for delivering water to irrigate a region. The controlled irrigation system further can include at least one time domain reflectometry sensor ("TDRS") located in the soil and communicably coupled to the control device for measuring soil moisture where the control device determines whether to irrigate the soil based on data from the at least one TDRS. Additionally, a method for controlling an irrigation system can include providing multiple TDRS's having probes, distributing each TDRS at a different soil depth, measuring soil moisture content, and irrigating soil based on the measuring step.