Wireless underground soil monitoring represents a less intrusive alternative to the traditional soil monitoring that relies on a wired connection between buried sensors and aboveground devices. This paper seeks to address some of the major challenges associated with implementing a wireless underground soil monitoring system by designing a low-cost and low-power soil sensing device that uses cheap components to measure and predict soil temperature and soil moisture. We evaluate the efficacy of two different communication protocols for use in our soil monitoring design by collecting signal strength measurements through various soils and soil conditions. We also attempt to take advantage of the known relationship between soil moisture and signal attenuation to try and predict soil moisture content based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) data from the receiving node. Doing so would allow for a soil moisture sensing node to be made cheaply without the need for a physical soil moisture sensor. Finally, we design a small-footprint and low-cost underground sensor node to be used for future infield experiments.