testing for moisture/dryness

[ChasWG]

Ok, so it's a wooden stick... How is it used to test for moisture? I think I understand it, but better that it come from someone else and not my ideas of how it works. These plants are kinda expensive.

Thanks for the encourgement. I will ask. As they say, the only stupid question is the one not asked.

[nenella]

You stick one in the pot.If you have a transparent pot all the better you can stick the skewer where you can't see any roots.. If your pot is not see through slowly & gently put it in twirling it so you can 'feel' if you come onto something hard..and just adjust accordingly. You should leave the skewer in all the time always replacing it into the hole you took it out of. Someone in an other post suggested to put it next to the plant label so as not to lose the 'hole'. Also you should check the skewer by holding it to your cheek to see if it feels wet and cold or dry. If you are not sure it is better to not water for one more day than to over water. Hope this helps! there are many threads on this on the OB

[Kath]

I don't feel so alone! I too have trouble with all the abbreviations of names of orchids! Thank goodness Google is there to help! As for your questtion on watering, if your plants are in moveable pots, tryweighing them. I find that if the pot feels 'light' it needs to be watered. I think I read it somewhere on the Board already, and I have a feeling there is someone else out there who does the same thing as me. Hope it works for you!

[Ray]

At the very beginning of this thread:

Originally Posted by VickiC

I just can't strike a happy medium.

That's the answer, right there - the "happy" medium. (OK. One possible answer, anyway.)

I take the approach that the medium needs to be open and airy enough that even when it is saturated, it won't suffocate the root system. (It's not water that causes rot, it's root death that does.) If the medium is like that, I can water whenever I want and never rot the roots.

I always use medium/coarse potting mix components (50% CHC/25% Charcoal/25% perlite being my most common non-S/H mix), and have been known to throw about 10% additional chopped sphagnum for stuff that'll be in a very dry environment.

Far more plants die from no roots than from no water, and they recover better from the latter, too, so it's far less of a concern.

[VickiC]

Hi Chas,
You're very welcome. I'm just passing on to you what other OB members have told me.....which was "always ask, no question is silly or stupid".
Enjoy being a member, as I do.....
Vicki

Originally Posted by ChasWG

Thanks for the encourgement. I will ask. As they say, the only stupid question is the one not asked.

[lostonthebeach]

Originally Posted by VickiC

Hi Camille,
I read on an older post that someone else did the same as you and put the skewer back in the same hole each time, so I tried that. I can never find the same hole in the medium, though.....my plants are so small. I'm gonna keep trying, though.

I used to have the same problem. I found that if you put two skewers side by side in the pot and leave them when it is time to check just remove one and put it back right along side of the one still in the pot. You can always find the little hole this way.
Hope this helps.

[VickiC]

Thanks again,Ray. I always appreciate your help.

Ok, I understand what you are saying about "open and airy medium.....and killing roots by suffocation rather than overwatering".....but.....I have another question, please: Using Catts only as an example (whose medium should completely dry before rewatering, I understand ??).....how do you keep these roots that are growing in an open and airy medium from drying, turning brown and dieing from thirst, while I am waiting for the medium to dry? Is this a $64,000 newbie orchid growers question or is the problem just me?

I hope I am making sense. That's another of my short-comings.....sometimes not being able to write what I am thinking.
Vicki

Originally Posted by Ray

At the very beginning of this thread:


That's the answer, right there - the "happy" medium. (OK. One possible answer, anyway.)

I take the approach that the medium needs to be open and airy enough that even when it is saturated, it won't suffocate the root system. (It's not water that causes rot, it's root death that does.) If the medium is like that, I can water whenever I want and never rot the roots.

I always use medium/coarse potting mix components (50% CHC/25% Charcoal/25% perlite being my most common non-S/H mix), and have been known to throw about 10% additional chopped sphagnum for stuff that'll be in a very dry environment.

Far more plants die from no roots than from no water, and they recover better from the latter, too, so it's far less of a concern.

[VickiC]

Ah-ha.....good idea.....thank you!
Vicki

Originally Posted by lostonthebeach

I used to have the same problem. I found that if you put two skewers side by side in the pot and leave them when it is time to check just remove one and put it back right along side of the one still in the pot. You can always find the little hole this way.
Hope this helps.

[VickiC]

Hi Kath,
Yes, thank goodness for Google and OB!

I realize that weighing pots by "their feel" is a very good way to monitor damp/dry.....but, I have far from mastered this yet. I really wish I could.....I'm guessing that this method can only be learned from experience. That's what I lack, but I bet you don't.

Thanks again....I hope I can learn your method in time.
Vicki

Originally Posted by Kath

I don't feel so alone! I too have trouble with all the abbreviations of names of orchids! Thank goodness Google is there to help! As for your questtion on watering, if your plants are in moveable pots, tryweighing them. I find that if the pot feels 'light' it needs to be watered. I think I read it somewhere on the Board already, and I have a feeling there is someone else out there who does the same thing as me. Hope it works for you!

[ChasWG]

Vicki, I don't even have to ask questions, I'll just read your threads and get all the right answers! You are asking all the same questions I would. Thanks for being there and asking!