Using skewers to determine when to water

[estación seca]

Assuming it's an orchid that should dry out between waterings.... It depends on where you think the roots are. If you see live roots at the bottom drainage, holes, then I'd wait, even if the top is dry.

Remember if there are large air spaces in the medium you don't need to let it dry out at all.

[nuriko1set]

I am very glad to know of the stick method. So we can just leave the sticks in the media then pull it out periodically to check for moisture, is that right?
I'm a new grower and have no idea when to water. I reportted most of my plants when I first got them. Since most of the roots were in very bad condition, I cut off the rotten ones and sprayed the rest with hydrogen peroxide, which I am now finding out is not good. So surprise, I now have mold in all of my potted orchids. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out a watering system that keeps whatever that's left of my roots hydrated, while keeping the core roots from growing mold (which afr still in my pots, the white fuzzy kind and green spotted kind). I'm thinking it's the peroxide, but at least with this stick method it'll tell me when to water, or at least the couple that I haven't reported yet. Ones I've repotted are in 3" pots, since there weren't very much root left. The roots are mostly near the top and middle of my pot, not long enough to be near the bottom. I thought the media dried very fast, since they are not packed tightly, its in a small pot and I had a small fan on everyday, and the pot feels lighter within a day of watering. And the roots at the top are very dry, but the media in the center of my pot are still growing mold.
So this is not a situation that can be remedied by skewer sticks right? I can't just wait for it to dry out, hence waiting out the mold, before watering them again, is that correct?

I'm not sure if this question can be put here or i should put it into another thread. I'm very new to this board, and this being my first board, I'm not sure of the etiquette. But I appreciate any answers to this dilemma. Thank you!!

[Kim in CT]

When/How Much to water are a huge focus as I'm learning about orchid culture. I've killed many African violets and indoor citrus due to overwatering. I don't want to kill my orchids!

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Kim in CT

When/How Much to water are a huge focus as I'm learning about orchid culture. I've killed many African violets and indoor citrus due to overwatering. I don't want to kill my orchids!

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The skewer idea is like the oil dipstick method maybe. I've never used that method myself - maybe because it might not be convenient to use when the number of orchids increase, and also probably not great to poke a skewer down into media with orchid roots down underneath somewhere.

I also have never used the 'weight' method.

[charlesf6]

Originally Posted by Kim in CT

When/How Much to water are a huge focus as I'm learning about orchid culture. I've killed many African violets and indoor citrus due to overwatering. I don't want to kill my orchids!

Use the skewers for now and after awhile you'll be able to feel the weight difference from when you lift to check them and after they are watered.

[Theodoreorchidking]

I have been using this and they work great. Pro tip is that if the stick has fine particles of soil/ bark on it, the media might not be getting enough air, which will lead to rot. Myrical grow does this and that is a prime indicator that it is a bad media. Orchiata on the other hand leaves hardly anything and the stick only is wet!!!

[Toadwally]

Whatever works is best. for me, best is clear or opaque plastic pots.

[Maree]

For the last 20 years I used the skewer method to determine my watering schedule without an issue with mold. Not sure why recently the wooden skewers are getting moldy within 24 hours.
I’ve seen a suggestion to coat the skewers with nail polish and my local orchid guy suggested spraying the wooden skewers w Neem oil prior to using.
Any thought? Or other ideas? Thank you Mel

[schmiddem]

I tried to put bamboo skewers down into my newly purchases Phal pots. There was no way I could insert them down through the roots. How do you do it?

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by schmiddem

I tried to put bamboo skewers down into my newly purchases Phal pots. There was no way I could insert them down through the roots. How do you do it?

Welcome

You don't want to leave the skewers in the pots... just stick them in to see if there is moisture in the lower part of the pot. Actually, a more accurate way to get a feel for how fast your pots dry out is to water well (water running through the pot), then let the pot drain. Then, weigh the pot on a kitchen scale or postal scale. The next day, weigh it again - weight loss is water evaporating. When the rate of weight loss slows down (Not much more water to evaporate) it is time to water again. Plants should not go completely dry - your goal is "humid air" in the root zone. Not "wet" but not arid either. After you have done this for a few cycles, you'll have a pretty good idea of how fast the plants dry out in your environment and won't have to do this constantly.

When you water, do it thoroughly - water running through the pot flushes out "crud", excess fertilizer salts, and also pulls that all-important air into the root zone.