skewer method? how, specifically?
 

I am so freakin' happy i have found my TRIBE! I have been an orchid freak in my own little hovel ...

please, one of you geniuses, explain to me how I use the skewer method to test out the wetness/dryness of the soil.

Put a wood skewer through the centre of the pot and let it sit there. Pull it out and feel if it is moist or not.

Easiest done with your lips.

may be a pencil, a wooden chopstick or a bar-b-q wooden stick....
as Magnus instructed; stick it in the center of the pot and when you pull it out after 10 seconds or more....if the part immersed should be wet and moist; its not yet time to water=but if the skewer comes out dry then you must water the plant....
one must master the skewer method to efficiently water the plant....or else it will develop root rot or a dehydrated plant

I put the skewers (skinny bamboo skewers) right next to the outside edge of the pot if plants don't have lots of roots. For some plants I know the roots are going to fill up the peripheral region of the pots, I put it between the pot and the label in attempt to minimize stubbing the roots. With plastic pots, the moisture seems to be pretty homogeneous whether it is in the center or right along the pot.

Here is an additional info.

Skewer use for watering of orchids - Orchid Forum Orchid Care

If you do an experiment with pots without plants, you'll learn well about the relationship between the amount of wetness in the pot and the state of skewer. Basically you put media in you pot and stick the skewer. Then wait a couple day and keep checking the skewer. When you think it should be watered, you can dump out the mix onto a newspaper or something, and see the moisture condition of the mix.

Great info! Now I can water properly!

I put mine as near to the centre as possible and fairly deep. That is where it will remain wet the longest and where the risk of root rot will come from. I touch it to my face just above the lip because it is sensitive to how damp it is. Depending how wet or dry the orchid is supposed to get, this will tell you when it is time to water. Put it back in the same place so you aren't stabbing holes in existing roots every time you test it! I have quite killing orchids to root rot since I adopted this method.

I've developed that habbit of checking the wetness by touching the cheek with the skewer and I greatly regret it now as after some months my face developed some type dermatosis! :(( Don't do that! Think about it, it's not recommended to even stick the same skewer into another pot as it can transfer bacteria, fungus, etc. You put all those chemicals into the media and there are dirt particles as well. Why would you do it to your face???

Check moisture by touching it with the tip of your finger and also observe the color as it gets darker when wood is moistened. And in the end, don't forget to wash your hands!

L.

Well, I don't have dirt particles other than bark or moss and I don't use much for chemicals except for some plant food on most of my orchids. But I get your point. I don't think my tough hard working fingers would ever feel it properly and my sticks get dark over time even when they are dry due to staining from the bark and seaweed water I feed the plants.

I hope your dermatosis goes away!

Well said

Note that this is a VERY old thread (last activity was in 2012). Why don't you introduce yourself in the Introductions - Break the Ice forum?