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Hello, how do you all go about measuring the moisture level in your… | Anything about plants 🇺🇸 | Planta-community

Sydney

Hello, how do you all go about measuring the moisture level in your pots? Some of mine are really retaining water even though they are in a draining pot.

4 gillningar 27 kommentarer

27 kommentarer

  1. Joycita

    I bought a water meter that has been super useful! I was having the same issue especially with my larger plants. Top soil always looked dry but the bottom was wet and I didn’t know it. They are pretty inexpensive.

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    • Sydney

      Where did you get it from? :)

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    • Cait2k3

      Amazon, $10 search “soil moisture meter”

      1 gilla
    • Joycita

      Amazon, they come in different lengths too. If you have larger plants a long one would be helpful.

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  2. S.R

    I use a wooden skewer that I poke all the way to the botttom of the pot. I let that sit a minute and then pull it out and take a look and feel. If it’s damp with soil sticking to it then it probably doesn’t need water; however if the skewer comes out dry, dusty and little to nothing stuck to it then I assume the plant needs water.

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    • Sydney

      Almost like a brownie test! Lol I’ll try thank you

      1 gilla
    • S.R

      Also - after awhile you can tell if your plant needs water just by picking up the pot. You get used to the different weights of watered vs needs water.

      1 gilla
    • S.R

      Exactly like that! Wow that is such an easier way to explain it than my long winded post 😂

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    • Succulent❤️Mama

      I also do the wooden skewer/chopstick trick to test moisture. Picking up the pot to see how heavy it is works well for plastic pots with succulents that you let dry out fully. You can feel the moisture on the outside of terracotta pots if they aren’t mostly dried out.

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  3. PlantedInJunction

    I usually just stick my finger as far as it will go into the soil. I used a water meter for a while but it was inconsistent. Also after a while you get used to the weight of the plant and how heavy it is when it’s watered versus needs water. Test this out with a few plants that you just watered and then feel the same ones a few days later

    1 gilla
  4. Luvercrew

    What kind of pot are they in? Some pots regain moisture longer than others. Like stoneware pots. Clay pots tend to absorb moisture themselves, and plastic pots are kind of in the middle. I use a moisture meter to check mine, but the plants in stoneware pots don’t get watered nearly as often as planta suggests.

    1 gilla
    • Sydney

      I find that the app has me watering wayy too consistently. And I saw a post about miracle grow soil being no good. I do use cactus soil, perlite and tropical as a mix but I’m thinking I may need to adjust.

      1 gilla
    • Luvercrew

      Yeah when I first started this app I trusted it 100% and ended up overwatering a lot of plants. After losing so many I finally figured out I need to check myself if it actually needs watering lol (I was a newbie at everything). What kind of plants do you have?

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  5. Krista

    What type of soil are you using? General potting mixes can retain a lot of moisture. A new trend is to mix your own with potting soil, perlite, and orchid bark at a minimum. Some people add other things like charcoal and crushed egg shells, etc. This counts as “tropical soil” in Planta.

    1 gilla
    • Sydney

      I’ve been using miracle grow but I am going to swap soon.

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  6. Succulent❤️Mama

    I second the last two comments about soil. I skimmed through your profile for a minute and noticed some of your plants, especially the succulents, are in too big of a pot. If their roots can’t reach the bottom and sides of the pot, they can’t absorb all the water. This might also be why you are noticing the dirt stay dry. If you carefully dump your plant out, see how big the roots are. The pot should be barely bigger than the plant. For succulents anyway. Hope this helps!❤️

    1 gilla
    • Sydney

      Thank you! Does this apply to a jade plant ?

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    • Succulent❤️Mama

      Yes, jade are succulents too, but every plants roots will be a little different. My string of pearls had such small roots that I took it out of its 2” plastic pot after the cactus dirt staying wet too long and put it in a saucer until it’s bigger. Succulents basically want to sit in dry dirt until their leaves get wrinkled or pliable. You then water them and they should suck all that up with in a day or two. If they don’t, they are probably in too big of a pot, wrong soil, not enough light, or you watered them too soon.

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    • Succulent❤️Mama

      Wrinkled leaves. Look at the lower leaves, but not the very oldest that is possibly being consumed by the plant.

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    • Succulent❤️Mama

      Pliable leaves. You just have to know your plant. If the leaves are usually stiff, then when they can curl around your finger, they need water. This sempervivum leaf would usually snap if I did this. Jade shows you it needs water by the older leaves becoming pliable.

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    • Succulent❤️Mama

      Ask any other questions you have, I am happy to help.😊

      1 gilla
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