potting soil wet vs dry question

[endlesslyonline]

Ok, so I know plants must not be overwatered, and be left to completely dry b4 another watering. Question is just, with potting soil, when is dry??

Thr potting soil I ise is some local make, cant find the ones recommended on here. It seems to be a good and popular one though

It has good drainage, but when is it dry? I know the whole knuckle deep and feel if damp, but the potting soil always feels damp? The top layer dries out quote quickly, once a day, but the rest still looks damp, but as fair as I can tell, potting soil always looks damp? Now, I heard if one lets it get completely bone dry, it will repel water?

So, in short, how dry should potting soil be before watering?

 

[SnapsProvolone]

Just wait for a slight wilt, then lift the pot. There's your reference.

 

[ChingOwn]

dry pot weight is less heavy than wet pot weight.......but then you have to remember what dry pot weight feels like......Altered consciousness sense memory perception?

 

[SnapsProvolone]

A dry pot is most obvious. More like lifting an empty sponge compared to a wet one.

 

[BluJayz]

The knuckle works great for me. Me thinks if it "always feels wet" you might be over watering. give it a few days you will one time stick your finger in and be like oh shit yep its dry.

 

[Bomixius]

You can also look at the bottom, if your plant allows it, what does the soil look like that you can see through the drainage holes?

 

[az2000]

I use weight. As @SnapsProvolone said, let the leaves become droopy once or twice and lift your container to learn what dry feels like. You don't want to do this every feeding because it is stress. But, it won't hurt to do it occasionally. The droppy leaves bounce back in 30 minutes. You can also dig your finger down to the first knuckle to correlate weight with what the soil feels like. But, after you have "muscle memory" with the weight, that's all you'll rely upon.

 

[Bomixius]

Anyone else use those cheap probes that measure soil moisture? If you need to, it might work

 

[SnapsProvolone]

Anyone else use those cheap probes that measure soil moisture? If you need to, it might work

Ahh, the infamous root stabbers. Again, you'll learn the feel of dry and won't need/want to poke your root ball.

 

[endlesslyonline]

Thanks guys, I get the knuckle, amd the weight methods. What I am trying to figure out is, is it good to let potting soil get completely dry? Because some readings seem to hint towards to dry soil will repel water, so its best to not let it dry, but rather keep it somewhat moist the whole time.

 

[az2000]

Because some readings seem to hint towards to dry soil will repel water, .

That's true. It just means you have to spend more time watering in stages. For example, I pour about 1.3 gallons into a 3-gal container (getting about 20% runoff). I pour a quart around the top soil, then wait 5-10 minutes for it to saturate. Pour another quart. Then half a gallon. Then half a gallon. I can't just pour all 1.3 gallons at once.

 

[endlesslyonline]

That's true. It just means you have to spend more time watering in stages. For example, I pour about 1.3 gallons into a 3-gal container (getting about 20% runoff). I pour a quart around the top soil, then wait 5-10 minutes for it to saturate. Pour another quart. Then half a gallon. Then half a gallon. I can't just pour all 1.3 gallons at once.

Awesome. Thanks, just what I was looking for!

 

[Bomixius]

Also, if you rough up the very top of the soil a bit with your fingers, it allows for a more even water distribution. It's when the top of soil gets hard that it causes water to run to the outside edge of the pot and down the side.

 

[Dr. Who]

Letting them get totally dry is not the best idea.
I learned a long time ago to water a metered amount every day to last till the next day at lights on. Pouring large amounts of costly nutrient solution and allowing flow through is hard on your wallet.
I find that I get more problems when the plant dries out to often.
Why do you want to stress your plant?