Fabric pots and soil fertility

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PinPin

Active Member
I believe I have asked about it before but it has not been answered.

This is my first grow in fabric pots and also the first grow with monitoring soil moisture and fertility using Xiaomi Flower care sensors. I have a sensor for each plant but two.

I kind of read about them before and I know they need much more frequent watering but I cannot find any information on what's going on with plant food in them.

If I trust the sensors and I have no ground not to trust them it seems I have to feed them with nuts with every watering.

My plants in flowering now and they are sitting in 5 gallon pots. Everyday I have to give each plant at least 500ml of water to keep soil moisture above 15%. It makes 40-60% of soil moisture right after watering.

Also if I do not add nuts to water bringing water EC to about 1500-2000 microsiemens/cm I have really small values shown on the sensors(below 150 microsiemens/cm)

If I water with nutes it brings soil fertility to anywhere from 250 to 900 microsiemens/cm. However next day when some water runs out some dries on sides the fertility drops again to levels below 150 microsiemens/cm)

I do not mind to water them with nutes and I do not have any significant nuts burn but it is kind of strange that either each plant consumes so much food within 12-24 hours or water with nutes drying inside pots taking nutes with it or just running out taking all nutes with it.

I am sure there is a plenty of guys growing in fabric pots and I believe some of them using soil EC sensors. Can someone share their experience with watering and feeding their plants
 
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PinPin

Active Member
I have found this on another forum about fabric pots

" I've also see where some have said to feed every other watering"

The same was mentioned on this forum a few years ago in a topic about fabric pots.

That's ok with me, they won't die with standing one day with less fertile soil.

Is it possible that nuts are still there but because soil dries up too quickly the sensors are just not showing a correct value of EC without a proper moisture in soil?
 
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PinPin

Active Member
I have just watered them without nutes and soil fertility is back to normal levels.

I guess I have answered my own question. Never measure it if soil is very dry.
 
Budley Doright

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
The meter measures the resistance through the media and without water it really has no way to get a reading, soil makes a poor conductor. Is the monitor you have meant to read the soil conductivity? I’ll do some reading as I’m now curious lol.
 
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PinPin

Active Member
Yes, there are a few sensors in this device, soil moisture, soil fertility, temperature and sunlight. It is not really well documented what condition of soil should be to get proper numbers.
I just assumed it should read soil EC when soil has at least 15% of moisture but it seems it should be 40% and more to measure EC properly.
Plus I have two of them that still show very low number(4 and 25 microsiemens/cm) for EC even for very moist soil. It may be just a position of each monitor in soil. They do not go deep into soil, only 4 inches deep.

It is good I have 5 of them so even when 2 of them shows the wrong numbers for EC and other 3 work properly I know it is just wrong numbers coming from these 2.

They are still good for monitoring a few parameters even though Sunlight is pointless once there is some canopy developed above them blocking your light.

If you decide to buy them, be careful though. There is a version that works only in China(it checks your GPS position and your IP) and there is an international version that will work everywhere. You can get Chinese version to work if you fake your GPS and connect through chinese VPN using some apps from Google Play store but it is hard to find working chinese VPN app.
After you make Chinese version to register on your Xiaomi account through their Flower Care app you can stop pretending you are in China and remove fake GPS and VPN apps. They will still work after that.
Both versions look the same, with a very small difference in their prices. Usually whoever sells them should tell you what version it is. I have got mine on ebay and paid about AU$20-23 for each.
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
Budley Doright said:
The meter measures the resistance through the media and without water it really has no way to get a reading, soil makes a poor conductor. Is the monitor you have meant to read the soil conductivity? I’ll do some reading as I’m now curious lol.
Click to expand...
No free C02 with this nobbies babes... shame shame !

in time many of these 'magic' devices fail

understanding time with your plants is time out for you

vital in todays world

good luck
 
Budley Doright

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
vostok said:
No free C02 with this nobbies babes... shame shame !

in time many of these 'magic' devices fail

understanding time with your plants is time out for you

vital in todays world

good luck
Click to expand...
Why are you wishing me good luck lol. I have no intention of buying one, just curious how they would work based on conductivity. I honestly doubt they do but that’s why I’m curious. I never measure anything in my soil grows, their outside and fed compost 1DE088BB-75AD-4317-8ED0-E6CFAF0139FC.jpeg
 
vostok

vostok

Well-Known Member
Budley Doright said:
Why are you wishing me good luck lol. I have no intention of buying one, just curious how they would work based on conductivity. I honestly doubt they do but that’s why I’m curious. I never measure anything in my soil grows, their outside and fed compost View attachment 4211067
Click to expand...
Then I offer more free cheap Good Luck

as baby you sound like u need it ....lol
 
tyke1973

tyke1973

Well-Known Member
Been thinking of Buying a few ,and using them on the Bloody Skunk Autos i have going at the minute.
 
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