stelthy
Well-Known Member

I got a reading off the Moisture Meter, it read '3' which is still fairly moist and that was with the MM pushed most of the way in



such a demanding prick, dont like the thread, fuck off then, forum troller with a 3000 post count, lame....ok dude, i was just scanning through the pages with no grow pics, and i found nothing! u should have posted this in different thread section, but then again it all up to you so yeah....happy growing man !
Hi dude, I appreciate the helpim here to help a fellow grower stelthy, not just to earn rep. but thanks for the thought haha! im not sure on how to properly use a moisture meter so im not too sure on how far to go into the soil. also im not sure how the moisture meter operates, does it take reading from the very tip or from the entire stick that is inserted into the soil? if its from the very tip, then in theory you would have to place it as close to the bottom as possible to get a relative reading from the bottom of the pot. if its the entire stick that gives an average moisture level from the all of the surrounding area then you wouldnt need it to be very far in. you are spot on with the run off, its basically the excess water that isnt retained in the soil and ends up in your dish under the pot. some people like to check PH of nutes going in as well as the run off to see if there is any change. i personally havent done that but i also dont try to perfect my grow to the finest details. theres many things you can add to your soil to make it less water retainable or more water retainable depending on how often you want to water. i personally like to see the plants suck up moisture quick to know they are properly functioning therefore i add perlite to my mix to give it less ability to retain the moisture and have to water more frequently. the main key i will say though for soil IMO, if anything let the plants get too dry before adding water to avoid over watering. i like to see some droopiness in the leaves to show they are thirsty but if this is caught too late you will definetely see some dried growth in fan leaves and possible loss of some. dryness is way easier for a plant to overcome then over watering. overwatering may seem weird to someone who does mainly hydro, but soil doesnt have the same air to water ratio as hydro and the roots eventually are sufficated.
Cheers for the insightI find the weight method works best. 1 Liter of water weighs 1KG. So if you get a 4L pot and put soil in it, then lift it up a few time this is the point your plant need watering now add water slowly until you get 15 – 20% run off and lift it again, this should give you an idea of the difference between both. After doing this a few time you get a much better idea of their requirements. Under watering is bad because the plant uses water for evaporation to expel toxins from it system and moving nutrients around, but in saying that over watering is bad also because it cuts air off from the roots and causes problems……. This is my understanding of the process. You should have around 15 - 20% run off after watering your soil. The reason for this is nutrients are salts and the plant uses some nutrients faster than others. So you will find a buildup of unused salts in the soil, this is bad! Plants use a process called osmosis to draw nutrients (salts) into their system and if your soil has to higher unused nutrient (salt) content it can draw nutrients from the plant themselves and make the rootball toxic. So the idea of the extra run off is to try to flush the unused nutrients away. This is also why some people test the run off to see its EC level. If it’s real high then you need to increase your run off Hope this helps = )
such a demanding prick, dont like the thread, fuck off then, forum troller with a 3000 post count, lame....
Hi Dan, Yeah the moisture meter I have is pretty lame, it work's but accuracy is not great, I can't understand how garden companies/store's etc can sell stuff that doesn't work propperly? lolGlad to see you got plants going. I'd take the soil meter back to get you quids back. They are worthless. Just saying, Ive used them landscaping. It will be unreliable. IMO you will find it pointless anyway.
Daniels