fatbuds420
Well-Known Member
do analog moisture meters work? has anyone tried them?
Do moisture meters work?
- Thread starter fatbuds420
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They work alright- they'll tell you if the soil is wet, damp, or dry, reliably.
Some of them also have a "pH" setting....the pH function is pretty much useless.
I'm assuming you mean the type with 2 prongs, that you poke into your soil?
Some of them also have a "pH" setting....the pH function is pretty much useless.
I'm assuming you mean the type with 2 prongs, that you poke into your soil?
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- #3
fatbuds420
Well-Known Member
Yep, so I should trust it to tell me if the soil is wet or dry correct?
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
no... there is only one useful reading with that meter... if you stick it all the way down to where the water is sitting in the bottom half of the container, you will notice the meter pegs over to the right side. Moist is a useless reading for what we do here... you need to know where the top of the water table is. When it falls down into the last inch of the container, where it never really dries out, it is time to water.
skirk
Well-Known Member
Inserted horizontally, through the holes of my airpots, or the fabric of my fabric pots, I found it to be a useful tool to measure moisture content at top, middle and bottom when I first started growing and was getting a handle on my watering technique. Very helpful in preventing me from watering too often.
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fatbuds420
Well-Known Member
sounds grate! when do you water, when it's on dry?
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
when it is on dry in the last inch of the container
skirk
Well-Known Member
What Emilya said. The visual on my meter has a red, green and blue section with a 1-10 scale above. When it falls between 2-3 in the red, time to hydrate. Good luck.
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fatbuds420
Well-Known Member
same for all sizes? seedling and big girls?
skirk
Well-Known Member
Roger that.
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
all sizes... it is imperative to let the water table fall down to the last inch of the container before watering again. If you were using the lift method, at this point you would not be able to feel the water weight in the container.
The reason this is so important is that those lower roots need to see oxygen between waterings, or they will begin to shut down in order to protect themselves from the flood. The way this oxygen gets pulled down there is because of how that water table acts within the container, because as it falls, the top of the water table acts like a big diaphragm that pulls the oxygen down from the surface of the soil, all the way down to the roots. This is the only good way to get oxygen down there, but if you constantly water too often, never letting the water table fall that low, you will end up drowning and stunting your plants.
Doctor Trevor
Well-Known Member
After I started using my two-prong three-in-one meter, I questioned it. I stuck the prongs in a jug of water. The meter said it was 'damp.'
I also dipped it in a food grade sanitizer solution. It should've read 2.8 or less. It read 4.5
I don't use it anymore.
I also dipped it in a food grade sanitizer solution. It should've read 2.8 or less. It read 4.5
I don't use it anymore.
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- #13
fatbuds420
Well-Known Member
Ph values are not to read, this thinks give really off ph values, I use an electric pH measuring device, most of the time. I don't tho, ya always gotta calibrate it its a pain in the bum
Bush Doctor 77
Well-Known Member
Weight works for me. As far as a multi meter, don't waste your money. Test strips for pH are as good as any cheap meter. Meters can be a pain, as you must follow a specific testing procedure. Before any test, a meter must be rinsed with DI water, then blotted dry. After every test, it must be rinsed with DI and dried.
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- #15
fatbuds420
Well-Known Member
@Emilya are cannabis fertilizers saline? these meters work by measuring the electrical conductivity....
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- #16
fatbuds420
Well-Known Member
I heard ph stripes are very inaccurate and I was told to buy a electronic meter
Bush Doctor 77
Well-Known Member
I don't even bother with pH any more as I have learned that both my media and nutes are pH stable(Sunshine #4 Mix and Mega Crop). I watch my plants. I've got a few years doing water analysis, and trust me, you need to spend several hundred dollars to get a good pH meter. Get strips that have a narrow range like 5.5-7.5. Ph strips are just simple chemistry.I heard ph stripes are very inaccurate and I was told to buy a electronic meter
Yeah they work fine, if you're trying to kill your plant
What's that? I didn't know it had a "My garbage is full" indicator on it
Spend your money on some good soil and nutrients, instead of wasting time, money, and energy on something you don't need...the only good thing a moisture meter did for me was hold up a stretchy plantI heard ph stripes are very inaccurate and I was told to buy a electronic meter
I had all that stuff when I started. PH strips, moisture meter, PH pen, and PH up & down
because everything I read, said I needed it....NOT!!!! 
Now, I use FFOF and their nutrients, all I do is water and feed, my PH pen is gathering dust somewhere, and I couldn't tell you where all the other stuff is, but it's useless
FFOF my friend, just water/feed and relax
Bush Doctor 77
Well-Known Member
Me too, but Sunshine #4 and Mega Crop.Yeah they work fine, if you're trying to kill your plant
What's that? I didn't know it had a "My garbage is full" indicator on it
Spend your money on some good soil and nutrients, instead of wasting time, money, and energy on something you don't need...the only good thing a moisture meter did for me was hold up a stretchy plant
I had all that stuff when I started. PH strips, moisture meter, PH pen, and PH up & down
Now, I use FFOF and their nutrients, all I do is water and feed, my PH pen is gathering dust somewhere, and I couldn't tell you where all the other stuff is, but it's useless
FFOF my friend, just water/feed and relax
My MC's on the way, and I almost switched soils, till I found FFOF locally for $15.99 a 40lb bag
