Testing your soil moisture before you water, is right up there with making your own compost + a daily garden walk = one of my top 3 best garden habits.
I cant tell you the number of customers that have come to me downhearted at the state of their gardens and the only thing they needed to sort was how they watered. Get it right and your plants will perform heaps better – less pests, less disease and better crops by far. And it all begins with this simple habit – to test your soil before you water.
For established crops, the tall and the sprawling – test by pushing your finger in. The tip of your finger tells you whether to water or not. Yes, really! All the way down there. I know gardeners who push it out further than this to two fingers deep – go on I dare ya! (I dare myself!) If it’s moist at your fingertip let it be. If it’s dry – water.
For newly sown seed, new transplants, shallow rooters and little guys soils needs to be moist at the topsoil. Test by squeezing a handful of soil together. Open your hand out giving it a small shake as you do. If the soil mostly holds together and a few crumbs fall away then it’s perfectly moist. If it holds its shape and you can infact shape it into something – way too wet. If nothing holds together – way too dry.
How much water do my crops need?
So you’ve done your test and found the soils a little dry – how much water do I need? Enough until your soil is barely moist.
Don’t over think it, ok. Barely moist is a spectrum and you know what dry is and you know what wet is – in between is where you land. Feel the soil when you are confused and huzzah!, all is revealed!
Get into the habit of doing this 2 second test before watering and your gardening life will be transformed – what a difference to the health and vitality of your crops!
Not only will you be watering correctly ergo not over or under watering but maintaining barely moist soil + growing an epic garden, but you’ll be staying in touch with the state of your soil – which is the holy grail of gardening, my friend – mastery awaits!
Test by squeezing a handful of soil together. Open your hand out giving it a small shake as you do. If the soil mostly holds together and a few crumbs fall away then it's perfectly moist. If it holds its shape and you can infact shape it into something – way too wet.
3. Squeezing the soil sample out of your hand between thumb and forefinger to form a ribbon; 4. Observing soil texture, ability to ribbon, firmness and surface roughness of ball, water glistening, loose soil particles, soil/water staining on fingers, and soil color.
You could use a ruler to measure just how far down the moist layer reaches. Another way to check the soil by feel is to get a handful of soil. Give the soil a squeeze to check for moistness. If you squeeze and the soil sticks together then it is moist.
Just dip your index finger into the soil near the stem of your plant up to about your first knuckle.If the soil feels dry, and your finger comes out clean, then it's probably time for some water.
What Does Soggy Soil Look Like? Soggy soil will look dark and damp, and will hold its form when squeezed and compacted and will have a plastic consistency. If you squeeze darker soil in your hand, and it maintains that shape, your water is soggy.
You can test your own soil using a basic soil test kit from The Home Depot. Inexpensive, easy and accurate, soil tests provide a wealth of knowledge about what's going on under your feet, including the levels of pH, calcium, lime, gypsum and potassium.
Add 1/2 cup of distilled water to one soil sample container, and mix it up with a spoon. Then, add 1/2 cup of white vinegar. If the soil shows a visible bubbling or fizzing action, then it has an alkaline pH.
So while test kits may sometimes test accurately, they don't always. They can be a useful tool if you've never tested your soil before, but it is still worth planning to have your soil lab tested in the future. Perhaps the most important measurement of a soil test is that of the pH.
Tensiometers are devices that measure soil moisture tension. They are sealed, water-filled tubes with a porous ceramic tip at the bottom and a vacuum gauge at the top.
Add half a cup of water, and mix. Then, add 1/2 cup of baking soda. If the soil bubbles or fizzes, the soil is highly acidic. The reaction you're seeing is the result of acidic soil coming into contact with an alkaline substance (baking soda).
Gravimetric method or drying method is a direct method of determining the moisture content by drying the soil sample and measuring the difference between the wet and dry sample weight. This method is precise and reliable, while recommended mostly for experimental work.
The neutron probe method is considered to be the most accurate method of measuring soil moisture. Neutron probes consist of a neutron source, detector, and an electronic counting scale. Measurements at desired depths are made by lowering the probe into an access tube installed vertically in the soil.
The moisture content (%) is calculated from the sample weight before and after drying. A thermostatically controlled oven preferably of the forced-draught type, capable of maintaining a temperature between 105 °C and 110 °C. A balance readable and accurate to 0.01 g.
Introduction: My name is Wyatt Volkman LLD, I am a handsome, rich, comfortable, lively, zealous, graceful, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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