I always trust my fingers. I stick them down into the mix and can tell if its 'really wet or just damp.'

To my eye the mix seems damp and that's fine.

Lots of people like using the skewers, but I trust my fingers more. We each fine a way that works for us.

Your moisture looks good.

Jane

Atheen - a skewer definitely works better than fingers or 'moisture meters', unless the pot is very small; then, it's a toss-up. If your pot is more than about 6" deep, the top 3" of soil can read 'dry' to your finger while the bottom 3" might still be soggy/saturated, so you'd be inclined to water a plant that might already be drowning. Fortunately, if you're using the 5:1:1 mix, it isn't an issue as serious as it would be if you were using a heavy, water retentive medium like MG et al.

And YES, you should care if the soil is soggy below the lowest level of root colonization. That soggy soil is probably the only reason WHY roots haven't colonized the entire soil mass. You're observing the effects of perched water, and fortunately, I can see by what you wrote that you're not one of those in denial of its existence or its impact on root health and ultimately the health of the organism as a whole. The lower the volume of perched water in the soil, the easier it is to maintain plants in good health. You might need to water twice as often or watering intervals might be reduced by 1/3-1/2, but the payoff comes in the form of better opportunity for top vitality levels.

How much moisture there should be remaining in the soil when you water depends on the soil. With soils like the gritty mix, it hardly matters because they're soo difficult to over-water. The 5:1:1 mix can still be a little damp when you water again because it holds so little perched water (or it should hold very little - that's the point of making it). Heavy soils that hold a lot of perched water should leave you with a dry stick when tested before more water is added.

Ideally, you want to water just before the plant starts to suffer stress from lack of water. That will be some point AFTER the soil seems dry to the touch or the stick reads dry. When soils start to feel dry to the touch there is still about 15% of the total amount of water that remains in the soil that's available for uptake. IOW, when it first appears dry, you still have some cushion.

Input? Questions?

Al

Well, my fingers are only so long... so logic tells me that they can't accurately test for moisture in a pot that's larger than is logical to use one's fingers in.

I opt for those wooden shish-ka-bob skewers available in packs of 100 at almost any store that sells groceries or items pertaining to cooking. A pack runs somewhere between a dollar and a few dollars... totally worth it.

I stick the pointed end of a skewer into the pot, on an angle so the tip reaches somewhere in the vicinity of the center of the pot/rootball, where the actual moisture will be. (Common sense tells us that the edges and/or top of the medium will dry first, thus feeling drier.)

Leave it in for 10-15 minutes or so, then remove it and press it against your cheek. If it feels cool and/or slightly moist to your sense of touch, you can wait a day or so to water.

The reason I press it to my cheek is because that is where my feeling is more sensitive to temperature and moisture. Fingers tend to be toughened and/or used to handling things that are hotter or colder, and some people's hands are rougher than others, depending on what one does for work, etc... so I think one's cheek is a good indicator.

Al is the best person to take advice from... but it never hurts to have more than one person give their own ideas in their own words... something might resonate a little more if explained in different words... who knows?

Oh... and I recently saw some very big wooden skewers, sold for roasting marshmallows for s'mores, at our local grocery... those might help with very large pots. Just a thought...

Jane, Al, Jodi, thank y'all for stopping by,

Jane, I'd be afraid of not getting the proper feel for how damp my soil is with just my fingers. But, hey, it works for you, right? Thank you for taking the time to post.

Al and Jodi, I first tried to use a moisture meter, but it really doesn't do me any good in 511... So I am now trying to learn how to gauge the need to water with the skewers sticks, like the ones in the pics above. When the trees were out on the deck, it was easy, I was watering them every day unless it rained.

Quote:

"Ideally, you want to water just before the plant starts to suffer stress from lack of water. That will be some point AFTER the soil seems dry to the touch or the stick reads dry. When soils start to feel dry to the touch there is still about 15% of the total amount of water that remains in the soil that's available for uptake. IOW, when it first appears dry, you still have some cushion."

I think that's right where I was 2 days ago when I took those pics. Sadly, in my case, I think the plant had started to suffer a bit, because the leaves had slightly started to curl upwards, and I didn't dare watering because I keep on reading everywhere on these boards that Meyer lemon trees first fatality cause is people overwatering...

But coming back to the wooden skewer testing, frankly, I am very confused by the "feel wet" to the touch. What feels wet or moist to me might not be the same that what feels wet or moist to you. You know what measure of wet and/or moist you're looking for, and when you reach it, you know you have to water. I'm still very in the process of figuring out what the right amount of moisture on a stick or absence thereof is the GO for watering.

This is where the pictures come in.

From what you can see on the pic (from 2 days ago), and knowing I've left those sticks in for a good 10 seconds, do they seem to read wet or dry to you? Once I have the visual of what I'm looking for, I'll be able to learn what that visual feels like as I hold it. Do I make any sense?

I've just watered my trees this morning, btw. Mikerno has been very helpful in trying to help me decide when to water, but I can't be pestering him all winter long for watering advice, so I've got to learn how to get a feel for the wooden skewers testing. Yesterday, he told me to take them on the deck and water them thoroughly, then wait 10 minutes and do it again and bring them back in.

So, I enlisted the help of my husband for the muscle, and that's what we did this morning. I let them drain on the deck for about 45 minutes and then took them back inside, where they are now. Hopefully staying in until next spring, so for the next few months, I'll have to learn to water them indoors.

Both trees draining out outside after being thoughouly watered:

Back to their winter living arrangement

Would y'all mind if I posted pics of the skewers in the coming week or so, so that y'all could look at them and tell me how wet/dry they look to you? That would really help me get a feel of what I'm looking for.

Once again, thanks y'all for the help and input.

.

Atheen

10/8/2015 Update: Soo, I watered my trees yesterday. Very heavily, twice, soaked the mix really well. I did the skewer test this morning, you know, just to have a base line. I was expecting them to be wet, since I watered YESTERDAY. But they weren't. They were barely moist. Which brings me to the next question, and considering we use 511 because it drains so well, I know it will sound like a really, really stupid question... but can a mix drain TOO well? I feel like there should be more moisture left in those pots after watering just one day ago... Or does it ever get passed the just moist with 511?

Skewers this morning, after 5 seconds in the mix:

Atheen, I see you met some of my closest piers here!! I am loving it...Yes, Al is the one who even told me about the wooden dowel method years ago until I got use to watering without having to use them!

I am going to go out on limb and say that it should not still be wet, but just moist..That is why we use the 5.1.1 mix..Our Citrus trees don't like to be wet and because you provided such a high quality open mix, you trees will thrive in just lightly moist mixes much better..That is why you will have to water more often, but that is what you want, right?

Like I said, depending on how you made the mix and the size of the particles, that will determine how quickly it dries out or how moist it gets and for how long...

If you mix is exactly the way it should be, it will be slightly moist after only a few hours..

If you use a bark that was un-composted and did not soak it ahead of time, your mix may have a difficult time staying moist as it should evenly and dry out faster, too fast.

if you added too much finer particles and did not mix right, it would stay wet longer.

There are many other variable, too many to mention but what I can tell you is that it sounds like your mix is on the mark..You used the 5.1.1 mix so that it would not stay wet too long, be evenly lightly moist, and dry out more rapidly than bagged mixes...

From here, your sticks still look very moist..Have you tried lifting your pots right after you water? Even tilting them a bit with your foot? Do they feel a bit heavy after you water,and then much lighter after a couple of days when you think it's time to water?

The best part about this awesome mix is that one does not even have to worry if the moist is still a bit moist and you still water....You are not likely to suffer root rot..So even if the stick feels almost dry, I would water....In the 5.1.1 mix, you are better off to water than to let it dry too much..Citrus DO NOT like to go to the point of wilt..You see, aren't you happy you chose the 5.1.1 mix..You have much less to worry about))))

I am so happy you met my good friends....Now I can count you among multitude here!!

See you at the Citrus Side right? Don't get spoiled here

Quote:

mikerno_1micha(Zone 6a, Massachusetts) said:

"... See you at the Citrus Side right? Don't get spoiled here."

Not bloody likely ;) Just giving you a day off your citrus-tree-lifeguard duty, lol. I'm actually omw to the winterizing post on the citrus board with an update on my trees :)

As far as the bark goes, it's true I didn't know to soak it first, but remember that I made that mix in July and watered every day throughout the summer, so don't you think it's at least starting to decompose by now?

No, I didn't try lifting the pots... I hurt my back so bad yesterday, removing the kitchen paper I had put in the saucers under my pots to soak off the water (don't want the cat to get sick drinking that stuff). I must have moved the wrong way and my back is making me pay, today. So no lifting, of any kind.

I'll post pics of the skewers again early next week, it's young to be interesting to see the parallel between the visual if the skewer, and the actual moisture in the mix. Hopefully, it can help someone else "feel his/her way" towards watering after we figure it out :)

How are you feeling today?

.

Atheen

When your plants need watering, the skewer won't show any signs of moisture. It will come out of the soil clean and dry with perhaps the occasional particle of dry organic matter clinging to the stick where it got caught on a small sliver of wood partially unattached to the main body of the skewer. The skewers in your OP indicate good amounts of moisture for at least 2/3 of the depth to which you inserted the skewers, so if you inserted them all the way to the bottom, you can actually see how much water retention there is in the pot. The most recent picture you posted indicates a LOT of moisture in the soil.

Al

Hi, Al, thanks for stopping by,

This really will help. Thank you. Once I have a watering pattern, I won't need to obsess over it so much, but until then, visual guides are always helpful. Thankfully, the 511 allows me some leeway to protect me from overeating damage while I learn.

Thank you again for the help, y'all. I'll post a new skewer pic on Tuesday.

.

Atheen

DO get in the habit of hefting the smaller pots you can lift easily w/o strain on your back. You'll very soon get used to how much each pot weighs after a thorough watering in comparison to its weight when it needs watering. That method is particularly effective for plants in plastic pots.

Al

Thank you, both!

We just got back home, yesterday. We were gone since Friday, went to visit some relatives. I couldn't tell, because my paranoid husband has strictly forbidden me to ever (EVER, darlin', I mean it!) post that we were going away on any public board, lol.

It was really cool to be able to read your responses while I was away. I'd be lying if I said I didn't worry a tiny bit for my trees while I was gone. Ok, maybe a little more than a tiny bit :) Then I remembered that they stayed almost a month without water and didn't lose a single leaf, and I felt better about abandoning them for 3 days, LOL.

I just took my skewer test picture this morning. I left the skewer in for 5 seconds, and put it towards the middle of the pot. I'm a little afraid of damaging roots when I do that, btw. Anyway, here is the picture!

It's noticeably dryer than 5 days ago, but still wet from what I can tell from the color. I think I can still wait a couple days before I water, but if I'm wrong, by all means let me know :)

Did I mention how glad I am to have you guys to help me with this? Thank you! Y'all have a great day!

.

Atheen

..... shows you should still be in a holding pattern - plenty of moisture for now.

Al

Alright, here are yesterday's pics. I think we're slowly getting there. sticks look dirty, but they don't feel wet.

.

Atheen

Nope - plenty of moisture still in the soil.

Al

You'd be surprised at how much moisture is still available to the plant around the rootball, toward the center/middle of the pot, even though the surface of the medium looks or feels dry to the touch... even in a Gritty Mix, the very center of the medium/rootball will hold a little moisture in vapor form when the top feels dry.

There's usually enough moisture available in vapor form to keep the plant happy when we begin to get impatient, wondering whether we should water yet, or hold off for another day, or maybe two days... it took me a while to adjust, and to relax, knowing that my plants were doing fine, and I was just worrying too much, and being impatient.

I found moisture meters to be worthless. I like the skewer method because it gets to the center of the medium in the pot, and I trust my eyes and my cheek to tell me by look and feel whether or not more water is needed.

Mike and Tapla will steer you in the right direction... never fear! :-)

Good morning everyone, hope y'all had a nice week end.

Al, thank you for keeping an eye on this thread and helping me figure out when is the right time to water and take care of my trees.

Mike, haven't seen you in a while, hope all is well on your side.

Rona(?) (not sure if it's Rona or Ronald, sorry), this looks like a cool probe. Where ever did you find it?

Jodi, I, too, found moisture meters completely useless. Never helped once since I got my trees, as a matter of fact, they steered me in the wrong direction more than once.

Here are some pics from this morning. I am starting to worry, since I spotted one leaf that is starting to yellow. It had some weird stuff on the back of it, but I think it had been here for a long time, I am not positively certain but I think I remember it from this summer already. To make sure it wasn't some pest, I tried to rub it with a cotton wet with alcohol, but nothing came off. Anyway, here goes:

Pics of the sticks this morning. Without you guys, I would have caved in last week already, they look and feel pretty dry to me and it's been 12 days since I last watered. I remember reading about watering renewing the oxygen from the old water with new water near the roots somewhere, and I'm starting to freak out that my roots are getting asphyxiated because I haven't renewed their oxygen.

And pics of that particular leaf:

That's what the back of that leaf looks like.

That's the other end leaf of that branch. Looks kind of the same, but earlier stage. Again, I'm not certain the rust on the back is recent. I don't have that stuff on other leaves of the tree. Nothing comes off with alcohol (ok, I admit that alcohol rubbing isn't going to help that leaf get better, but had to make sure). I sprayed both leaves with insecticidal soap just in case.

That's what a normal leaf on my tree looks like

So, what's the verdict, is it because the trees needs water, or is it something else entirely?

.

Atheen

Atheen, the probe is item P-PR on page 9 of this Catalog.

A couple of young leaves in the first plant image show a downward curl which I associate with moisture stress. Drought. The best suggestion I can offer at this stage is to establish some reference points for watering. Try to ease the plant and root ball out of the container; and examine the whole root ball for moisture content and distribution. I suspect that if there is visible evidence of moisture, it will be concentrated at the base of the root ball. Replace the plant in the container and weigh the whole thing on a kitchen scale. Note this weight and use it as a reference for watering in the future. Water the plant and allow it to drain well (2 hours). Discard all drained water and weigh the whole thing again. Now you have a reference weight for the well watered plant. Observe the leaves almost daily. You will see the leaf-droop that is the plant's way of showing you that it is thirsty.

Imagine the soil as a strong magnet; and droplets of water as individual paper clips. When we irrigate, it is like hanging a chain of paper clips to the magnet. the first one or two will be held very firmly to the magnet. This represents water that is held so tightly to the soil that the plant is not able to use it. At some point the paper clips will give way to gravity. The paper clips that are left represent the water that is available to the plant.

Here is a LINK which I think will interest you; .... and I am Ron. My wife has taken out a patent on Ronald. Ronnie is never acceptable.

Ron, thank you for taking the time to post!

I will definitely check out that probe, thank you!

I don't want to sound ungrateful, but there is no way in hell I am bare rooting that tree. It's been happily thriving in it's 511 mix since July, and it will remain in it until I have to redo the mix, probably in 2017-2018 if I remember what Mike told me correctly.

The whole point of this thread is to figure out when I need to water using wooden skewers, and so far, everyone has been telling me that there was still plenty of moisture and to not water. Lemons have a way of dying of root rot when they have wet feet.

I have to add that I am trigger happy when it comes to watering, and that if Mike and Al had given me the go, I would have watered at least a week ago...

I do, however, really like your paper clip illustration :)

Duly noted on the Ronald© and the never-ever-use-Ronnie rules, lol

.

Atheen

Ron, that looks like it would work for a peat or coir based medium of very fine particulate, if I'm looking at it correctly... but I'm not sure it would work with the more porous mediums, like the Gritty Mix, or many other variations that use larger particulate.

Many of us build our own mediums using fir bark, turface, coarse perlite, granite chips, pumice, etc... it's more of a bonsai type medium, to give you an idea of what I mean.

It all depends on the type of medium one uses... for the grittier, larger particled mixes, my choice would be a wooden skewer.

Atheen, I sure wish I could help with the leaf issue... but citrus isn't my area. I know my limitations, and I'd hate to steer you wrong.

Happy Growing, Everyone!

Atheen, you have to figure out where your roots have fallen in the mix..If they are all way to the bottom, then I would not water if the stick still has a bit of moisture on it.

Someone here said to push the dowel into the root zone to check and so you need to figure out where most of the roots are..If they are sitting half way up the pot and that dries out before the bottom does, then it will go thirsty causing your leaves to wilt like that... If you learn where the roots are and see if the stick is barely dry, water your citrus...You made a great choice using the 5.1.1. mix because even if your mix was still a bit moist, you can water without the fear of root rot...This is what I do for all my citrus and never lost a one...I remember how far down the roots went when I planted it, and check the moisture into the root zone only...

Example..You could of re potted a tree in which the root are sitting on top of 3 inches of the mix...Then don't judge you watering on those 3 inches of the mix.Stick the dowel into the pot only to that point.Get it?)

Those moisture meters were never reliable for me in the very porous mixes we use..In the mixes that collected salt deposits over time, for get it, since the salts can throw your reading off...

Jodi thanks for stopping by, I figured it was something like that but wasn't sure! Mike, hi! Was getting worried about you. I do remember that when I re potted this July, the roots were really really short, because so many had been lost to root rot. So it was pretty high in the mix. But then, I don't know how far deep they regrew since then... I think I'm just goIng to assume they are still pretty high in the mix and water. It's not like I can really over water in 511 anyway.and I'll only stick the skewer half way down from now on.

Mike, ant idea on that single yellow leaf thing?

.

Atheen

Atheen - the chlorotic appearance of the leaves in question is 'something else', but first: you can usually confirm the need for watering or abstaining in plants that don't wilt easily by gently holding the leaf between your thumb and forefinger during the day. If the leaf feels cool, it has enough water. If it feels like it's sort of neutral in temp or slightly warm, if in good light, it probably needs water. If you're wiping off the wooden stick before you insert it into the soil, it looks like there is still plenty of moisture in the soil (most recent picture) but nearing time to water. Pretty revealing, isn't it, to realize those short watering intervals aren't as necessary as you thought. Are you hefting the pot each time you check so you have a good idea whether it needs water, based on the weight of the planting?

I'm not surprised that the particular leaf/leaves you pictured is/are exhibiting chlorosis. In plants, there is a distinct pecking order when it comes to distribution of energy and nutrients. A list of energy sinks ('sinks' are where the plant is told by chemical messengers to send nutrients and photosynthate [food]) from the strongest energy sink to those lesser in degrees of comparison: First to flowers, then to fruits, leaves, stems, and roots, in that order; so, with a fruit growing immediately adjacent to the leaves, you would expect the fruit to garner the lion's share of nutrients and energy production. If you were to clip off the fruit, or when it reaches maturity, the leaves should quickly regain an appearance similar to the other leaves on shoots not supporting fruits.

When considering how water behaves in containers, it's good to remember that in containers it lacks some of the forces that act on water in the open earth, thus, it behaves differently. In most cases, in open soil, the earth acts as a giant wick, pulling excess water downward into the water table. In containers, if the particle size is small, water 'perches' in the soil at the bottom of the pot and won't drain when acted upon by the force of gravity alone, especially since it has essentially only air below the pot, which lacks the adhesive/cohesive attractions that make up capillarity from below (nothing to pull the perched water downward out of the pot).

Al

Good evening, Al, thank you for stopping by,

First, good to know that these two yellowing leaves are not one of the seven signs of doom, but simply reacting to the greedy lemon in the dead end:)

Second, yes, I do tip the pot every couple days, although I admit it whatever data my brain collects in doing so doesn't make sense to me, yet.

And yes, it is a constant shock that my trees are able to survive two weeks without being watered (don't even get me started on months without being fed). Although, I think they likely will be watered before the end if the week, but by then it will have been 15 days, which really isn't much!

I did the "hold the leaf" test a few minutes ago (very cool trick btw), and it definitely felt cool, but it's nighttime, so I'll have to try again tomorrow around mid day. There is no direct sunlight (sadly for my trees, although in this case it's a good thing, it would have warmed the leaf and compromised the results), but there is plenty of daylight (you've seen the photos).

I'll post an update tomorrow on that temperature test, together with the daily skewer pic. To bad I don't have one of those fancy infra red cooking thermometers, I could actually take the leaf temperature with it :)

Y'all have a wonderful evening,

.

Atheen

The leaf should feel cooler by day than by night, because stomata (openings in the leaf surface) will generally be open during the light cycle and closed during the dark cycle (simplified and broadly stated so we can get to the point). Leaves will also be releasing water vapor through stomata during the light cycle, which causes the evaporative cooling that makes the leaf surface a lower temp than surrounding air. By night, stomata are closed while the plant makes its food, so significantly reduced evaporative cooling to influence leaf temps.

Hava good one yourself!

Al

See? We never stop learning... I learned something new from this thread, already. Thanks, Al!

So informative.

Jane

Alright, good morning everyone, it's time for the daily wooden skewer snapshot :)

As discussed with Mike yesterday, this time I only put the skewer to the depth I assume most of the roots are. Remember that this is not typical, these trees nearly lost all of their roots due to root damage in their nursery pots before I repotted them. And yes, I take the blame for that, because silly me actually believed the morons from the nursery that told me I had to wait "at least a year" before repotting the trees they sold me. But I digress.

Aaaanyhow, here is today's pic.

Al, I also did the touch-a-leaf test. Some leaves seem slightly cool to the touch, but not all of them.

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to play: "Do the trees get to drink today?" Place your bets at the end of this thread, Al will come with the results later :)

Y'all have a great morning :)

.

Atheen

Looks like there's a little water left in the soil. If the plant was well established in the pot, with roots colonizing the entire soil mass, I'd wait one day ...... or water today if you have some concerns about how well established the plant is. Be sure to heft the plant before & after watering (to educate your hand as a scale), and be sure you moisten the entire soil mass. Use the 'tilt the pot' and 'wick' tricks to help drain excess water after watering if you think you need to. Good going - your plants will be glad for your patience!

Al

Atheen, did you happen to tell everyone here that you also inserted wicks into the bottom of your pots?

Can you take a picture of your wicks and how they are situated? Are they dangling? Are they even moist at all?

I remember you telling us that the roots are barely non existent..That means that the roots are only colonized somewhere nearer the top of your pot.. Be careful not to wait until the bottom of your pots dry out before watering....You do know that with Citrus, they are not likely to put up with under watering very well...It will die if you let it wilt to often, once or twice..If the roots were well colonized, then I too would wait a day or two..

I am thinking that your mix is taking sooooo long to dry out because the finer particles have fallen towards the bottom going past the bigger particles, or that the area not inhabited by roots just yet will quickly dry out eventually....It's strange that it has taken weeks to dry out...Even an empty pot that size with nothing growing in it would of dried out in less than a week with my 5.1.1 mix, especially with a wick..

Good afternoon everyone!

First of, I watered my trees this morning, so yay for that, lol :) I don't understand why it makes me so darn happy to water these trees in the winter, but it does. Each time I do it, I feel happy and relieved that they made it through another watering cycle, lol.

I did tilt the pot before and after, and yes, it feels a lot heavier. But it's going to take me a lot more waterings to be able to "remember" the weight.

It was such a nice day, I wish I could have put them out on the deck to water them. It's not even really cold out, but I didn't know how fast they could get shocked by the temperature difference, so I abstained.

I suspect that they won't need two weeks until the next watering, since today I only watered until I saw water run in the saucers, and not soaked them fully twice at 10 minutes intervals like I did last time. They should also slowly get used to the new winter lodgings, so hopefully they will start to drink faster, too.

Mike, I was thinking about what you said, with the finer particles falling towards the bottom of the pot... Correct me if I'm wrong, but if it were the case, and if I remember "the pudding analogy" I red in one of the water retention posts, it really wouldn't drain all that well, and we saw how well these pots drain. So I don't know. Maybe if the finer particles in question are made out of perlite, it still drains?

I can't remember if I mentioned that I put wicks in my pots. I tried to take a peek at the wicks, but my back would not allow me to crawl low enough to do it. I'll ask my husband to lift the pots tonight and I'll check it out. I did cut them shorter when I brought the pots in for the winter, because they looked disgusting.

Here is a pic of the wick I put in when I re potted.

I think I'll start the skewer endless quest for moisture next Tuesday. Even a smaller watering like the one they got today should last them at least a week. This is a pic I just took. That's about 3 hours after watering the trees.

Have a great day, everyone!

.

Atheen

Hey Atheen....Can you take a picture of what the wick looks like at the BOTTOM of your pots, on the floor area, not inside your pots...? I want to see if they are dangling doing their job correctly for you..Those wicks can not come in contact with the saucer at all....

Even if your mix drains quickly, it can still take much much longer for the bottom of your containers to dry before the bigger particled top half..I am just trying to help you distinguish if the bottom half or so is much wetter than the top half...It is very important that you know that even more so than the weight of your pot after watering...When you think your mix is dry with your fingers at least 3 inches down, use the dowels and push ONLY into the root zone . Then show us what the dowel looks like, and then push another dowel further past the roots, towards the bottom and show us that one too..Ok?

Great chatting with you))) Please, check out my plants here....)

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3405902/too-much-rain?n=109

You will see a couple of my Orange Trees planted in the 5.1.1 mix..It's important to make sure the mix dries out evenly as much as you can...)

Mike))

Hey, Mike, how are you today?

Those plants pics you posted are breathtaking! I am so jealous, LOL. To bad I didn't make some popcorn before I started reading, though. Plenty of entertainment for sure, on the way to your pictures :)

I'll make sure I post two sets of skewers next time, one showing skewers that only go as deep as the roots and one that go to the bottom. And I'll ask Dave to lift the pots so I can try to take a pic of the wickfor you.

Just curious, why can't the wick touch the saucers? Wouldn't then the saucers become extensions of the wick?

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Atheen

Morning y'all beautiful people of Gardenweb! :)

Mike and Al, here are the promised pics of the skewers this morning. As requested, I've used two skewers per tree, one that goes only as deep as what I think the roots are at, and one that goes all the way to the bottom. They were left in about 5 seconds.

I've also taken a few pics of the trees themselves. Al, I did the leaf temp this morning, they do feel slightly cool, but then, it's pretty cool in my house in the morning as well.

I think that they are starting to dry out a lot faster, just like you said they would Mike. It took a lot longer last time (close to 2 weeks, not one week), to have skewers that look like that. Maybe they are starting to get used to being indoors again? I hope so, but you guys are the experts so you tell me what you think.

It baffles me a little that the short dipped skewer comes out dirtier than the one I stick to the bottom of the pot, but maybe its because it gets cleaned by rubbing against the 511 as I take it out? Anyway, they don't feel wet to the touch, so unless you tell me differently, I think I'm going to put them on a weekly watering regimen, which would make me water them tomorrow.

Dave trashed his back this week end, so I couldn't ask him to lift the pots to take a picture of the wick for you, Mike, but I haven't forgotten. As soon as he's feeling better, I'll have him do it and take a picture.

Hey, you said in your last post that the wick can't come in contact with the saucers at all? Can you explain why? You made me curious :)))

I hope y'all had a nice week end. We went upstate NY to see some friends and got back home yesterday. It was nice to be out of the house for a couple days :)

Anyway, here are the pictures :)

The skewers this morning:

The trees, last night:

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and the other:

Hey, is it normal for the leaves to be turning themselves towards the light/window? I get the feeling that, for this tree in particular, that's what they are doing. It's less pronounced with the other tree, because it's in an angle between two windows, so the light gets to it from 2 directions.

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Y'all have a fantastic day :)

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Atheen