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Moisture,Light & pH meter

A few days ago I went to Home Depot and somebody there told me about the Moisture, light & pH meter. He show me how it works and I bought it. It has a solar battery so you do not have to spend more money. It cost under $8.
I found using it that I was watering my plants and my trees too often. I think is very helpful. I attached 2 pics of it.

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Yes,

I have used one just like it for a few years.

Interesting , i might purchase one for the ph readings. Ive seen ph strip things but you only get a few this looks like you just stick in soil to read PH is that correct?
From time to time i add Esposma garden lime thats suppose to be made from the finest Dolomitic pelletized lime they say on its bag , im curious as i never did any type of ph test.
I used to test my aquarium water for Ph and ammonia ( waste by product of fish) and found it very helpful over the years by keeping everything in checkand by adding what i needed, heck Fred a not so common firetail eel when i first bought him lived for 18 years many years ago when i had Aquariums.

Yes , you just stick it in the ground to reach the root level and push the switch to what you want to check...moisture , pH or light. Very simple.

Measuring three conditions of the soil for just under $8!
Seems too good to be true but if it is there then it is worth trying.

It's there Ottawan.

It has a slide switch, just slide it to what you want to measure!

(moist, light,PH)

Has anyone found a good meter that will measure temperature and humidity inside the bins many of us use for rooting cuttings?

Ideally, I would like to find something that I could mount outside the box, then punch a hole in the box to have the probe measure inside temp and humidity.

All of my plants are on grates elevated off the floor of the box, and I am providing bottom heat, to generate a mini "sauna" environment inside the growing bin.  The temp feels to be around 75°F-80°F in the box, and there is not a lot of condensation on the sides.  I'd still like to know "exact" measurements for the sake of future growing.

Jason, you can get units with remote sensors that you place in the area you want the readings from. I have one that can use up to 3 different sensors in 3 different locations. It does all this:
current atomic time
current date
current day
current outside temp
current inside temp
current outside humidity
current inside humidity
current heat index
current dew point
moon phase
weather forecast based on atmospheric pressure

It will also give you max and min reading of the past since the last reset
min and max outside temp with date and time stamp
min and max inside temp with  date and time stamp
min and max outside humidity with date and time stamp
min and max inside humidity with date and time stamp
min and max heat index with date and time stamp
min and mac dew point with date and time stamp
If you reset these daily you can see just what happened in the last 24 hrs.

It a great little instrument and it's all wireless. I received it as a gift a couple of years ago and barely put it to use. Then I realized how useful it was in propagation, growing and the storage of fig trees.

<http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/>
Its from  La Crosse Technology FX5000, model # WS-9033U. The one I got came with the Discovery Channel Logo on it so I assume it was purchased thru them. The current model   WS-9037U-IT seems to do all the same.

Once you have one your life will never be the same.



I purchased a digital meter for my cigar humidor years ago at Radio Shack I can't remember the price but I don't think it was very expensive. It has min and max for temp and humidity on it it says Digital Thermo Hygro I'm sure they will cost more at a cigar shop. Thanks for bringing that up it just reminded me that I have a humidor that I no longer use which I can now use for cuttings.

Sal


This is perfect, guys.  Thanks for the info.  I am going to try to source one of these locally, either at Radio Shack or some other store.  I will try to stick to a major chain, and post back with info on where I find it in case others are interested.

I also need to get another two heating pads.  It's almost time to start tomato seedlings, I have about 8 more cuttings to get started, and I have more fig cuttings on the way from UCD in 8 weeks, so ... too many cuttings, not enough space!

I am happy to report that I received a nice air-layered or sucker cutting of Negronne from a very kind forum member, and it is doing amazingly well in the 3B mix I put it in.  Likewise, I received a couple Latarulla cuttings from another member, and ... Talk about cuttings that were ready to explode, right out of the gate!  Rootlets galore, this thing really wanted to get going!  I think it will be a beautiful grower.

here is a pic of my meter about the size of a playing card and pretty slim
Sal

Question on the use of the moisture meter from Home Depot.  What moisture level do you try to maintain on that particular meter for rooting?
Kindly - Don

Quote:
Originally Posted by BikeBoy
Question on the use of the moisture meter from Home Depot.  What moisture level do you try to maintain on that particular meter for rooting?
Kindly - Don


Al (user: tapla) at the Gardenweb Fig Forum says,

Quote:

If I was rooting temperate material indoors, I would use some sort of tenting arrangement to keep humidity levels around the 90% range. I own a glass company, so it's a snap for me to build propagation chambers out of glass. I would use bottom heat to warm the soil to around 75*. I would also keep the cuttings under good light that favors the blue end of the spectrum (cool white) - probably something like 18/6 (18 hours on, 6 off).

What you root in doesn't matter much, as long as you stay within some parameters. The material you use should be stable and highly aerated (vermiculite and potting soil are neither). BIG air spaces that are very high in humidity offer the best environment for rooting. The material should have a favorable pH and not be phytotoxic. Screened Turface and perlite fit that bill very nicely, but you could also use pumice or Haydite, even crushed granite if you wish. I like screened Turface because it holds LOTS of water in internal pores, but no perched water.

One thing that DOES make a difference is the addition of sphagnum moss (SM) to your media. SM has been used for centuries as a poultice for wounds, because of its ability to absorb and its anti-bacterial/fungal properties. As a plant root zone media it is especially useful due to its water-holding, water-releasing properties, and because it contains phytonutrients that stimulate roots and prevent root zone diseases. It is even capable of absorbing moisture from the air. Every part of SM is permeated with tiny open tubes and spaces, resulting in a system of delicate capillary cells similar to that of a sponge. The cells readily absorb water and retain it. Even if the water is squeezed out, moss does not compact and is always ready to take in fluid again.

 

SM produces an antibiotic substance (sphagnan) that staves off rot in several ways. It binds with proteins on the surface of microorganisms in a way that immobilizes them and takes them out of the picture. Its highly reactive carbonyl groups also alter the chemicals and nutrients that would be necessary for the decomposition of organic matter. SM also causes the organic matter to undergo certain chemical changes that make it more impervious to rot— actually similar to how animal skins can be preserved as leather.  

I don't fertilize until I'm sure the cuttings have rooted. Low soil EC and TDS (EC = electrical conductivity and TDS = total dissolved solids [in the soil solution]. These are measures of soluble salts/fertility) facilitates water movement into cells and conversely, higher levels of EC and TDS inhibit water movement into the cells of cuttings. When cuttings have rooted, I apply low doses of a complete (including micronutrients) fertilizer with a RATIO of 3:1:2 (do not confuse ratio with %. 24-8-16, 12-4-8, and 9-3-6 are ALL 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers.



After calling around a bit, either the customer service staff at stores don't know their products (which is probably true), or it's really tough to find a digital temp/humidity meter at any local stores for under $30 (with at least one wireless sensor).  I shared this story with a friend at lunch, and he reminded me he kept several reptiles until recently.  He told me that every pet store has humidity and temperature sensors for snake and other reptile cages similar to what you hang in the oven.  Some even stick to the wall of certain surfaces.  I started looking into this some more, and found that for just $2-3 at most Lowes stores or PETCO, you can get a wide assortment of (non-digital) temp/humidity sensors.


Jason google Hygrometer I'm sure you'll find what you are looking for
Sal

BikeBoy, welcome to the site. I hope you're have as much fun going crazy as we are. This is what I did and it has worked so far. After rooting in a paper towel in a baggie I moved the cuttings into cups that were more or less 50 % perlite and 50% potting mix. I took about 2 quarts of each and mixed thoroughly. I then added a little water at the time until I could form a loose ball of mix, crumbly but still kinda held together. I then checked the reading and it said 4. So that was the max I used and only added a little water when it fell to 2, but only to bring it up to 3. It has worked out OK. Most of my cuttings rooted and most grew leaves. Now I did lose a couple to too much moisture by having them in a clear storage container. That is why I don't go over 3. I haven't had any moisture problem since. I hope this helps. Please do check your meter using the method above by adding just enough water to make a very crumbly ball. On mine it was 4 but yours might be different so please check.

"gene"

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