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That one old guy at the greenhouse changed how I water my plants
Was at Bailey's Nursery in Austin last Saturday and this retiree named Hank saw me drowning my ferns. He just said 'you're loving them to death, son' and showed me how to check soil moisture with a bamboo skewer instead of my finger. Been 2 weeks now and my spider plant is finally perking up. Anybody else get a random plant tip from a stranger that actually worked?
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andrewh439d ago
Not gonna lie I kinda disagree with the skewer thing. I've poked holes in roots doing that and it stressed out some of my plants. Just lift the pot and feel the weight works better for me.
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sanchez.mary9d ago
Yeah @andrewh43 you actually got me rethinking this. I used to swear by the skewer trick but last season I mangled a couple roots on a ficus and it dropped leaves for weeks. Now I just go by pot weight too, especially on bigger pots where the skewer doesn't reach the bottom anyway. Gotta admit, less poking has been better for my plants.
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diana_black226d ago
See I gotta push back here a little. I've used the skewer trick for YEARS on all sorts of plants and I swear by it. You just have to be careful and not jam it in like a madman. Go in at an angle near the edge of the pot, not straight down the middle where all the roots are. I've got this big monstera that I used to overwater all the time until I started using a chopstick to check the bottom inch of soil. It's been thriving ever since with zero root damage. I think the problem is people poke too deep or too rough, but done right it's WAY more reliable than guessing by weight.
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