Help !! Soil barely retaining any water...

[stocaz]

Hi all,
I'm a little confused so I'm calling on the bonsai guru's AGAIN !

I have reported a few of my trees into a mix of
60% diatomite 10% zeolite & 30% debco bonsai mix.
In the past I've just used the debco bonsai mix on its own.

Most of the time I use a moisture meter just cause its easier than sticking my finger into every pot,
Problem is even straight after I give the pots an absolute soaking the pots with that mix barely show a reading and never get into the moist zone at all.
It's not even hot at the moment, I'm not going to be able to water every hour on the hour in summer


What have I done wrong ?
Should I be adding more bonsai soil and less diatomite to get it to retain more water or should I add something else ?

My concern is I don't want to be potting any of my maples etc into this mix till I sort it out.

Thanks in advance

Ross

[Josh]

There are a couple of things here. Was the mix dry when you potted up or was it damp. If it was dry it will be hard to get the water right through and there may even be dry pockets the water won't penetrate with a hose. I always soak my pots in a tub of water after I pot them up.
Personally I don't like electronic gadgets for this type of thing. To many things can go wrong. And not every tree requires the same amount of moisture all the time.
Some people here use 100% diatomite so I don't think that is the problem. Does the soil feel moist, did u stick your finger and test it, as I said I don't like gadgets for this sort of thing. Good luck with and please post what you come up with.

Josh.

[Jason]

As an old pro suggested to me... just use a popstick, or skewer. Stick it in for a few mintues, and if you take it out and its dry... then time for a water.


Also Josh, I think you may have pasted something in the middle of your post unintentionally

[Josh]

As an old pro suggested to me... just use a popstick, or skewer. Stick it in for a few mintues, and if you take it out and its dry... then time for a water.


Also Josh, I think you may have pasted something in the middle of your post unintentionally

thanks. I hate big fingers and small phones.

[lackhand]

If it were me, I would give the pot a good dunk for an hour or so, then take it out and after letting it drain for a few minutes, test it again. If it still says it's dry after that, I would say your meter isn't working properly. It's also possible that the meter isn't designed for the type of soil. Diatomite holds water well, but it holds it inside the particles leaving space between for air, which is a little different than the regular potting soil mixes. It seems to be better for the trees, but it might not work with the meter if that makes sense.

I use 100% diatomite, and it does well in the brutal summers here. Top layer is dry by the end of the day, but it's still moist even a centimeter down. For trees in shallow pots, I add a layer or sphagnum or coco peat on top just to help it stay damp.

Also Josh, I think you may have pasted something in the middle of your post unintentionally

And I missed it. Damn.

[stocaz]

Thanks for the replies !

Josh you did lose me half way through haha

Lackhand I think you may be on the money saying the meter might not be suitable for this kind of medium, I didn't think of that & it works perfectly on all my other pots.
I'll definitely dunk them and see what it comes up with.

Having a little trouble identifying if the soil is moist on not, purely cause
With the bonsai mix it's much easier to feel the moisture in the pot compared to the diatomite mix

I'll try a chopstick till I can get my head around it.

Cheers Ross

[lackhand]

Took me a bit to adjust to the diatomite too, it does feel different. Once you get the hang of it, I can usually tell by just lifting the pot if it's dry or not. Or again, the diatomite I use changes color when it's completely dried out and that's useful - like I mentioned though, it's usually just the top layer that's dry. Just trial and error, and hopefully not at the cost of loss of trees! When I made the switch I only had a few trees, which was much easier than it would be if I switched now. The nice thing about diatomite is it's pretty hard to overwater because it drains really well, yet still holds enough moisture to give the plants all they generally want.

[Jester]

Throw that crappy chinese made moisture meter away before it does your head in!!!

[Ben10000]

Throw that crappy chinese made moisture meter away before it does your head in!!!

lol never thought of using one of these, but i'm glad i never did!!!

[peterb]

Hi Ross
I had the same problem bought one of those meters, but no it doesn't work in diatomite to much air between particles gone back to skewer and works great i leave a skewers in each of my pots and then i can just pull it out and check , given the meter to the missus for her pot plants , she thinks i'm nuts because i test the skewer on my bottom lip just to be sure of moisture content
regards peterb

[stocaz]

Throw that crappy chinese made moisture meter away before it does your head in!!!

Hahahahaha !!!!!!!! Look at that quality green plastic I'm sure the chopstick would cost more to make

[gordonb]

If seriously worried about water-retention, reduce particle size. The smaller the particle size, the higher the water-retention.

[stocaz]

If seriously worried about water-retention, reduce particle size. The smaller the particle size, the higher the water-retention.

Soil was retaining plenty of water.....It was just the moisture meter that wouldn't pick up the moisture in the diatomite.
Have gone back to basics using my finger,

Problem fixed.

[Vicki003]

Should I be adding more bonsai soil and less diatomite to get it to retain more water or should I add something else ?

To retain water you have to use cocopeat - It is an organic soil derived from coconut husks which has 10 time's more water holding capacity than its weight.

[deejay335]

I'm not going to be able to water every hour on the hour in summer

Well there's your problem - lack of commitment!