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Your succulents or cacti plants can suffer from being overwatered or underwatered and it’s not always easy to know if you’re giving your plants the correct amount of water. Fortunately, you can avoid these problems by using a soil moisture meter to help you know exactly how much moisture is in your plant’s soil. This will take out a lot of the guesswork you would have otherwise had in deciding when to water your plants.
Soil moisture meters have been around for a long time, and are really helpful when it comes to testing your succulent’s soil. This comes in handy in times where you need a little extra help figuring out if the soil is dry enough or not.
A soil moisture meter is a simple tool to use, but there are certain things you need to know in order to get the correct readings because you can get wrong readings in certain situations. With that in mind, I put together this “guide” to explain how to use a soil moisture meter.
In this guide, we will discuss the proper way to use a soil moisture meter to help make sure your succulents and cacti get the hydration they need for their best possible growth and health.
How to Use a Soil Moisture Meter
There really isn’t much to a moisture meter; it’s a simple tool with either one or two long probes (depending on the model) that you poke into the soil. This is the end that tests the conductivity of the soil. It has a meter or a gauge on the other end where you can read the results.
Some models have extra features to test for other things, such as pH, and light levels. If you are interested in getting one of these meters, you might want to check this one out on Amazon. It not only measures the moisture levels, but it also measures pH, light, and nutrient levels in your soil too.
Also, if you are wondering how one of these meters work, you can check out this article that answers that question.
Step 1: Insert the Probe Into the Soil
Insert the probe into the soil as deep as you want it to be measured, usually between 4 and 6 inches, depending on the size of your pots. You want to test the part of the soil where the roots will be growing since you want to know how much moisture is available to those roots.
Be sure to get near the roots without hurting or ripping into them – you don’t want to hurt the plant. At the same time, you shouldn’t put the probe too near to the outer edges of the pot either, since that could give you false readings.
Step 2: Read the Meter to See the Moisture Level
When you insert the meter into the soil, it will give you a reading. The reading will indicate whether the soil is dry, moist, or wet.
Every meter is different, so make sure to read the instructions that come with your specific meter to understand what the readings mean. In general, they are very easy to read and understand.
Some meters use a gradient dial to give you an idea of how much moisture there is in the soil, and other meters will give you a digital reading.
Step 3: Take a Second Reading to be Sure
This isn’t necessary, but it’s a good idea to take another reading since there can be pockets of moist soil mixed into the pot and at the same time have drier pockets of soil.
It’s also a good idea to take a second reading since sometimes the readings can be affected by debris in the soil that may give you different results. In addition, there may be a higher concentration of salts in that part of the soil which will also affect the reading.
Step 4: Clean Your Probe and Store Your Meter Until Later
After you’re done measuring, gently wipe down the probe (or probes, if there are two) with a cloth. You don’t want to leave the meter in the soil for long periods of time since it could harm the meter. Store your meter in a dry location until you need it again.
Step 5: Either Water Your Plants or Wait – Based on the Readings
If the moisture meter shows that your soil is dry, then it is time to water your plants. Otherwise, wait a few days before checking again.
Note: Different succulents and cacti have different watering needs, so it’s always best to do your own research and understand what your specific plant requires.
Some succulents, for example, prefer to be watered deeply but infrequently, while others can tolerate more frequent watering.
Using a soil moisture meter can help you prevent overwatering your plants, which is a common issue with succulents and cacti and it’s a problem you want to avoid since overwatering can lead to root rot. You can avoid overwatering your plant by checking the soil moisture level on a regular basis.
If you are interested, we have another article here that talks about different things you can do to tell if your soil is dry, (a soil moisture meter is mentioned as well as other things).
Can Moisture Meters Give False Readings?
Moisture meters are a good tool to have and using them can help you keep your succulents and cacti healthy, although there are some things you need to keep in mind when using them. One of them is that False readings sometimes occur.
There are some things that can mess up your soil moisture meter’s readings, and the simplest is if the probe isn’t deep enough in the soil to get an accurate result. This is the easiest problem to correct for- just take another reading after placing the probe a little deeper in the soil.
Foreign debris in the soil could also give you a false reading. That debris could be anything that changes the conductivity of the soil in that part of the pot.
Something metallic (and corroding) in the soil will also potentially give you false readings.
Another thing that might give you a false reading is if the probe is too close to rocks that are in the soil.
You can also get a false reading if your probe is too close to the sides of the pot since it’s a place where mineral salts can be a little more concentrated. (The meter reading is based on conductivity, which is affected by electrolytes like mineral salts.)
All of these things can affect the readings, that is why it’s always a good idea to take at least two readings to be sure of the results. If the two readings don’t agree with each other then another reading is needed.
How to Use a Soil Moisture Meter When You Have Top Dressing
Top dressings add a nice touch to your planters and in addition to looking good, they also help keep your plants healthy, but how do you use a moisture meter when you have a top dressing on your plants?
You can use a soil moisture meter when you have a top dressing on your plants if you are careful. If the rocks are small, you can easily push the probe through them and into the soil. If the rocks are larger, you will need to move the rocks first to make a space for the probe.
This is the best way I’ve found to test my succulents and cacti when they have a top dressing. Even if I wanted to just do the traditional “finger test” for dryness, I would have to do the same.
I do know that when my top dressing rocks are small, some of them will get pressed into the soil over time, but before that becomes an issue, it would be time to repot my plants.
One thing to keep in mind is to not force the probe into the dirt; you don’t want to bend the probe.
We have an article talking about the benefits of having a top dressing. If you are interested, you may find it here.
This post was written for cactus-central.com and is not permitted to be used on other sites.