Recommend Soil testers?

[Jarod Perdichizzi]

If was thinking of going to local store can purchasing a 3 in 1 soil tester to test the PH, Oxygen, and wetness .. Its almost common sense that this product can drastically improve your performance of taking of of every aspect of the condition of the soil and plant by knowing the condition... who wouldn't want that...Can anyone tell me if what there thoughts on products that test soil... and possibly any recommendations????

I only ask because I never hear anyone talking much about it... why not let technology help you understand your bonsai

 

[M. Frary]

Unless something was way out of whack I wouldn't even think of worrying about PH.
Oxygen gets transported in every time I water,so fresh air once a day.
If I think a tree might be too wet or drying out too fast I use my finger as a moisture gague.
The gague thing is a great idea but trees are adaptable and live in a wide variety of conditions. If you're worried about such things then get a gague. Some pepole like to know every technical aspect of the hobby. I get it. Me? Not so much.
I tend to fly by the seat of my pants.

 

[Jarod Perdichizzi]

Unless something was way out of whack I wouldn't even think of worrying about PH.
Oxygen gets transported in every time I water,so fresh air once a day.
If I think a tree might be too wet or drying out too fast I use my finger as a moisture gague.
The gague thing is a great idea but trees are adaptable and live in a wide variety of conditions. If you're worried about such things then get a gague. Some pepole like to know every technical aspect of the hobby. I get it. Me? Not so much.
I tend to fly by the seat of my pants.

Yeah, even though its easy to see the condition of the soil... Im the type who wants to know exactly how "my engine is tuning. " at least until Im a MASTER at knowing every aspect of soil/tree condition by the naked eye. Its not enough for me to on. I need Details!.... this is my Bonsai motto " THE MORE I KNOW... THE MORE THEY GROW!"..

 

[GrimLore]

If was thinking of going to local store can purchasing a 3 in 1 soil tester to test the PH, Oxygen, and wetness .. Its almost common sense that this product can drastically improve your performance of taking of of every aspect of the condition of the soil and plant by knowing the condition... who wouldn't want that...Can anyone tell me if what there thoughts on products that test soil... and possibly any recommendations????

I only ask because I never hear anyone talking much about it... why not let technology help you understand your bonsai

First of all having that information is of no practical use unless you know precisely what each different plant needs... That is so dependent on other factors that compiling that information on even 2 or 3 different plants would be a life long project for a single individual. The plant environment is a huge variable as well so knowing precisely and changing it every hour would be mind boggling... Serious....

Some plants do better in different PH values so if you own some an inexpensive PH meter it might make you feel better but honest I never use one. Getting Cichlids to breed in another story...

Oxygen meter? Leads me to "think" dissolved oxygen which would only net accurate results in a controlled laboratory and again not certain how an individual would find the figures useful as the plants "environment" changes a lot in any 24 hour period.

The chop stick method for testing moisture is just as accurate for "wetness" as you stated. The reason is you need to know how much water each of your plants needs before you can determine how much water they need. It changes a lot a few times a year and slowly all year.

Interesting but without a totally controlled laboratory environment I don't see the meters as being of "practical" use and would spend my money elsewhere. Understanding your plants is one on one and not a "metered" Science. There are some factors you cannot ignore but those are normally common sense and again varies from one end of your bench to the other.

If you don't believe that dedicate an indoor room with proper indoor plants, lighting, temperature, air movement, and humidity. Control all electronically to run the same amounts for a week. Then take a simple thermometer and humidity test in several areas of the "controlled" room. You will soon see you have up to several micro climates in the same room - the primary reason many will not grow indoors...

By the way it would help us all greatly if you add a general location to your profile(like you see in my Avatar) when it comes to questions on plants themselves... Thank you and Welcome to B-Nut!

Grimmy

 

[Jarod Perdichizzi]

First of all having that information is of no practical use unless you know precisely what each different plant needs... That is so dependent on other factors that compiling that information on even 2 or 3 different plants would be a life long project for a single individual. The plant environment is a huge variable as well so knowing precisely and changing it every hour would be mind boggling... Serious....

Some plants do better in different PH values so if you own some an inexpensive PH meter it might make you feel better but honest I never use one. Getting Cichlids to breed in another story...

Oxygen meter? Leads me to "think" dissolved oxygen which would only net accurate results in a controlled laboratory and again not certain how an individual would find the figures useful as the plants "environment" changes a lot in any 24 hour period.

The chop stick method for testing moisture is just as accurate for "wetness" as you stated. The reason is you need to know how much water each of your plants needs before you can determine how much water they need. It changes a lot a few times a year and slowly all year.

Interesting but without a totally controlled laboratory environment I don't see the meters as being of "practical" use and would spend my money elsewhere. Understanding your plants is one on one and not a "metered" Science. There are some factors you cannot ignore but those are normally common sense and again varies from one end of your bench to the other.

If you don't believe that dedicate an indoor room with proper indoor plants, lighting, temperature, air movement, and humidity. Control all electronically to run the same amounts for a week. Then take a simple thermometer and humidity test in several areas of the "controlled" room. You will soon see you have up to several micro climates in the same room - the primary reason many will not grow indoors...

By the way it would help us all greatly if you add a general location to your profile(like you see in my Avatar) when it comes to questions on plants themselves... Thank you and Welcome to B-Nut!

Grimmy

First of all having that information is of no practical use unless you know precisely what each different plant needs... That is so dependent on other factors that compiling that information on even 2 or 3 different plants would be a life long project for a single individual. The plant environment is a huge variable as well so knowing precisely and changing it every hour would be mind boggling... Serious....

Some plants do better in different PH values so if you own some an inexpensive PH meter it might make you feel better but honest I never use one. Getting Cichlids to breed in another story...

Oxygen meter? Leads me to "think" dissolved oxygen which would only net accurate results in a controlled laboratory and again not certain how an individual would find the figures useful as the plants "environment" changes a lot in any 24 hour period.

The chop stick method for testing moisture is just as accurate for "wetness" as you stated. The reason is you need to know how much water each of your plants needs before you can determine how much water they need. It changes a lot a few times a year and slowly all year.

Interesting but without a totally controlled laboratory environment I don't see the meters as being of "practical" use and would spend my money elsewhere. Understanding your plants is one on one and not a "metered" Science. There are some factors you cannot ignore but those are normally common sense and again varies from one end of your bench to the other.

If you don't believe that dedicate an indoor room with proper indoor plants, lighting, temperature, air movement, and humidity. Control all electronically to run the same amounts for a week. Then take a simple thermometer and humidity test in several areas of the "controlled" room. You will soon see you have up to several micro climates in the same room - the primary reason many will not grow indoors...

By the way it would help us all greatly if you add a general location to your profile(like you see in my Avatar) when it comes to questions on plants themselves... Thank you and Welcome to B-Nut!

Grimmy

Thanks grimmy. That was helpful and I will update my location

 

[leatherback]

Add to that.. All the testkits in the world.. Are not as good as plants.
When I was doing research and wwanted to test certain aspects on the soil, to predict how well plants would grow, I went to a soil scientist. He toold me the best way to compare soils was.. By growing standardized crops in them and analyze them. The reasonanin being: You can measure some things very precisely (e.g., total N in a soil). However, depending on the PH and other minerals, all, or none, of that would be available to the plant. PH I was assured, cannot be measured of soil, as it also depends on water availability. So.. Drying out of the soil affects PH..

 

[ysrgrathe]

A lot of the cheap (<$200) testers a) don't work that well and b) especially don't work well for bonsai -- they are calibrated for soils in the landscape.

 

[bonsaidave]

test the PH, Oxygen, and wetness

Where is the fun in that. Why not just go with trial and error like all of us other Bonsai Noobs

If you are looking for an Arduino project you could DIY something. You might have to figure out some water proofing though.
http://www.amazon.com/Hygrometer-Hu...d=1456001140&sr=1-12&keywords=moisture+sensor

 

[eferguson1974]

Where is the fun in that. Why not just go with trial and error like all of us other Bonsai Noobs

If you are looking for an Arduino project you could DIY something. You might have to figure out some water proofing though.
http://www.amazon.com/Hygrometer-Hu...d=1456001140&sr=1-12&keywords=moisture+sensor

I read that the amount of salts (fertalizer) will affect soil/water testers. Really the humidity tester is thrown off by high salt content, and so the results are not useful. Like was said before, use your finder or chop stick or maybe a wooden dowel. Noone uses gauges in bonsai due to these variables, and the gauge being set for ground use and normal soil. So with what was said about O and N and now the moisture too, you'd be better off spending your money on good soil that drains fast but retains a bit of water. First read the soil wars thread and others to understand what you need to learn. You cant get answers without asking the right questions and right .materials

 

[Jarod Perdichizzi]

I read that the amount of salts (fertalizer) will affect soil/water testers. Really the humidity tester is thrown off by high salt content, and so the results are not useful. Like was said before, use your finder or chop stick or maybe a wooden dowel. Noone uses gauges in bonsai due to these variables, and the gauge being set for ground use and normal soil. So with what was said about O and N and now the moisture too, you'd be better off spending your money on good soil that drains fast but retains a bit of water. First read the soil wars thread and others to understand what you need to learn. You cant get answers without asking the right questions and right .materials

Understood. End of post. I'm using chop sticks now..

 

[eferguson1974]

Good luck, hope we saved you some money on something you dont need. Much better to spend it on good material, good soil, a few tools, and pots. I hope that helps, its similar to advice I was given about un needed tools. ;+)

 

[Jarod Perdichizzi]

Good luck, hope we saved you some money on something you dont need. Much better to spend it on good material, good soil, a few tools, and pots. I hope that helps, its similar to advice I was given about un needed tools. ;+)

Yes great advice. And no way will I need to waste my money. I'm fully convinced. Thanks y'all.

 

[thegrower]

Hanna ph/ec meter temp self calibrated. test 1 part soil : 2 parts distilled water. Let rest for 1 hour to acclimatize before getting results. I do this for 100 plus samples every week. It is the best onsight testing that can be done for a very general analysis of whats going on. If your really hardcore send soil and tissue samples to a company like micro macro. Going to cost you about $50/sample. Unless you are commercial I would just leave it to fate and your own green thumb.