Dealing with the nursery stock I developed a way to
check whether they need water or not.I am not a big
fan of the stick/finger in the soil method so I
decided to use a balance to measure each pot's weight.

I weighed them when the soil looked dry enough, eg.
100gr. Then I watered thoroughly and measured again
eg. 200gr. So now, I always check each pot's weight
before I water, to make sure is about 100gr.
However, with the transparent pots I find it easier to
check the soil's condition anyway.

This is a good method. When you get to the point that you have a
LOT of trees, though, you will learn to do it by feel. You will
KNOW what that tree and pot weigh when dry and when wet and
merely lifting them will tell you what's needed.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Sent via
rec.arts.bonsai since Isabel's visit has affected LSoft's service
(they're running on generator power, but it's spotty and this
wouldn't go through, earlier.)