On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 09:55:03 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"JennyC" wrote in message
...

"Franz Heymann" wrote
"JennyC" wrote

My local garden centre has closed the garden equipment section
completely
I wanted one of those thingamabobs that show the moisture in the soil
but
they were out of reach behind the Xmas baubles..........grrrrrrrr

They are about as close to a fraud as it is possible to be without
actually
being one. They effectively measure the electrical conductivity of the
soil, of which the moisture content is but one contributing cause..
Franz

Possibly true but they do seem to work for me :~)
Do you know of a better / cheaper / more efficient method ?

Small and moderate pots: Feel the weight. One gets used to judging.
Large pots and open soil: Scrabble in it and see if it is moist an inch or
so beolw the surface.

Perhaps using an instrument designed for measuring water content in
the hulls of boats suffering from osmosis.
--
Martin