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Of course, you can lift the pot and with some experience get a pretty good estimate on how much you should water but overwatering being one of the main causes of various problems new growers experience shows that alone isn't enough for everyone. I frankly suck at manual watering especial when I got more than a handful of pots. Also, when you grow in a scrog or tied down several branches for example, it may be a little hard to actually lift the pot. Putting a finger in the soil also isn't always a good method because the top layer of the soil tends to dry out faster.
The solution:
I've recommended it several times in the past but they weren't, or at least not easily/widely, available in the US. They are popular especially amongst dutch hobby/closet/tent growers who manually water a few plants.
Amazon apparently starting selling them: http://www.amazon.com/Blumat-50205-Digital-Moisture-Sensor/dp/B000LLOUKY/ so I figured I promote them a little because I just fucking love'm, I'd never grow in soil (pots) without them again.
This is not like a ph meter or ppm meter on hydro where you frequently check the value and try to adjust it precisely.
It's primarily a learning tool that will help you get a much more accurate estimate than the manual methods. About how much water to give (throughout the cycle but also initially after mixing the soil), when, or whether you drowned it, transpiration problems, and even see when it's close to harvest time. It basically gives you insight in the water use and demand.
If it seems pricey, they last for a very long time (you can use some sandpaper on the clay tip if it works less well after a long time) and considering the time and effort some growers put in nutrients and even mixing the soil, optimizing watering shouldn't be that odd.
If you have any questions on how to use it, I explained that in an old post I can surely dig up again, but essentially the lower the value, the more saturated/wet the soil is. If it displays zero, the soil is drowned. The optimal values vary per soil and pot and plant size, pot type, etc, but those are easy to gauge throughout the entire run. For example, water and wait for a couple of hours and check the display, if it says 50 fine. If then 24 hours later it says 180, you can give a little more water and go down to like 30. If then 24 hours later it says 80, you could give a little less. It's balancing act, similar to determining the ppm sweet spot on hydro.
You can use it on multiple pots, but it takes a while to stabilize so you can't get quickly get an accurate reading from multiple pots with only one. I've always used only one though. I've used them in as small as 1 liter pots but to get a decent estimate it needs a little more space than that (i.e. 1 gallon an up should do).
The solution:
I've recommended it several times in the past but they weren't, or at least not easily/widely, available in the US. They are popular especially amongst dutch hobby/closet/tent growers who manually water a few plants.
Amazon apparently starting selling them: http://www.amazon.com/Blumat-50205-Digital-Moisture-Sensor/dp/B000LLOUKY/ so I figured I promote them a little because I just fucking love'm, I'd never grow in soil (pots) without them again.
This is not like a ph meter or ppm meter on hydro where you frequently check the value and try to adjust it precisely.
It's primarily a learning tool that will help you get a much more accurate estimate than the manual methods. About how much water to give (throughout the cycle but also initially after mixing the soil), when, or whether you drowned it, transpiration problems, and even see when it's close to harvest time. It basically gives you insight in the water use and demand.
If it seems pricey, they last for a very long time (you can use some sandpaper on the clay tip if it works less well after a long time) and considering the time and effort some growers put in nutrients and even mixing the soil, optimizing watering shouldn't be that odd.
If you have any questions on how to use it, I explained that in an old post I can surely dig up again, but essentially the lower the value, the more saturated/wet the soil is. If it displays zero, the soil is drowned. The optimal values vary per soil and pot and plant size, pot type, etc, but those are easy to gauge throughout the entire run. For example, water and wait for a couple of hours and check the display, if it says 50 fine. If then 24 hours later it says 180, you can give a little more water and go down to like 30. If then 24 hours later it says 80, you could give a little less. It's balancing act, similar to determining the ppm sweet spot on hydro.
You can use it on multiple pots, but it takes a while to stabilize so you can't get quickly get an accurate reading from multiple pots with only one. I've always used only one though. I've used them in as small as 1 liter pots but to get a decent estimate it needs a little more space than that (i.e. 1 gallon an up should do).
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Actually, it might be Austrian... Some probably recognize the brand from the drip systems they offer too. It's high quality stuff, nothing like those moisture meter thingies.