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| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 3rd January 2010 1:04am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Jimmy Perth 4th January 2010 1:02pm #UserID: 2548 Posts: 511 View All Jimmy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Jimmy Perth 4th January 2010 1:03pm #UserID: 2548 Posts: 511 View All Jimmy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Great Jimmy - U use one? I think they could save me a lot of guess work on my soil - it's got super sharp drainage - but water repellance can sometimes make things misleading - I don't have time to check the trees all the time - and sometimes the mulch needs literally flooding to get it wet/up to field capacity. | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 4th January 2010 5:16pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 4th January 2010 5:24pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 4th January 2010 5:29pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Roleystone WA 4th January 2010 10:08pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author adelaide 4th January 2010 11:14pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Brad, proper pH and moisture testers are not a cheap investment. If u talk to agronomists etc they will warn u about the cheap versions available in hardware stores. The are really wobbly with accuracy. I guess a chemist or such could explain the methodology better. I think the pH test kits are fine for every day garden purposes - but given the cost of water these days - that a good moisture meter is a wise investment - also for our future water supplies. They take a lot of the guess work out of both sand and clay soils. I managed to slash my water bill in half this Aug - Dec period (compared with same period 3yrs running) by just being brutal - but lost a few natives in the process. If I had a meter I would have been able to judge it better. I am an ex-scientist so I get quite methodical when it comes to some aspects of my gardening!? ;-) I also feel very guilty about pouring perfectly good drinking water on the ground when so many in the world don't have that luxury..... | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 4th January 2010 11:20pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Charlesstillcantspell1 Perth - Innaloo 5th January 2010 1:32am #UserID: 2742 Posts: 411 View All Charlesstillcantspell1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Kath says... Have you tried adding zeolite/bentonite & spongelite to your soil? I'm on sand & have started using this & it seems to work well-in conjunction with mulch . Was reccommended at a Great Gardens worrkshop-is made commercially as 'Sand Remedy' http://www.greenlifesoil.com.au/sandremedy.htm but I mix my own. Have shopped around & the cheapest place for the zeolite I could find was Gardener's Direct http://www.gardenersdirect.com.au/commerce/search/products/?product_id=zapg001&merchant_id=2135 | About the Author KathK Karnup W.A. 5th January 2010 11:22am #UserID: 1744 Posts: 187 View All KathK's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 5th January 2010 12:19pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Jimmy Perth 5th January 2010 7:02pm #UserID: 2548 Posts: 511 View All Jimmy's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 5th January 2010 8:14pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 7th January 2010 7:39pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brad says... Hi Amanda, I've got 2 large sealed concrete pots (100L+) which now sit on pavers in the garden bed. Each pot only has one large central drainage hole - I wrapped some blue metal in cloth to (hopefully) prevent potting mix clogging the hole. The hole itself is able to drain, but I cannot access the potting mix to tell if its dry, moist or waterlogged. The citrus trees I potted in here came out of much smaller pots, so currently the roots are only in the top quarter of the pot. I've got 4 sealed clay pots (3 blueberries and a pinkabelle) which are similar, but smaller. I've not used dishes - you don't want permanently wet feet or a slug breeding ground. I've got 4mm line running up through all these pots, intending to drip irrigate when everything is setup. I'm handwatering daily at the moment and the plants seem happy, but I've no idea whether I'm under- or over-doing it Does that make sense? Brad | About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 7th January 2010 11:52pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Yup Brad - I see what u mean now. Maybe you should use a water meter too? One drain hole seems to be the norm these days.. I don't know if it's a good thing or not - good idea to make sure it doesn't get clogged. I have never grown fruit trees in pots (only ornamentals) so I'm not much help I'm afraid. | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 8th January 2010 1:01am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brad says... does anyone have experience with the moisture and ph meters on this page? http://www.greenharvest.com.au/tools/soil_testing_and_monitoring_prod.html | About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 13th January 2010 1:35am #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Evening Brad - sorry but they are probably crap :-( Those pH meters are notoriously inaccurate - the moisture meter not much better. They have been actively discouraged in Kevin Handreck's book (CSIRO) "Gardening Down Under" (great book by the way...) I would not use the pH meter at all - the moisture meter you could trial I guess, and see what you think - it's cheap enuf' ? | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 13th January 2010 1:50am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Mish says... Hi Brad I use a simple 'multi meter' which is the bigger version to the 'mini meter' on the link you posted. It has a moisture, light and PH setting. Nothing fancy like $500; just $9.96 from Bunnings. I couldn't live without it as most of my fruit trees are in large pots & and I have some vegie patches which are much happier now I know when they need watering not when I think they need it. (I overwatered my last attempt at a garden to death). I usually test my garden in the evening so I know who needs a water in the morning or whether I can have a sleep in :) Although, a true PH can only be achieved by a lab; I have found the PH setting to give a pretty fair reading (I get the soil place to test my order then I use my meter after I have filled my pots etc...) and adjust according to my plants needs. Also, some nurseries will do a PH test for free, so ask around your local garden centres. | About the Author Mish Singleton 13th January 2010 1:53am #UserID: 3045 Posts: 42 View All Mish's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Mish - good feedback (i must eat my words!) So you are happy with the moisture meter function? Anyone else? I would much rather buy these if I can get away with it for the time being - I can't really afford a decent one - but desperately need something for this summer....the wind and heat are all over the place (I had trakpants and 2 jumpers on last night but will be 38 - 44 degrees all weekend..!!??) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 13th January 2010 11:46am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Brad - I eat my words.. :-o I picked up two of the "Mini Moisture Meters" at Bunnings 2day - and road tested them. I got two (in case one was a dud or such) and played around with them in a few different pots of soil (of varying wetness) that I prepared. There was a small variation between the two meters - but not enuf' to bother about. They took about a minute to settle down to a reading which then did not change for at least half an hour (as long as went!) The "dry" readings were stable within 10 secs and the wet readings took a minute) There was a slight variation re-reading the same pots (only 7 vs 8) but I didn't think this was significant in the scheme of things. My only feeling with them was that they read a drier reading than what my fingertips told me (ie I thought the soil was a bit wetter than the reading) But that's subjective I guess. Anyway - I am going to give them a go and see what happens ;-) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 13th January 2010 7:08pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 13th January 2010 7:40pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Brad - Maybe don't recommend leaving them in permanently .. over 6 hrs result changed from 7 to 9...that was a big difference (and that is "wetter" - so maybe my fingertips not too bad..?) I am a little cautious myself - but for ten bucks and general garden use - it's worth a go. Maybe with time/practice it will be even better. Apparently my passionfruit have guzzled all the water I gave them yesterday already! I will experiment on one of them and see what happens - will let u know if I kill it ;) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 14th January 2010 4:06am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 14th January 2010 4:12am | |||||||
| About the Author Wayne Mackay QLD 14th January 2010 8:21am #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 14th January 2010 8:33am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brad says... just an idea for moisture measurement - maybe the way to do this would be a thin cylinder (<1cm) that you push into the soil, close at the bottom, pull up and voilą you can look at and then touch the soil to get texture and moisture information. does this idea exist??? there seems to be a few probes findable by google: is this what people have from bunnings? http://www.hardwaredelivered.com.au/store/products/Tester-Comb-Light-Moisture-PH.html http://www.hardwaredelivered.com.au/store/products/Mini-Moisture-Tester-Rapitest.html Anybody seen or used this japanese made DM-15 moisture and ph meter that looks to be in-between the cheapies and the absurdly expensive ones? it looks to me like its only useful at shallow depths - for lawns maybe? http://www.davidgray.com.au/products/cropmaster-fertilizers/liquid/soil-ph-and-moisture-tester.html here's a taiwanese equivalent, but not any australian suppliers http://www.tecpel.net/pH-707.html | About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 14th January 2010 1:25pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Mish says... Hi Brad & Amanda Amanda: So far I am very happy with the moisture meter and use it daily, as I am so paranoid that I will water everything to death. I too did some sort of 'calibration' with it, like testing the plants right after I watered them, and getting a '10' reading. Or as I like to say 'you're drowning me...' And testing a pot with dry dirt in it... The large pots I have for my fruit trees have the drain holes on the sides, so I can get the probe in there too to monitor drainage. Brad: I have uploaded a picture of the one I got from bunnings. It is from the same manufacturer as the mini meter on your links (it had the same packaging).
| About the Author Mish Singleton 14th January 2010 8:51pm #UserID: 3045 Posts: 42 View All Mish's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Thanks Mish - you have saved me a great deal of money! I been having an interesting time poking it in the ground around the place - I never realised how greedy my passionfruits were! I haven't worried to much about my native ornamentals tho' - the roots are way down deep (as they should be) accessing subsoil moisture. But it's great for my fruit trees, lawn and few pot plants. It's 40 degrees plus for next 3 days - so I will be needing it! Thanks for your help :-) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 16th January 2010 10:45am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Wayne Mackay QLD 16th January 2010 10:53am #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 16th January 2010 11:41am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brad says... thanks Mish. I got the combined one for $10 (which was fun, because I only found labels for the mini ones ... also $10) I found out most of my soil and potting mix are neutral or very slightly alkaline. My Blueberry pots are at 5.5, which they seem very happy with and if anything I can water a little less | About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 16th January 2010 9:30pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 17th January 2010 1:25am | |||||||
| About the Author Wayne Mackay QLD 17th January 2010 6:45am #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 17th January 2010 8:28pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Wayne Mackay QLD 17th January 2010 8:42pm #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 17th January 2010 9:10pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Wayne says... Testing the way they say Brad is a proper pain in the butt, are we talking about the same meter. Dig down 100mm, loosen the soil, turn it into mud, polish the probe but not the tip, insert the prob and rotate, if it's green polish it again, if it's red just wipe it clean and put it in a different spot. So do we keep doing this until we get a reading we like???? crazy. | About the Author Wayne Mackay QLD 18th January 2010 7:23am #UserID: 338 Posts: 908 View All Wayne's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 18th January 2010 11:54am #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Brendan Mackay, Q 20th January 2010 9:08am #UserID: 1947 Posts: 1722 View All Brendan's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Diana says... Maybe for the same reason that McDonalds charge more for hamburgers in economically deprived areas (I heard on a radio documentary once)- they reckon poorer people will buy takeaways anyway but wealthier people will buy more hamburgers if they are a bargain. Perhaps people in drier areas will pay more. Diana. | About the Author Brisbane 20th January 2010 9:25am #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 20th January 2010 11:45am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brad says... I've seen so many pricing mistakes at Bunnings, they possibly don't even know it. I'm guessing I got the combo meter for the single type's price??? My favourite was trying to return a dripper system inline filter which probably costs $6 and they gave me a credit slip for a lcd timer around $60. When I pointed this out the supervisor was unimpressed but the guy said "that's what came up in the system for that code" | About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 20th January 2010 12:37pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Damo 21st January 2010 10:32am #UserID: 2803 Posts: 77 View All Damo's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Wow - it has been a revelation to me just how much water my passonfruit vines are going thru' since I used the meter....so i looked up the requirements for sandy soils: During summer in the Perth region, vines at recommended spacings can use up to 60 L of water per vine per day. (From Ag Dept notes) That's heaps!? Infact the meter is telling me that I have been under watering....which I kind of suspected as we have it drilled into us not to waste it. I didn't realise just how much under I was! (Natives are fine tho') This got me thinking (as I have nothing better to do on a public holiday :) ..) about how sandy soils need both deep watering (for deep roots) and maybe shallower watering for maintenance and surface root feeding? It's a bit confusing really!? I am going to try for something in the middle i think! ;-) | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 27th January 2010 12:02am #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Brad says... Hi Amanda - the 60L value would be for commercial production of vines trained to be exposed to full sun in the open. But yeah, passionfruit are thirsty in summer. Your last point I've wondered about before when Jimmy (I think it was) mentioned he waters a few times a day. On the one side you want to encourage deeper roots without waterlogging it, on the other shallow feeders dry out fast here (especially in sandy soil). I'm sure the experts can teach us something on this point | About the Author Brad2 Como, Perth 27th January 2010 12:35pm #UserID: 2323 Posts: 762 View All Brad2's Edible Fruit Trees |
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amanda says... Hi Brad - yea..mine don't need that much!. Some of my fruit trees have 4 x4L/hour drippers and I will water 4hrs at a time = 64L. Maybe 1-2 x week in really hot weather. That's my "deep soak". They also have a microsprayer on a different line. I may do this for an hour every second or third day in summer. This seems to keep the mulch moist and increase humidity. This keeps the worms active, washes down potassium, makes good soil etc. So far it seems to be working well, I have noticed a great response. I was sort of thinking that once the roots are down deep - they will only go so far surely? Then it would be just maintenance? At this rate my tree roots will end up in China!!? | About the Author amanda19 Geraldton. WA 27th January 2010 11:14pm #UserID: 2309 Posts: 4607 View All amanda19's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Julie says... I bought a Garden Trend pH meter last week at Bunnings. It doesn't do a thing! I followed the instructions carefully (I'm a good girl!). It says to use the cloth supplied, but no cloth came with it. It stays at 7. Maybe a dud one? I had some Manutec kit stuff left, and it said it was 5.5. So I am taking it back and getting another Manutec kit - at least that works. | About the Author Roleystone WA 1st February 2010 7:53pm #UserID: 0 Posts: View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author 007 11th July 2012 2:48am #UserID: 6304 Posts: 4 View All 007's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Jackson Rogers 19th August 2013 11:12pm #UserID: 8163 Posts: 2 View All Jackson Rogers's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author 22nd August 2013 7:52am #UserID: 5418 Posts: 1438 View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Jackson Rogers says... Have you ever tried to use - Hornet. Hornet is a device which continuously measures the soil moisture & temperature in the soil & provides the idea that when to plant the crops either late or early. It also provides the information that how much fertilizers to apply & when. Hornet can also identify the pH & salinity of the soil. For more details visit: http://hornetcentral.com.au/irrigated-agriculture/about/ | About the Author Jackson Rogers 11th September 2013 12:23am #UserID: 8163 Posts: 2 View All Jackson Rogers's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author Reddyfox 25th September 2013 7:19pm #UserID: 8234 Posts: 1 View All Reddyfox's Edible Fruit Trees |
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| About the Author 25th September 2013 7:41pm #UserID: 5418 Posts: 1438 View All 's Edible Fruit Trees |
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rickywatson1 says... Hello Amanda, I am Ricky. I would like to introduce you with Hornet. It is a new product launched by KISS Monitoring. One of my friend suggested me to use Hornet in my Irrigated Land. I was little-bit confused because it is a new company and a new product. After using it I am surprised with its performance. Here are some plus points which I like: 1. It is simple and easy to use. 2. Because of its software we can view it using our i Pad. 3. It is very easy to install. Even you can install it. http://hornetcentral.com.au/
| About the Author rickywatson1 MOUNT HAWTHORN,6016,WA 18th December 2013 7:59pm #UserID: 9205 Posts: 8 View All rickywatson1's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Original Post was last edited: 18th December 2013 7:59pm | |||||||
RGrandall says... Hi Amanda. I use this soil moisture meter, and have used for almost 3 years now. It is pretty affordable - around $80, and as I'm sure you can tell, it has lasted me for quite a long while. I have used extremely cheap meters in the past - and don't get me wrong, they worked ok for the most part - I did run into some issues when I changed the salinity of the soil. Hope this helps! | About the Author RGrandall Huntington Beach 26th June 2015 8:34am #UserID: 11941 Posts: 1 View All RGrandall's Edible Fruit Trees |
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MickF says... Whichever soil moisture meter you choose always keep in mind that the readings may not always tell you the full story. Recently, I wrote an article on the 5 common mistakes people make when measuring soil moisture: http://www.edaphic.com.au/5-common-mistakes-when-measuring-soil-moisture/ | About the Author MickF Sydney 6th April 2016 1:52pm #UserID: 13671 Posts: 1 View All MickF's Edible Fruit Trees |
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Pitt says... Moisture analyzer combines state-of-the-art heating with highly accurate weighing technology to deliver a faster, more precise method of moisture analysis. For more information, please contact by https://www.testextextile.com/?s=tf123 | About the Author Pitt dongguan 31st August 2018 12:22pm #UserID: 18912 Posts: 1 View All Pitt's Edible Fruit Trees |
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