Moist

[Rocketron]

I often see the instruction to keep compost "moist" when growing seeds. What does everyone consider to be "moist"?
I have the following table in my head and would like the comments of others.

Sodden
Wet
Moist
Damp
Dry
Parched

I am particularly intrigued as to whether "moist" and "damp" should be reversed.
I do have too much time on my hands at the moment.

[gojiberry]

I would put moist and damp as the same thing. I consider moist to be how MPC is when you first open a bag and take it out. If you squeeze it into a ball it should hold its shape but not make your hand at all wet. However it could be the same as asking someone how long a bit of string is.

Ian

[womble]

What does everyone consider to be "moist"?

I am particularly intrigued as to whether "moist" and "damp" should be reversed.

<sits on hands>


Do not answer, do not answer.

[zazen999]

Watering.

When the pot/tray is no longer heavy - water.

Until then, don't.

If the pot/tray has algae growing on it, it is too wet.

Now; Womble; stop it! Go make a cuppa and think dull thoughts.

[coreopsis]

Everytime I used MPC and nothing else,the compost has "shrunk" somehow in the pot.It was quite difficult to water the plants in pots,as all the water was running on the side of the pot and down the drainage holes.the solution was to plonk the pots into a bucket of water and let them soak for a while-not a good thing if you have a seed tray with sunk modules to water.This year I'm using the mixture of mpc and sieved soil-sandy bits keep the moisture a bit longer and they don't let the compost to dry off too much.

I always let the surface dry a bit before watering-never lost anything due to over/underwatering(maybe except the french beans last year-but I think the seeds were dodgy and I'll stick to this version)

[taff]

I had a snigger moment when I first read the title, so disappointing to find it's an actual question.....


moist/damp

water from the bottom and you wont get algae.

[Two_Sheds]

I've got kids gardening club on Thursday, and the first lesson will be: does the pot feel light or heavy?

[zazen999]

I've got kids gardening club on Thursday, and the first lesson will be: does the pot feel light or heavy?

LOL! My first lesson to all my kids/teachers is how to water properly....everything is graded by how thirsty they tend to be....

[dincur]

I thought moist meant a good chocolate cake and parched a nice cuppa to go with it

[JerseyJimbo]

However it could be the same as asking someone how long a bit of string is.

Ian

Thats easy, its double half its length...

[Bigmallly]

So how heavy is heavy & how light is light.......

[Two_Sheds]

So how heavy is heavy & how light is light.......

I can't think of a witty answer, so I'll give a factual one. Take 2 identical pots of things that are on the dry side. Stand one in water for 15 mins, then compare the weight of them.
You only have to do this a coupla times before you start to know by instinct if a pot needs watering

[Bigmallly]

I can't think of a witty answer, so I'll give a factual one. Take 2 identical pots of things that are on the dry side. Stand one in water for 15 mins, then compare the weight of them.
You only have to do this a coupla times before you start to know by instinct if a pot needs watering

Cheers TS, It wasn't meant as a witty questions so thanks for the answer. I will give it a try.

[solway cropper]

In my rather dodgy youth I had some odd hobbies, one of which was exploring old lead mine workings. Mine explorers have a scale for the amount of water they have to wade through:
HUMID water up to the knees
MOIST water up to the thighs
DAMP water up to the waist
WET water up to the armpits

[Paulottie]

Weight thing is easier with plastic pots as its possible to mentally subtract mass of plant and pot. With experiance it is easy to tell and the quickest method.

And with those plastic seedtrays the scale is ...DRY:featherlight, MOIST: perfect, SOGGY:damn side of tray splits.

With the terracotta pots I still tap the side with a stick...chimes=water it...dull thud=don't.