Chopstick Method For Watering Bonsai

Then pull it out and if the chopstick is dry it is time to water.

Chopstick method for watering bonsai. Pull it out to check the water line before every day or touch it to your inner wrist or cheek to feel for moisture. Take a chopstick that has no coating on it and stick it in the soil of the pot near the edge. Use a fine nozzle either on your hose or watering can which provides a gentle shower of water. This is a favored method of many experienced bonsai gardeners as it is generally a good indication of moisture content.

Dryness can also betested with a chopstick inserted into the bonsai pot as a sort ofdipstick. The next time you repot your bonsai take a strand from a string mop and thread it through both drain holes in the pot so that the string hangs out each side. Be cautious to not disturb the soil surface too much. After 15 20 minutes take the chopstick out of the soil and see if it feels damp.

When the chopstick is pulled out and it is nearly dry it istime to water. A thirdmethod perhaps used by most people is to dig half an inch under thesoil surface. If it is damp you don t need to water. Many bonsai growers use a moisture meter which gives a quick and accurate reading of moisture levels in the soil and removes any doubt.

When water begins to puddle on the surface of the soil stop watering and allow it to soak in. Once it has soaked in you can continue to water. You can also use the old chopstick method where you insert a wooden chopstick into the soil and leave it there for a minute. Hold the chopstick by the thicker end and insert the narrow end 1 inch 2 5 cm into the soil.

The method involves using a wooden chopstick but really any wooden stick with exposed grain will do provided it is not varnished or chemically treated.