Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
marc555

Reading the dowel--perched water table

marc5
10 years ago

I am new to 5-1-1 and "reading" the dowel to determine when to water. I have hundreds of trees newly potted in 1-gallon containers, so I am obviously very concerned about getting this right. When using the dowel method (I'm using a bamboo skewer), the bottom half or third of the container is damp, but the upper area is dry. The surface of the 5-1-1 looks very dry. Is this evidence of a perched water table? I thought that 5-1-1 was supposed to prevent that. Since my newly-potted trees have roots extending to only a shallow depth, I will interpret this as a time to water. However, could someone explain how the dowel and the perched water table are related?

Thanks,
Marc

Comments (3)