seeds How dry before watering seedings again?

[Scuba_Steve]

I asked this in the middle of another thread, but figured I would get a better response with its own thread.
 
I just wired up a moisture sensor for my seedling tray.  I had previously thought that my seeds were getting dry.  According to this though, they are quite damp still.  This sensor seems to be pretty accurate.  The dirt will have to truly be bone dry for it to register that it is dry.  My other handheld meter you could basically dip it in water and it would still give you a dry reading...
 
Now that I m getting a truly accurate reading, how much do I let the dirt dry out before watering again?
 
1. Fairly dry with a little bit of moisture left.
 
2. Bone dry then immediately water.
 
3. Bone dry then wait a day.

 

[Pariah]

I bottom water mine every few days once the dirt starts to look a little crispy. So I would say fairly dry, but still retaining a bit of moisture. I find there is a much finer line between over/under watering my seedlings than more mature plants. My adults on the other hand, I let them dry out to darn near wilting. If an adult does wilt a bit, they perk up within a few hours after getting a drink, so I don't worry about them too much unless it was extreme neglect. Most peppers like it on the drier side and will lock up if you give them too much moisture.

 

[Swampy_NZ]

Never let your seedlings get bone dry.
waiting until the surface is dry is a good indicator so is the weight method.Picked up your pots and feel the weight of them.You soon get a feeling if they need more water or not.
Unlike a lot of people on this forum I try to keep my plants from ever wilting,in fact I drown my large plants.When plants are established and growing well in summer they cant get enough water.
You do have to be careful with seedlings and younger plants but large established plants will suck that water up.