Hi, Blondie202! Welcome to ATP.
I totally agree about coarse, "open" well-aerated potting mix making watering much safer for the roots.
One way to tell how much water you have left in the pot is to pick up the plant in its pot every few days. While it is still getting lighter each day, it hasn't run out of water yet.
If your potting mix has much peat or any fine-textured, water-holding ingredient, it will try to hold too much water, like it was trying its best to drown the roots. You could fix that part-way by setting the pot on top of a water-absorbent wicking cloth like toweling, a cotton Tee shirt, denim or cotton flannel.
Then when you water, the absorbent pad will try to "pull" any excess water out of the pot by capillary action plus gravity. Excess water going out lets air in, so the roots don't rot.
Bottom-Watering Seedling Trays with Cotton Flannel Prevents Water-Logging
http://garden.org/ideas/view/R...
