Etter hvert som plantejorden tørker, viser fuktighetsmåleren mindre vann.

Etter hvert som is a common expression meaning as, as ... gradually, or as time goes on and.

In this sentence, it introduces a gradual change:

• Etter hvert som plantejorden tørker = As the potting soil dries out

So it is not just a simple one-time event. It suggests that one thing changes little by little, and another thing changes along with it.

It is best to learn etter hvert som as a fixed expression.

Word-for-word, the parts may look familiar, but the full phrase functions together as a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause. In normal learning, it is much more useful to remember:

• etter hvert som ... = as ... / gradually as ...

So here, som is not acting like the English relative pronoun who/which/that. It is simply part of the expression.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• plante = plant
• jord = soil/earth
• plantejord = plant soil / potting soil

This is very normal in Norwegian. English often uses two words where Norwegian uses one compound.

Other examples:

• blomsterpotte = flower pot
• vannmåler = water meter
• hagejord = garden soil

If you split compounds incorrectly in Norwegian, it can look unnatural or even change the meaning.

Because plantejorden is the definite form: the potting soil / the plant soil.

In Norwegian, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun:

• plantejord = potting soil / plant soil
• plantejorden = the potting soil

So unlike English, Norwegian often does not need a separate word like the before the noun. The ending does that job.

Plantejord usually means potting soil, planting soil, or soil used for plants.

The exact English wording depends on context:

• in a flowerpot context: potting soil
• in a gardening context: planting soil or garden soil for plants

So the word is fairly practical and refers to soil intended for growing plants.

Here tørker means dries or is drying out.

The verb å tørke can be used intransitively, meaning that something becomes dry:

• Jorden tørker. = The soil dries / is drying out.

So Norwegian does not need a separate construction like becomes dry here, even though English sometimes prefers that kind of phrasing.

You could compare:

• Jorden blir tørr. = The soil becomes dry.
• Jorden tørker. = The soil dries / dries out.

In this sentence, tørker is the more natural choice.

This is because of normal Norwegian V2 word order (verb-second).

The sentence starts with a subordinate clause:

• Etter hvert som plantejorden tørker,

After that comes the main clause. In a Norwegian main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position, so you get:

• viser fuktighetsmåleren mindre vann

not

• fuktighetsmåleren viser mindre vann

when that main clause is preceded by something else.

So the pattern is:

• [Subordinate clause], [verb] [subject] ...

A simpler example:

• Når jeg kommer hjem, spiser jeg.
• not Når jeg kommer hjem, jeg spiser.

This is one of the most important word-order rules in Norwegian.

Fuktighetsmåleren means the moisture meter.

It is another compound noun:

• fuktighet = moisture / humidity
• måler = meter / gauge / measurer
• fuktighetsmåler = moisture meter
• fuktighetsmåleren = the moisture meter

The -s- in the middle is a common linking element in Norwegian compounds:

• fuktighet + s + måler

You do not always translate that -s-; it is just part of how the compound is formed.

Because vann is an uncountable noun, and with uncountable nouns Norwegian uses mindre, not færre.

Compare:

• mindre vann = less water
• færre planter = fewer plants

So the distinction is similar to English:

• less water
• fewer plants

Here, mindre is exactly what you would expect with vann.

It is understandable, but many learners will notice that it sounds a little unusual.

A moisture meter does not literally show water in the same way that, for example, a measuring cup shows water. What is really meant is something like:

• the meter shows less moisture
• the meter shows a lower moisture level
• the meter indicates less water content

So in more idiomatic Norwegian, you might also see:

• viser mindre fuktighet
• viser lavere fuktighet

That said, viser mindre vann can still be understood as shows less water content in the soil.

Because Norwegian often uses the present tense for general facts, processes, and instructions, just like English does.

This sentence describes a general relationship:

• as the soil dries,
• the meter shows less water/moisture.

So the present tense is not about only what is happening right now. It can also describe what normally happens.

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause, and in Norwegian it is standard to place a comma before the main clause when that subordinate clause comes first.

So:

• Etter hvert som plantejorden tørker, viser fuktighetsmåleren mindre vann.

The comma helps mark the boundary between:

1. the subordinate clause
   Etter hvert som plantejorden tørker
2. the main clause
   viser fuktighetsmåleren mindre vann

This is very common and something you should expect to see often in written Norwegian.