• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

water Bottom Watering Question

Kempire

Kempire

Ok, so i have searched and read about bottom watering, and I am a little confused. I now have 50 peppers on their 2nd set of leaves that are in plastic cups with a hole in the bottom. I have 15ish cups in black trays i got from HD. do i just add water to the black tray, let them soak up the water, or do i have to dump off the excess water? Or do I pull each cup out and place in another cup with water, then put it back. I will have 150 cups, and this just seams like a lot more work than just watering with a can, which takes 5 min, 3 times a week. I am confused, can someone explain the process they use? Thanks!

Kemp
 
First you need more than one hole in the bottom if you don't already. But yea if you have the cups sitting in a tray and the tray doesn't have holes in it then yea just pour water into the tray and the growing media will wick up the water. For the excess water I personally leave it in there over night and if there's still water sitting in the tray then I'll dump it out
 
coheed196 said:
First you need more than one hole in the bottom if you don't already. But yea if you have the cups sitting in a tray and the tray doesn't have holes in it then yea just pour water into the tray and the growing media will wick up the water. For the excess water I personally leave it in there over night and if there's still water sitting in the tray then I'll dump it out
Click to expand...

Well shit.... I took a suggestion from someone, heated a nail with a torch, and punched a hole in several stacks of cups...just one hole....I think Im F'd now, wont be easy to add holes to my existing cups with plants in them...I will just keep a fan on 'em and keep on keeping on..haha
 
Kempire said:
Well shit.... I took a suggestion from someone, heated a nail with a torch, and punched a hole in several stacks of cups...just one hole....I think Im F'd now, wont be easy to add holes to my existing cups with plants in them...I will just keep a fan on 'em and keep on keeping on..haha
Click to expand...

More holes equals better water drainage.Coheed is spot on
 
well i guess Ill get the torch and nail back out, punch 5 or so holes in the bottom. Thanks guys.




Soldering iron..... F'n genius...just saying....

Time to get at it
 
I wouldn't play with a hot tip on the bottom of the can. I've already done that when I had seeds in the soil and didn't like the sound the tip makes when hits the moist soil. I do not want to think what will happen if you have roots growing down there. I would just wait instead and maybe re-pot but I think you'd be fine eitherway.
 
I personally only bottom water for about 5 minutes, drain off the excess, and I'm done. The time will depend on the potting mix, but you don't need to let them sit in water until they are totally soaked.
 
They were just "potted up" into these cups, so no roots down there yet. Also, was going to try bottom watering tonight, so they are fairly dry. The iron is heating up now, so this is going to happen. I estimate 50 cups is only a 4 beer job with the soldering iron...

JoynersHotPeppers said:
I like to do holes near where the bottom and side meet. Works wonders in the world of bottom watering.
Click to expand...

That's where I will melt them, thx

These are the cups and trays in using
DD264CBA-0E3C-469D-A617-48A164B336AA-4919-000005313D87C867_zps117d7118.jpg
 
I'm glad I asked. I was going to plant up the rest of my plants the same way, now I will rethink things.


JoynersHotPeppers said:
If you look at my cups not in the tray you can see the slit that takes some side and bottom away.
Click to expand...

Do you have just the one slit? Or a couple around the bottom. Do you cut each cup individually, or have you found a way to do the whole stack somehow.


Thanks guys for all your help.

 
Kempire said:
I'm glad I asked. I was going to plant up the rest of my plants the same way, now I will rethink things.




Do you have just the one slit? Or a couple around the bottom. Do you cut each cup individually, or have you found a way to do the whole stack somehow.


Thanks guys for all your help.
Click to expand...
3 per cup, I'll take a bottom pic and post it.
 
So, you just fill the tray with water(how high), and let them soak it up. any left you dump out if any water is left standing after a while? sound about right?

I will grab some red cups and start cutting for my next plants, but for this first batch, I might just keep them were they are for a while. I dont think replanting so soon would be good for them.
 
JoynersHotPeppers said:
3 per cup, I'll take a bottom pic and post it.
Click to expand...
I wish I would have done that..glad this thread was posted. I actually just started to bottom feed myself and I had no idea how much water was too much..can you over water with bottom feeding? I know you pour out the excess water . I was a little worried I overwatered because im getting a little bit of algae


Thanks
 
heatofmiami said:
I wish I would have done that..glad this thread was posted. I actually just started to bottom feed myself and I had no idea how much water was too much..can you over water with bottom feeding? I know you pour out the excess water . I was a little worried I overwatered because im getting a little bit of algae


Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes you can over water while bottom watering as well. If you are getting algae then you are probably over watering or don't have enough air circulation or a combination of the two
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top