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water Bottom watering..?

acs1

acs1

Nothing fancy here, just a simple #5 fabric pot in a tray with water, and hydro plastic 3gal/1gal containers with many 3/4" holes in the bottom.
 Both with a light mix.of  7/2/1_ peat/perlite/worm castings with 1/2 cup Dr Earth rolled in and 1/2 cup powdered eggshells rolled in.
 
Leaving the containers in a 1/2-1" high water bath,,  will that over water.? or does the wicking effect draw up just enough and not to much..?
 
Is bottom watering like that a good idea, or bad..?
 

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It's fine, so long as the plants are covered by something.  Otherwise, one good rain, and...
.
Down here, for me, the general rule is, if it holds water long enough to hatch a batch of mosquito larvae, it's too much water.  And...  I use the exact same setup that you have going there.  Although I use the mixing tub to maximum capacity.
 
solid7 said:
It's fine, so long as the plants are covered by something.  Otherwise, one good rain, and...
.
Down here, for me, the general rule is, if it holds water long enough to hatch a batch of mosquito larvae, it's too much water.  And...  I use the exact same setup that you have going there.  Although I use the mixing tub to maximum capacity.
Click to expand...
 
Do you mean more water capacity,,, how high can ya go..?
 
Thinking of going down to the lake and scooping up a tadpole or tiny fish and putting them in the trays to eat the skeeter larvae,,, lol
 
 
I mean that I put more plants in it.  I fill it up. So that there is less water to remain in the tub for less time.  It's a balance between how much you put in and how much gets reabsorbed.  You don't really just want to have plants sitting in water for long periods of time.  But sometimes, the water just flows out too quickly.  More pots = more absorption.  This is just a good practice.  Especially when you're using liquid nutrients.
 
ShowMeDaSauce said:
 
I use 16" saucers with "7gal" fabric pots. I have a little over an inch clearance all the way around. You could probably use a 14" for a #5. These are about 2.5" deep.
https://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-HGS16P-Green-Premium-Saucer/dp/B008XOSH78
 
For my Tidy Cat buckets i use a white wash tub from Dollar Tree. They cost a buck each.
 
3gal hard pots fit in these no problem too.
https://www.dollartree.com/plastic-dish-pans-8-qt/163096
 
11in. x 13.5in
Height: 4.5 in.
 
Click to expand...
Thanks for the links, those look perfect...
 
solid7 said:
I mean that I put more plants in it.  I fill it up. So that there is less water to remain in the tub for less time.  It's a balance between how much you put in and how much gets reabsorbed.  You don't really just want to have plants sitting in water for long periods of time.  But sometimes, the water just flows out too quickly.  More pots = more absorption.  This is just a good practice.  Especially when you're using liquid nutrients.
Click to expand...
 

So, for a set like in my pic, how long is to long to leave it in the water bath...? In 24 hours that Fatalii can suck up 1-1.5" of water no problem.  Can the mix suck up to much water..?
 
acs1 said:
 
So, for a set like in my pic, how long is to long to leave it in the water bath...? In 24 hours that Fatalii can suck up 1-1.5" of water no problem.  Can the mix suck up to much water..?
Click to expand...
 
Yeah, that isn't a problem.  If it's there by day 2, it needs to be dumped, and not watered again until the pot is feather weight.
 
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