[DogterB]

Hey all, quick question. I have my auto going in a 7 gallon trash can that I drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom, as well as holes along the rim for LST. I originally put a few inches of gravel in the bottom to help with drainage and to take up some of the space. Well, with the gravel it became really heavy, too heavy for the greenhouse stand I have it on. So what I did was get the gravel out and replaced it with some gutter guard foam. This foam is made to put into gutters to allow water through but block debris. This reduced the weight significantly and allows for great drainage.

My question is do you think this will be okay? I previously looked up the SDS of the material and it says non-toxic and safe, but for its intended use. It's made of polyurethane. I stuffed it in the bottom 4" or so and put my soil on top. It drains very well, but wanted to see if anyone had opinions/expertise on it. I just don't want it to hurt my plant. Of course, I ask this on day 6 of my grow , when I'm starting to second guess myself.

Here's a link to the product:

 

[LittleDabbie]

Just use perlite??

That stuff might work.. It also might allow the roots to get tangled up in it and clog the pot..

PERLITE is what we use for a reason. Get sum. :)

 

[DogterB]

Just use perlite??

That stuff might work.. It also might allow the roots to get tangled up in it and clog the pot..

PERLITE is what we use for a reason. Get sum. :)

Thanks LD! Yeah I used perlite in a 3:1 soil/perlite ratio. I only added the gravel/foam to take up some of the space in the 7 gallon trash can to get it more to 5 gallon size for my auto. That was a wonder of mine also, the roots getting into it. Being a first timer, I don't know how big or deep it's roots will go. This stuff is so porous, it would be pretty impressive, yet frustrating, if it clogged with roots. If something like that happens, would I be able to negate it by putting more holes along the sides? Always appreciate the input!

 

[LittleDabbie]

i would just stick with perlite theres really no need to do more.

 

[DogterB]

i would just stick with perlite theres really no need to do more.

Sounds good. I'll see how this run goes, and probably skip the foam in the future.