Keep Fabric Pots Out Of Runoff

Misanthrope · Feb 16, 2023

It's a golden rule and I follow it, my question is whether that means to keep the pot on a grid-like plant riser or can I place the pot flat on a saucer _after_ the runoff has been removed? Up til now I have always kept them on a riser to have air flow beneath for air pruning. I'm running out of space and could squeeze in another plant or two if I didnt have to keep each pot on its own circular riser and could put more than one in a rectangular basin instead. I assume more air flow would be better but would it be harmful to place them flat? What about in the short term? Has anyone tried both setups and seen a difference?

Aqua Man · Feb 16, 2023

That eggcrate light diffuser stuff works great. Your absolutely right the more airflow the better

GreenGalaxyFarm · Feb 17, 2023

You water you fabric pots till runoff? I just slowly water giving each plant a little and then more till the medium is fully saturated. No runoff necessary in soil. For coco you are looking for runoff as to supply the medium with a fresh amount of minerals and wash out built up minerals. Just an opinion

Timbo0716 · Feb 17, 2023

I always water with a little run off, making sure the pot is completely saturated. If not you are leaving dry pockets in your soil.

SSgrower · Feb 17, 2023

Research "Buttchugging" or bottom feeding for 15-20 minutes then raise the plant back to it's above water perch. There are other methods, others here may elaborate,Cheers SS

Aqua Man · Feb 17, 2023

Always good to get runoff when using synthetic nutrients…. With organic you dont want to unless there is a problem or your washing available nutrients from the soil

PipeCarver · Feb 17, 2023

Misanthrope said:
It's a golden rule and I follow it, my question is whether that means to keep the pot on a grid-like plant riser or can I place the pot flat on a saucer _after_ the runoff has been removed? Up til now I have always kept them on a riser to have air flow beneath for air pruning. I'm running out of space and could squeeze in another plant or two if I didnt have to keep each pot on its own circular riser and could put more than one in a rectangular basin instead. I assume more air flow would be better but would it be harmful to place them flat? What about in the short term? Has anyone tried both setups and seen a difference?

Hi, in the summer when its hot I'll drop them off their stands and let them sit flat on the tray. They were drying out so fast I had to do something. It seemed to help retaining the moisture a little longer and I didn't have any issues because of it. Fabric pots dry out so fast any ways I don't think there's really a need to keep them lifted in the short term, if you need that extra inch or 2 go for it. With plastic pots I'd say no they need the air.

Cirroji · Feb 17, 2023

how high are your risers? I use circular riser but they only go up a couple inches, just enough for the rollers to stand it

i also grow in soil with synth nutes - i get a good runoff to make sure my fabric pots are completely saturated and couldn't care less about the excess water. throw my weed towel in if i need to clean it up, otherwise i will let it rise the humidity and the dehumidifier get's to do its job.

BigBlonde · Feb 17, 2023

With a riser, all surfaces of the fabric pot are exposed to nearly the same air temperature and relative humidity.

CannaGranny · Feb 17, 2023

BigBlonde said:
With a riser, all surfaces of the fabric pot are exposed to nearly the same air temperature and relative humidity.

Absolutely! One of the main idea’s behind the cloth bags were that they could get air and light exposure so they could sheer off the excess roots, just like what would occur in nature. This was also to keep the tap roots from coiling and the plant sending a bunch of goodie’s to the root at a time when it’s needed up top.
I grow organically and I do allow a tiny bit of run off, and am not satisfied that they are properly watered unless I have a good slow steady drip from the bottom in the root zone.

BigBlonde · Feb 17, 2023

CannaGranny said:
I grow organically and I do allow a tiny bit of run off, and am not satisfied that they are properly watered unless I have a good slow steady drip from the bottom in the root zone.

That's how I do it.

Water slowly, as well, to allow time for the water to spread and to keep it from leaking out the sides of the pot. Basically, if it leaks out the sides, you're doing it wrong.

PipeCarver · Feb 17, 2023

BigBlonde said:
That's how I do it.

Water slowly, as well, to allow time for the water to spread and to keep it from leaking out the sides of the pot. Basically, if it leaks out the sides, you're doing it wrong.

I don't have the time, patients or back to water slowly. I try to water 3 at a time with each getting some before I refill my 1 gallon jug. Once the water is off the top I giver more. A bit of running down the sides is no bother I make sure the pots are sufficiently wet before moving on. In the summer I was double watering where I'd saturate in the morning then pour another 1/3 - 1/2 gallon on later in the day and it would disappear without runoff. I'm thinking I need to add some vermiculite to my mix... to retain more water in the summer months

CannaGranny · Feb 17, 2023

PipeCarver said:
I don't have the time, patients or back to water slowly. I try to water 3 at a time with each getting some before I refill my 1 gallon jug. Once the water is off the top I giver more. A bit of running down the sides is no bother I make sure the pots are sufficiently wet before moving on. In the summer I was double watering where I'd saturate in the morning then pour another 1/3 - 1/2 gallon on later in the day and it would disappear without runoff. I'm thinking I need to add some vermiculite to my mix... to retain more water in the summer months

Regardless of you saying you dont have the time, you are really still doing it right. Your doing it in stages. You gotta remember some peeps dump it all, it runs off, they don’t go back, flower wilts and croak’s.
I have found that in the winter time if I half my watering like you do, that evening when I come back for round two, they drink more than normal and I can hold them a little longer. Even with that I get four days max.

PipeCarver · Feb 17, 2023

CannaGranny said:
Regardless of you saying you dont have the time, you are really still doing it right. Your doing it in stages. You gotta remember some peeps dump it all, it runs off, they don’t go back, flower wilts and croak’s.
I have found that in the winter time if I half my watering like you do, that evening when I come back for round two, they drink more than normal and I can hold them a little longer. Even with that I get four days max.

Promix is bad for compacting I didn't have as much of an issue with it in plastic pots. That being said I like fabric pots for the way the roots grow through the soil and not around it and wrap the bottoms. I'm going to start using a lot more perlite in my mixes and maybe some vermiculite as well to keep it from compacting and squeezing my roots to death when I miss a watering.

Once the water disappears from the top Its gone I'll then fill to it the brim with an inch of water or more then move to the next plant and do the same. Once the pooling stays on top and she's leaking out the bottom shes full. I'll let the water disappear from the top and flood into the tray. If she needs more she'll suck it up. After I've watered or fed everything I'll wet vac up all the run off in the trays.

BigBlonde · Feb 17, 2023

PipeCarver said:
I don't have the time, patients or back to water slowly. I try to water 3 at a time with each getting some before I refill my 1 gallon jug. Once the water is off the top I giver more. A bit of running down the sides is no bother I make sure the pots are sufficiently wet before moving on. In the summer I was double watering where I'd saturate in the morning then pour another 1/3 - 1/2 gallon on later in the day and it would disappear without runoff. I'm thinking I need to add some vermiculite to my mix... to retain more water in the summer months

So much depends on the garden and the gardener and they're all different. Leaking out the sides is a waste. Did you think I meant pouring it in slowly? I didn't. I don't drizzle it in. By watering slowly, I meant pouring it in a little at a time -- that is, in stages, if you prefer -- to avoid wasted runoff because the soil is too dry to absorb the water. It's the wet sponge/dry sponge idea. It takes some time for the water to spread within the pot. So, I pour some in each of my three pots, wait a while, pour some more, wait a while and repeat until I see water coming out the bottoms of the pots. After about two days, I start checking the soil moisture with a meter to help judge when to water again.

electroguy · Feb 17, 2023

SSgrower said:
Research "Buttchugging" or bottom feeding for 15-20 minutes then raise the plant back to it's above water perch. There are other methods, others here may elaborate,Cheers SS

BUTT CHUGGING! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha , I can't breath, ha ha ha ha ha

PipeCarver · Feb 17, 2023

electroguy said:
BUTT CHUGGING! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha , I can't breath, ha ha ha ha ha

I was taught how to tend house plants 50 years ago and I'm doing it the same way I've always done it. Even turning the plants 90* after each flood because there's always a slope........can't do that with a scrog or full tent but I mostly have grown under hps in an open space.

Misanthrope · Feb 17, 2023

SSgrower said:
Research "Buttchugging" or bottom feeding for 15-20 minutes then raise the plant back to it's above water perch. There are other methods, others here may elaborate,Cheers SS

I do that for soil sometimes and have wondered whether or not it would be ok for coco. Wouldn't I be risking salt buildup in the coco by bottom feeding? ("buttchugging" sounds way too much like college shenanigans go horribly - or wonderfully - wrong). I've been toying with the idea of trying a small SOG set up with bottom fed coco to see if it would work. Does anyone have experience with bottom feeding coco/perlite mix?

General consensus seems to be it's better to have a fabric pot elevated but not crucial.

PipeCarver · Feb 17, 2023

Misanthrope said:
I do that for soil sometimes and have wondered whether or not it would be ok for coco. Wouldn't I be risking salt buildup in the coco by bottom feeding? ("buttchugging" sounds way too much like college shenanigans go horribly - or wonderfully - wrong). I've been toying with the idea of trying a small SOG set up with bottom fed coco to see if it would work. Does anyone have experience with bottom feeding coco/perlite mix?

General consensus seems to be it's better to have a fabric pot elevated but not crucial.

The auto pots are a bottom feed system & they recommend a 50/50 mix Coco/ perlite....Soil/ perlite... Coco /Clay balls...Soil / Clay balls

SSgrower · Feb 27, 2023

BigBlonde said:
With a riser, all surfaces of the fabric pot are exposed to nearly the same air temperature and relative humidity.

I have used 1 ft. plant stands since @Aquaman got me started with this Coco Coir & perlite. They allow air flow and give me a foot of height to play with as to canopy distance from the LED. Cheers SS

Keep Fabric Pots Out Of Runoff

Keep Fabric Pots Out Of Runoff

Misanthrope

Aqua Man

GreenGalaxyFarm

Timbo0716

SSgrower

Aqua Man

PipeCarver

Cirroji

man i'm just a hotdog

BigBlonde

CannaGranny

BigBlonde

PipeCarver

CannaGranny

PipeCarver

BigBlonde

electroguy

PipeCarver

Misanthrope

PipeCarver

SSgrower

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