Recycled plastic pellets for those eager to water?

[Ray]

Wow! Has this thread exploded into several, or what?

• Many moons ago, I would put plastic pots in the dishwasher with a cup of bleach. Worked great, but stunk up the house. Now, I simply use Cascade pods.

• Ordinary window screen “patches” contain potting media well. Finer mesh is unnecessary.

• Back to the plastic pellet potting media for a moment, as much as I like the idea, I will avoid that Arqlite stuff for the color alone, but what concerns me more is the apparent lack of porosity.
  
  Yes, the porosity in LECA is where mineral solids collect, ultimately requiring replacement, albeit far less frequently than organic components, but there is a significant “up side” to that porosity. A pot full of LECA, even when apparently dry, holds quite a bit of water that acts to keep the air in the interstitial voids quite humid, and that can go a long way to maintaining the health of plants that are otherwise neglected.
  
  Over the years, plants have occasionally been dropped off the back of the bench, resulting in them getting no water for several weeks, but the most extreme example came when I was getting ready to move. Moving is always a busy time, but filling a 30 cubic yard roll-off dumpster with crap accumulated over 20+ years of operating First Rays out of my basement was extremely occupying.
  
  When disassembling my greenhouse for sale, I found several plants that had not seen any care for 3 months that were chugging along fine. I can only attribute that to them being sustained by that stored water.
  
  I’m not suggesting that we intentionally (or unintentionally) neglect our plants, but it seems to me that the moisture stability within the medium is a significant “plus”.