Newbie to Semi-Hydro
 

Hi Everyone --

So I ordered the semi-hydro kit from Ray last week and it arrived on Friday. I set up the prime-agra and soaked it overnight. Today was D-day with transfer of my sharry baby and my oncidium dancing lady. They both had excellent new root growth and were thus my guinea pigs! I've done lots of reading and I know it can't hurt to water but when do people find is the optimum time to water? Everyday? Every 3-4 days? I took pics from this morning when I transferred and then this evening.


And then this evening. After 7 hours there was a noticable difference in the level of wicking up the side of the container. Is this good? Does this mean I should water more often? My apt is pretty dry -- somewhere around 25-45% humidity on a good day.

Semi-Hydroponics - Day 1 - a set on Flickr

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
-- Katie :)

Hey Katie!!

I started S/H a little while ago. Looks like you have a good setup--I was a little worried at first too! However, I think you will find that it's sublimely simple and easy. I find watering about every 5 days is sufficient, just as the very top layer becomes pretty dry. The layer right underneath never dries, though.

Keep us posted on your hopeful successes! I look forward to seeing what they do.

David

You will see that "dry line" vary with temperatures and ambient humidity. Once the plants get well-established, you can just water more oftem when that happens.

I started in hydroponics in August. I agree with both of the above. I find that I need to water every 5 days (some are almost dry, others not nearly as bad). It took a few waterings for the LECA to adjust. It seemed to me that it dried out faster at first (maybe it was my anxiety level that made it seem so!!). My feeling is to let the medium get a little drier at the beginning of acclimation (maybe wait until almost the pots are almost dry, 6-7 days), but after a few weeks then water more often.

Thanks to Ray's Site I have been using it for amost 6 years now. To be safe I check the level and top off once a week. But it is great to know that if I go away even for 2 to 3 weeks that they have not completely dried out.

Thanks for everyone's kind replies! So far so good I think. It's been 4 days since the transfer and everyone looks good. I got a seedling mat in the mail yesterday to help the roots out. This apt we live in is always cold! I've read that some people have had better success with warming the roots. It's an experiment, so I figured I would try it out. I've been watering every 2 days with KLN and fertilizer to hopefully get things going. It isn't entirely dried out in two days but i can see significantly less wicking by day 2. Again, thanks to everyone for their help. Are there any other tips/tricks I should know about? I am currently using 1tsp KLN to one gallon. Is that what everyone is using?

Thanks!
Katie :)

Per Ray's suggestion I got a heat mat when I planted some phalaenopsis and oncidiums in September. They really took off.

The rest of my phalaenopsis, oncidium types and cattleyas have been in S/H since last April. I water everything once a week, twice for some plants in summer heat.

I mix my fertilizer 20-18-20 (urea free from OSH)at 1/2 tsp per gal and use it once a week.

I am very pleased with the results and the simplicity of the method.

Maureen

I mist the surface of the hydrotron or which ever type of s/h medium you choose to help keep it moist at first untlll new roots have adjusted and grown in .I also adjusted the height of the holes in My containers a little to raise the level at which the medium stays "wet" untill I was comfortable with the level and now just the very surface drys.

Katie, if you are fertilizing that much make sure you are REALLY flushing those pots with plain water. The salts in the fertilizer will build up and burn the roots. Also, are you using a teaspoon of KLN per gallon of water? I think you might be wasting the KLN---I use 1-2 drops per gallon.
Joann

Hi Joann. I have only fertilized twice. I guess I should cut back to once a week then? And I just went and checked the bottle and you are so correct!!!! I am so glad you corrected me! I read the pre-soak to be 1tsp/gallon and I didnt read the rest of the bottle where it CLEARLY says 1-2 drops/gallon for regular fertilizing. Silly me. Joann you are a life saver! I thought that was alot of KLN and clearly it is! I was gonna go through it really quickly. I will be sure to flush those pots really well in 2 days when I water.

Thanks again Joann!

_-Katie :)