Finally hit my stride with semi-hydro in self-watering

[Bamanana]

It’s flushing Sunday morning and I finally hit my stride with semi-hydro in self-watering pots. I figured out an assembly line that lets me flush the pot, shower and inspect leaves, check for pests, clean reservoirs and replenish nutrients….to every single one of my nearly 80 orchids. I do this every other Sunday morning and enjoy my little visit with each orchid.

Behind the right sink, I set up a container of water with a dab of Dawn, splash of bleach and a soft bristled glass brush. I put down towels on the counter to the left of the left sink because I’m messy. I put a strainer in the left sink with the garbage disposal to prevent escapees from going down. Because I’m messy. (See set up in attached picture.)

Shelf by shelf, I line up my orchids on the towels to the left and one by one place the mask in the right sink for a quick clean (I brush this out first so the bleach can sit and remove stains from Quantum and KelpMax.) I place the plant in the strainer in the left sink and shower and inspect each structure, removing anything that needs removing and dropping it in the sink for later disposal. I flush the pot. Sometimes I am grabbing more orchids, or putting some back on the shelf while the water is running through the pot. I then move sprayer to right sink to rinse the mask while the orchid drains in the left. Drop orchid into mask, fill with fresh nutrients according to gauge and return to shelf. Sometimes I’m doing several steps at once.

Obviously, the orchids in conventional semi-hydro just get a really thorough flush and I avoid thinking about what the reservoirs may look like. (Yes, I am kinda OCD.) I’ll get them cleaned on repots.