My Foray into s/h

[Ben Belton]

I bought the stuff to do some seni-hydroponics a few years back when it was a fairly new idea. I never used it though. A friend has been pushing me to try it, and since I already had some pots and a 50lb bag of LECA I'd purchased 5 years earlier and have moved it to 1 new town and 2 new houses, I thought it was time. So far I've only moved a few plants. I plan on moving as many as this 50lb bag of LECA will allow, see how it goes, and decide what to do from there.

Below is a picture of a seedling I deflasked a few months back. It has been growing in sphagnum. I moved it to s/h on 11/10/11 so it has been there for 17 days. You can see the roots look great and are already starting to elongate. The newest leaf hasn't slipped a beat. This is potted in an 8oz beer cup. I like that they are clear.

[silken]

It looks great! So does the beer cup have drain holes? And is there a depth of water that always remains in the glass? It looks like it is working so I'd be interested in some details. Only problem is my greenhouse is cool all winter long and I worry that the roots will get too cold when they are always wet. I can't afford heat mats for everything.

[Ben Belton]

You make a good point. My plants grow in my basement and it is warm all winter. Its dry too. So I don't have to worry about cold roots. The dry part is also what moved me to be interested in s/h. I have some plants in 100% sphagnum balls. My conditions are so dry that even those dried out crunchy in almost a week. I hope this will be better.

I do have small holes about an inch up from the base of the cup. So there is always a depth of water that is always there. It goes down slowly with some use from the plant and evaporation, but some of my plants have gone 2 weeks without watering and there is still a little water in the reservoir. The LECA wicks up the water, so it stays at least slightly moist almost to the top of the pot.

If you are interested, seems like First Rays has a starter kit you can try. There is a selection of pots and some LECA. Just try a few plants for a few months and see how it goes. This might be the best time right before it gets really cool. Or it might be better to start in the spring, give the plants a summer to grow their roots, and then see how they do in winter.

[Bud]

Very nice ! I like the beer cup touch...you have a happy healthy plant

[silken]

Originally Posted by Ben Belton

You make a good point. My plants grow in my basement and it is warm all winter. Its dry too. So I don't have to worry about cold roots. The dry part is also what moved me to be interested in s/h. I have some plants in 100% sphagnum balls. My conditions are so dry that even those dried out crunchy in almost a week. I hope this will be better.

I do have small holes about an inch up from the base of the cup. So there is always a depth of water that is always there. It goes down slowly with some use from the plant and evaporation, but some of my plants have gone 2 weeks without watering and there is still a little water in the reservoir. The LECA wicks up the water, so it stays at least slightly moist almost to the top of the pot.

If you are interested, seems like First Rays has a starter kit you can try. There is a selection of pots and some LECA. Just try a few plants for a few months and see how it goes. This might be the best time right before it gets really cool. Or it might be better to start in the spring, give the plants a summer to grow their roots, and then see how they do in winter.

Thanks Ben. My Milts and Masdies need watering more often than I like. Even when the masdies are in moss. It's already cold here so I will wait for spring. When I am ready to re-pot something, I'll take a smaller piece with new growth and give it a try.