S/H water, condensation question

[VickiC]

Hi Ray,
No problem about your response time, I should be the one apologizing to you. I believe all of my issues are solved so now I have time to contact you and others who have replied to my questions.

I thought I had read through your site thoroughly, but I see now that I missed a part you said or just failed to comprehend it as I should have. The statement you made that I am speaking of is at: Presoaking Media
and it is:
So let's relate all of that to a couple of often-observed phenomena during the first weeks following potting up the plant, either "the medium doesn't wick well", or "the reservoir empties really quickly". They are actually both symptoms of the same thing - the medium trying to become fully saturated because it was not presoaked sufficiently before use.


I realize now that the problem was most likely me not having soaked the PrimeAgra as long as I should have. Some nights (not often, though) I am not able to get to bed until late but also on some mornings I wake up early.....especially if I have something to take care of that is "orchid related" Anyway, the undersoaking must have happened at one of the times I just mentioned, so it was my mistake. From now on, I plan to pay more attention to how long the PrimeAgra has soaked before I use it.

Thanks so much for your response. I always really appreciate you answering and explaining to me in detail.
Vicki

Originally Posted by Ray

Sorry for not responding - I was away for a while, then got really swamped....

As to the frequency of watering, as far as I can tell, once the plants are fully established - in other words, their root systems are fully developed in the environment of the s/h pot conditions - it is impossible to water too frequently. Think about it: except for the few seconds the pot is full of nutrient solution, the before- and after-watering conditions are basically identical. I watered plants daily for 6 months as an experiment once, and they actually grew faster than the ones receiving a more typical watering frequency.

As to the reservoir seeming to empty too quickly, there are two things that could be affecting that. If the ambient conditions are perfect for rapid evaporation - warm temps, low RH, good air movement, and a pot with a large surface area - it could simply be that. However, the second possibility, and one more likely, is that the medium was not presoaked long enough, so is not fully saturated. Water it very frequently for now, and it will become so, and the apparent rate of liquid loss will diminish.