TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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RainMaker!
mikefallen13
Mr. veitchii
GrowinOld
Not Growing Up!
So far, about once every year or two (or more in the case of the terrarium set-up)
I clean the entire thing. Water evaporation is very low compared to when I was doing the tray system, and so no, I don't change the water much, if at all.
The shelving water'ers will be a discovery, as the trays are clear, which may allow some algae or moss to grow, but I will find out. So far as shown, the holes/drippers do grow some moss after about 6-12 months, which seems to be either sphagnum babies or some other moss. It doesn't affect the watering until it gets really heavy, which this time was about a year & a half.
The terrarium bottom is opaque, so no light equals no growth. There is also a sheet of landscape fabric lining the plastic grid/shelf that the plants sit on. It does get some sphagnum growing on it after a long time, but nothing underneath. I don't know yet how the ones I have on my shelves will do as I mentioned.
The only regular thing I do is to add a little water to it, so far about once every 10-14 days. I sometimes add ferts/tricho to the reservoir, but that can get tricky if I am not careful what plants I have in the system at the time.
I will try to post some more pics soon, perhaps to follow some of the growth & what takes place.
Thanks again for looking & the interest
"Knock on wood" the shelving self-watering units are doing well, and will also post some pics on those later too.
As I mentioned before, it really makes growing most plants a lot easier with a lot less regular work, and it also thus makes it possible to grow more plants. For those who like to tend to their plants daily, that can be a bad thing, but for me now, it gives me more time for starting seed, repotting, trimming, and just looking, along with other things.
I would again recommend people try a small pail/container with a pot on top, and a small table fountain pump & timer for starters. (A simple tube from the pump wired in place to the base of the plant or into the growing medium is all it takes.) Even just to grow some sphagnum. it works great.
I clean the entire thing. Water evaporation is very low compared to when I was doing the tray system, and so no, I don't change the water much, if at all.
The shelving water'ers will be a discovery, as the trays are clear, which may allow some algae or moss to grow, but I will find out. So far as shown, the holes/drippers do grow some moss after about 6-12 months, which seems to be either sphagnum babies or some other moss. It doesn't affect the watering until it gets really heavy, which this time was about a year & a half.
The terrarium bottom is opaque, so no light equals no growth. There is also a sheet of landscape fabric lining the plastic grid/shelf that the plants sit on. It does get some sphagnum growing on it after a long time, but nothing underneath. I don't know yet how the ones I have on my shelves will do as I mentioned.
The only regular thing I do is to add a little water to it, so far about once every 10-14 days. I sometimes add ferts/tricho to the reservoir, but that can get tricky if I am not careful what plants I have in the system at the time.
I will try to post some more pics soon, perhaps to follow some of the growth & what takes place.
Thanks again for looking & the interest
"Knock on wood" the shelving self-watering units are doing well, and will also post some pics on those later too.
As I mentioned before, it really makes growing most plants a lot easier with a lot less regular work, and it also thus makes it possible to grow more plants. For those who like to tend to their plants daily, that can be a bad thing, but for me now, it gives me more time for starting seed, repotting, trimming, and just looking, along with other things.
I would again recommend people try a small pail/container with a pot on top, and a small table fountain pump & timer for starters. (A simple tube from the pump wired in place to the base of the plant or into the growing medium is all it takes.) Even just to grow some sphagnum. it works great.
GrowinOld awesome setup you have here A+ on that! I have started to make a irrgation system just like yours but probably with adjustable emitters that mist instead of raining. I would think that the dripping of the water from such a high height disturbs the soil and plant but looks very cool!
I plan on using it the system on venus flytraps, sundews, sarr's and cephs. Just doing some minor tweakage to your system to fit my growing area better.
I plan on using it the system on venus flytraps, sundews, sarr's and cephs. Just doing some minor tweakage to your system to fit my growing area better.
A year and a half later, this and Av8tor's watering systems still stick in my mind, saying, "build me!". I can deffinately tell from my experience that water flowing through the soil frequently produces better plants (not to mention better sphagnum, specifically) than sitting in stagnant water, but that was by hand watering select plants every day or multiple times a day. After years of growing CP's, daily maintanance does get very old. I've combatted that to an extent using "bubblers" to keep my indoor plants watered for a week or two at a time (i.e. : http://sarracenia.com/faq/faq3390.html), but that doesn't bring the benefits of top watering and water cycling. I'm just biding time until I have the time and resources to do it! Sigh...
GrowinOld
Not Growing Up!
1986,
Once done, you WILL wonder why you didn't take the time to do it sooner!
Promise!
The amount of time spent on the project will be made up for in less than a month of the time you currently invest in watering.
Actually, the more time you put it off, the more time you are wasting!
(Just some thoughts on it.)
The biggest time consumer for me is the once or twice a year I have to clear the thing out
of the overgrown live sphagnum that grows over everything.
(By the way, if deciding on using mist emiters, be sure to have a way to prevent them from plugging up.)
Once done, you WILL wonder why you didn't take the time to do it sooner!
Promise!
The amount of time spent on the project will be made up for in less than a month of the time you currently invest in watering.
Actually, the more time you put it off, the more time you are wasting!
(Just some thoughts on it.)
The biggest time consumer for me is the once or twice a year I have to clear the thing out
of the overgrown live sphagnum that grows over everything.
(By the way, if deciding on using mist emiters, be sure to have a way to prevent them from plugging up.)
