an update on Air pots!
they're starting to annoy me. i got a bunch of, .3 (that's point 3) gallon pots. nice size units, a bit bigger than our standard party cups. i have seedlings in these and in party cups. i typically water a decent amount (it's all by feel these days), close the vegging closet door and ignore them for 2 to 3 days.
last night i noticed that the seedlings in the party cups are a nice dark green and are doing well. they don't need watering. the seedlings in the air pots look less green, are not as big and are very dry. like i should have watered them at least a day ago. the seedling mix i used had no ferts in it. i was too lazy to drive for 20 mins to get some light warrior! at about 12 days of vegging, the air pot plants look like they need some ferts and the party cup ones don't. i find this rather odd! i gave them a shot of 1/4 strength veg nutes last night.
i forgot to allow for the extra air in the air pots. those suckers dry out quick and i'll now be giving them twice as much water as the party cups to hopefully even out when everybody needs watering.
watering air pots is a big pain in the ass! i don't like tiny pains in the ass let alone big ones. i have a good mix of soil and perlite in the pots. i use a turkey baster to water my party cups and these air pots. using 1/2 a turkey baster of water, the water in the air pots will stand on top for 30 seconds or more before it's absorbed into the soil AND some of the water will pour, not drip but pour our of a couple of the holes that are well below the top of the pot. then i put in another 1/2 a baster etc. took about 5 times as long to water these pots. i watered the party cups in a few mins. fill a baster, shoot it in the cup! done!
i'm seriously reconsidering ordering larger air pots. i'm not about to spend an hour bent over trying to water these things. i have a 2.4 gallon air pot and i really need to put a currently flowering plant into it to see if it's going to be a pain too. my smart pots take water like a champ!
i'm probably going to copy this same message at an air pot thread. i'm lazy!