Here’s something I was thinking about this morning…
I’ve noticed that some people elevate their fabric pots above the runoff trays using trivets, rocks, etc.
I’ve left mine sitting in the bottom of the tray, thinking that the runoff could then be sucked back into the soil as needed - it usually disappears in about 12 hours or so.
I’m curious what the general consensus is on this and if people think keeping it elevated is better - why?
I used to do the same BUT… when you do that all the nutrients that have run off along with the salts are sucked back up causing problem and extremely high TDS.
there is a growing system using this principle…autopots usa check them out
You don’t want your plant re-eating its runoff. It can cause nutrient burn & mess with your pH, not to mention keeping your root zone too moist.
It doesn’t work like that. There’s only top feeding the first few weeks. All other nutes/water comes from a regulated reservoir, not from plant runoff.
For my flowering plants, I prop them up on egg crates which allows the water to freely flow out the bottom and down the drain. I water a lot, am in coco, and I want those salts continuously getting flushed out the bottom with no possibitly of resoaking
For my gals in the tents, I move them to a tub to water them. I let them sit in the tub tilted until little runoff comes out when I pick up the pot. Then I put it back in the tent.
For coco at least it is critical: Don’t let the runoff get sucked back in. You want the medium to contain only what you are mixing up for it. Every time you water you use nutrient solution, because the coco can’t store anything but the solution.