Plastic Drip Trays

[dominic10]

We have an excellent shop sort of pre-poundland which sells all sorts of bits and pieces. When I found out we had our half allotment plot I went out and bought 6 black trays for £1 each 1 foot by 2 and a half feet and about an inch deep. They are great for watering and moving things about. I use the blue mushroom trays a lot and these sit nicely in the tray to water seedlings. I have never sown so much stuff at home before and these trays are great.

[Florence Fennel]

As well as gravel trays, I have been known to use a Roses or Quality Street tin and indeed the lids for some smaller plants.....good excuse to eat the Quality Street asap..!!

I tried those too, but they go rusty really quickly and I was worried about it being absorbed into the plants.

[Bigmallly]

They look more like laundry baskets BM.

Yes they do Flo, they are ideal cos when the reservoir is full, the excess water just comes out of the holes........

[singleseeder]

they are ideal cos when the reservoir is full, the excess water just comes out of the holes........

Do the buckets sit on the bottom of the baskets or are they raised to the level of the holes?

I'm loving the level indicator system though!

[Florence Fennel]

That's an interesting question SS, come on BM, wake up!

[taff]

hospitals use disposable blue plastic trays...some drug companies use them too. They're plastic, so if you can get hold of them and rinse them, they're ok to use.

[Bigmallly]

Do the buckets sit on the bottom of the baskets or are they raised to the level of the holes?

I'm loving the level indicator system though!

Sorry, dificult to keep up when I'm at work...........the inner pots have a hole cut in the bottom to which is fastened a 3" pot (this acts as the wick). So in answer to your question, the inner pot is slightly higher than the holes to allow for drainage. Hope that makes more sense to you than it does me.....

[Bigmallly]

hospitals use disposable blue plastic trays...some drug companies use them too. They're plastic, so if you can get hold of them and rinse them, they're ok to use.

Do they? must go have a look around..........

[Sssam84]

*Newbie alert*

I shall be moving house in the next couple of weeks and am looking to buy a few plants (and sow some dwarf bean plants which should be ok, shouldn't it?) to grow in flower buckets. So it is absolutely essential to have trays or something underneath them then? Isn't drainage desirable though, which is why holes are necessary?

I mean I know the answer to the last question is going to be no as many of you seem to be doing it but I'm looking for why as I guess knowing why things work is the key to properly learning!

Thanks in advance

[taff]

it's essential to have trays if you water from the bottom, that way the plant only takes what it needs, you can see if it's had enough because there'll be excess water in the bottom after a max of say 20 minutes.
If you water formt eh top you encourage algae to from on the surface, or damping off, or a number of fungal diseases.
I just find it easier to pour it into a tray, then go back and check the trays empty, than guess whether I've put enough water in to soak it all the way through the pot.

[Sssam84]

Thanks a lot

[Bigmallly]

My tub in tub in twofold, it wicks water from the bottom but I feed from the top so any excess can drain out.

[singleseeder]

Sorry, dificult to keep up when I'm at work...........the inner pots have a hole cut in the bottom to which is fastened a 3" pot (this acts as the wick). So in answer to your question, the inner pot is slightly higher than the holes to allow for drainage. Hope that makes more sense to you than it does me.....

Okay, so it sort of makes sense; I do understand the 3" pot for a wick but not sure how the main pot stays above water level.

I think VC or TS had a system using two different sized Morrison buckets and having an overflow hole in the outside one. I meant to ask how the inner one of those was suspended/supported.

[veggiechicken]

Just up on a couple of somethings that are the same height. I have some paviour offcuts, someone suggested corks, or bottle tops, just enough to keep the inner pot up a bit to drain.

[Bigmallly]

Okay, so it sort of makes sense; I do understand the 3" pot for a wick but not sure how the main pot stays above water level.

The 3" pot sticks out of the bottom of the inner pot by whatever the depth of the 3" pot is (this is filled with wicking material, better known as a rag.....). To add a bit more stability, the inner pot is cable tied to the outer pot.