I have not been able to set up a reliable bottom watering system with capillary mats. While it works for most of the bench space, there are always the odd trays that suddenly dry out and are lost.

Recently, I cam across the website of a specialty concrete company which shows square miles of greenhouse floor space that have been moulded into giant trays. Pumps, pipes and drainage inside the concrete allow for periodic flooding of the plug trays lined up on the concrete floor. Cannot tell with what kind of medium the trays are filled.

I am thinking of using plain water for periodically flooding my greenhouse bench.

What cycle would be suitable for plug trays filled with ordinary peat/perlite mix ? Would I flush away any fertilizer which I had just applied ? Any reasons why my grand idea may not work ?

-- Alex Eckardt (eckardtk@cadvision.com), January 05, 2002

Answers

Add the fertilizer to the water (you could hook up one of those hose sprayer thingies) and you should eliminate that problem.

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), January 07, 2002.