This year I'm going to root with DE. I have about 16 containers going. My issue is when I water them daily, they have a puddle of water sitting underneath them which I'm sure will be problematic. And I can't tilt/drain each one every day as that would get tedious. Any ideas for how to get the excess runoff water wicked away? I also used a cardboard surface but it gets messy and the cardboard gets distorted from the wet/dry cycles.
Any ideas to drain/wick excess water from DE rooting cups?
- Thread starter GAfigs
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Figless
Well-known member
Please put it on a metal grate. Or a metal shelving unit constructed with heavy stainless 1/8 inch wire. If it's indoors then place into a plastic pan. They sell those 10x20 trays at the hydro store. You can use a very small light water vac to empty the retaining tub to remove the water retained there. It's always nice to have a small water vac or wet dry vac the de doesn't want to be sitting on cardboard.
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I was thinking of a metal grate as well, however they also need to be sitting underneath the heating pad. I guess I can't have it both. I might just have to forget about the heating pad and wait on the weather to warm up itself here in a week or two.
They dry out quickly. Especially the top. Which can then dessicate the cutting.
Figless
Well-known member
Slip the mat on the bottom of the 1/8 in stainless grate go ahead and put 10x20 plastic agricultural trays from your local Hydro Store. In fact put two one on top of the other then just use your little Shop-Vac to take the water out after you water you're thirsty cuttings. You don't have to wait for the weather to turn. Plus you can't trust them heating mats so put them on a timer 30 minutes on 30 minutes off. Or 20 minutes on 20 minutes off. It's going to be good in your DE neighborhood.
Figless
Well-known member
Desiccated cuttings sounds like a problem but @Inflorescence has a good solution latex gloss indoor paint. You just seal the top. Maybe she will explain it.
Figless
Well-known member
How much of the top?
Figless
Well-known member
How much of the top dries out? Ktrains probably right, he usually is
bushdoctor82
Well-known member
Place an old towel underneath. May have to swap it out here and there if it wicks up and collects too much water.
TorontoJoe
Administrator
My understanding is that the beauty with the DE is that it won’t hold water in excess HOWEVER, your cutting cannot be on the bottom where the water is. Our friend and someone for whom I have a great deal of respect Gina who refined this method once illustrated how allowing it to get too dry was the enemy and that over watering was difficult because the DE should be kept always moist but the cutting should remain above the standing water zone. Ideally there could be standing water in the cup all the time that wicks up and keeps the media moist (enough) but for that standing water to be below the cutting
Inflorescence
Well-known member
You do not need to worry as much about water with DE. Water is not what causes rot, and is a common myth passed around. The DE particle size allows for sufficient air. Also, your cutting bottoms should not be in the bottom 2” of your pots. So any water should be a non-issue.
That said, it’s hard to say what could help without pictures. Is it a case of not enough drain holes, or are they in a tray holding water? You shouldn’t need to water every day, unless you are in a dry place like me. I would need to water it every day for it to be successful for me. But in general, you can wait until the DE starts to change color back to light gray. You don’t want it to dry out, but when you start seeing particles go lighter that’s your cue to water.
You can also put plastic wrap over the top to help hold in moisture in the DE.
That said, it’s hard to say what could help without pictures. Is it a case of not enough drain holes, or are they in a tray holding water? You shouldn’t need to water every day, unless you are in a dry place like me. I would need to water it every day for it to be successful for me. But in general, you can wait until the DE starts to change color back to light gray. You don’t want it to dry out, but when you start seeing particles go lighter that’s your cue to water.
You can also put plastic wrap over the top to help hold in moisture in the DE.
They are small cups so the cuttings do sit about 1 or 2 inches from the bottom. Problem is, I would have to use tall cups. And if I used tall cups, that would be a lot of DE, and could potentially shear off the roots during up potting as the heavy weight of all that DE would tug on the roots. Alternatively, I would have to keep the small cups and reduce my cuttings to 2 nodes.
This ended up being the simplest and best idea. It works. I used an old shirt. Gets rid of that water sitting at the bottom like a charm. And the DE itself remains gray/moist. And I water once a day.