Hi everyone,
I’m looking at the.various watering systems out there and wonder about whether any of you have any feedback about using them for seedlings.
I travel quite often for work and for personal reasons, so I am trying to find the best way to keep my seedlings alive while I am away.
My question relates specifically to the initial 2-3 months after germination. How to keep seedlings watered during this phase?
Many seed tray systems have a capillary mat and claim “self watering” but this is only for a few days or a week max as the underlying reservoir is very shallow. I would ideally be looking for something that can keep seedlings watered for at least two weeks, just to be on the safe side.
I guess it would be possible to set up a drip but it seems complicated with tons of tiny pots… Or is it?
There are also bottom wick systems, which are great for bigger pots but seem impractical for smaller seedling pots.
Do any of you use a watering system for your seedlings and what is your preferred system?
Hi seasiderooftop，I have the same dilemma.I always ask my neighbors for help
You are lucky to have such excellent neighbors @Chio !
For now, the number of germinations is still small here, but I know that as I get more, this is going to become a real problem.
At the very beginning, when the seedlings are still less than a month post germination, I can use my rectangular self watering planter. It does hold for two weeks in the cooler months. The good thing about it is the underlying reservoir can be removed, so it works as a regular planter when I am there, and then I put it back over the reservoir when I leave.
But soon, they become too crowded in there, and I move them each in their own pot to avoid root competition, shading, and other problems. This is where a watering system would really come in handy.
There is a grow shop here that specializes mainly in systems for indoor cannabis growing, maybe they have some ideas. Otherwise I may need to get creative and try to make something myself. I will update here if I find any solution, but if anyone has any ideas or experiences, they would be most welcome!
In case this can be useful to anyone, I finally found something.
I hope this doesn’t come across as advertising; if it’s inappropriate to mention the brand please let me know and I will delete the name and pic. There may be similar products out there, but this was the best option I could find.
A Finnish brand called Biolan makes a very large self-watering box that will be perfect for this phase of growth. The box is a wide flat shape and holds 26 liters of potting soil with a 7 liter water reserve.
I am looking forward to using this planter next germination season and having some peace of mind when I have to be away!
I recommend buying them off of Amazon as it’s almost half the price of the brand’s webshop for some reason.