B
Bluetongue1
Guest
A few points on set ups...
The main issue with growing plants in enclosures is that if you haven’t done it before, you tend to over water and end up with root rot and dead plants.
You can go about it three main ways, depending on what effect you are after – grow directly in enclosure; grow in pots placed in enclosure; or grow in water (effectively hydroponically). The first is what you are talking about and is the hardest way can look great and requires very regular maintenance. The growing media can vary according to likes/needs – potting mix, orchid mix, pine fines (aged), coarse sand, perlite; vermiculite, granular zeolite, hydroponic media, gravel, pebbles etc or various combination. The main thing you don’t want is organic matter sitting in water deprived of oxygen, where you can get anaerobic breakdown or the roots in same and them dying (= root rot). So you need to have: 1. good aeration (air filled porosity) in the mix; 2. moisture retentive mix; 3. free drainage of excess water.
Due to increased humidity, reduced air flow and more moderate temperatures, water retention in an enclosure tends to be greater than in an open air pot. So many potting mixes may be too moisture retentive without some additive. Depends on your enclosure conditions.
A layer of coarse material in the bottom is often used to allow drainage of excess water away from roots. This is often followed by a layer of charcoal or activated carbon – to absorb any noxious gases that are produced by anaerobic breakdown of any organic matter washed in with the excess drainage water. A thin layer of sphagnum moss or similar – to stop potting mix washing into charcoal and water. Then your growing media. [I am not sure if hydroballs (a clay product) absorb water on their surface by capillary action, but if they do the mix will get a supply of water over time by using these as the drainage medium.]
Coarse material in mix provides aeration and drainage but can reduce water retention eg. Orchid mix, pine fines, coarse sand. Non-organic materials eliminate organic breakdown but are often not water retentive, eg. sand, gravel. However, inorganic products like vermiculite and perlite are water retentive due to their physical and chemical structure.
Organic material will produce humic acids as they breakdown, which causes water repellence and therefore reduction of water retention. As Jamie suggested, only use a premium grade name-brand. One of the things hey do is age their materials longer so they are more stable and will remain water absorptive for longer, but you have to pay for he time ad effort involved in that (such as regular watering and turning of heaps) even though you cannot see it with the eyes.. Where mixes have developed water repellence, addition of some suspended clay in water (such as potting clay or bentonite (used in drilling and agriculture, so easy to buy) will help overcome it.
Hopefully that gives a bit of an overview. Bottom line... there is more than one way to skin a cat and you will get various success methods given you. However, there are reasons why certain things work and certain things do not. Also, try some reading on the net and check out the diagrams. Then be prepared for a bit of trial and error. It’s how most plant growers learned.
Sorry about the length...
Blue
The main issue with growing plants in enclosures is that if you haven’t done it before, you tend to over water and end up with root rot and dead plants.
You can go about it three main ways, depending on what effect you are after – grow directly in enclosure; grow in pots placed in enclosure; or grow in water (effectively hydroponically). The first is what you are talking about and is the hardest way can look great and requires very regular maintenance. The growing media can vary according to likes/needs – potting mix, orchid mix, pine fines (aged), coarse sand, perlite; vermiculite, granular zeolite, hydroponic media, gravel, pebbles etc or various combination. The main thing you don’t want is organic matter sitting in water deprived of oxygen, where you can get anaerobic breakdown or the roots in same and them dying (= root rot). So you need to have: 1. good aeration (air filled porosity) in the mix; 2. moisture retentive mix; 3. free drainage of excess water.
Due to increased humidity, reduced air flow and more moderate temperatures, water retention in an enclosure tends to be greater than in an open air pot. So many potting mixes may be too moisture retentive without some additive. Depends on your enclosure conditions.
A layer of coarse material in the bottom is often used to allow drainage of excess water away from roots. This is often followed by a layer of charcoal or activated carbon – to absorb any noxious gases that are produced by anaerobic breakdown of any organic matter washed in with the excess drainage water. A thin layer of sphagnum moss or similar – to stop potting mix washing into charcoal and water. Then your growing media. [I am not sure if hydroballs (a clay product) absorb water on their surface by capillary action, but if they do the mix will get a supply of water over time by using these as the drainage medium.]
Coarse material in mix provides aeration and drainage but can reduce water retention eg. Orchid mix, pine fines, coarse sand. Non-organic materials eliminate organic breakdown but are often not water retentive, eg. sand, gravel. However, inorganic products like vermiculite and perlite are water retentive due to their physical and chemical structure.
Organic material will produce humic acids as they breakdown, which causes water repellence and therefore reduction of water retention. As Jamie suggested, only use a premium grade name-brand. One of the things hey do is age their materials longer so they are more stable and will remain water absorptive for longer, but you have to pay for he time ad effort involved in that (such as regular watering and turning of heaps) even though you cannot see it with the eyes.. Where mixes have developed water repellence, addition of some suspended clay in water (such as potting clay or bentonite (used in drilling and agriculture, so easy to buy) will help overcome it.
Hopefully that gives a bit of an overview. Bottom line... there is more than one way to skin a cat and you will get various success methods given you. However, there are reasons why certain things work and certain things do not. Also, try some reading on the net and check out the diagrams. Then be prepared for a bit of trial and error. It’s how most plant growers learned.
Sorry about the length...
Blue
