Backwards SH?

[bumpman]

I love SH and came across found this pic online...

It's sort of inside-out SH? So I tried with a recovering NOID Phal that was in typical SH. Just an experiment.

Just after filling the pot with a nutrient solution, the pot began "sweating" so it should be fine for local humidity and moisture. If it works with this "sickly" Phal, it might be a good system... we'll see.
The pot is called an olla and was buried next to plants by Mexican farmers historically as an irrigation system.

[Wjs2nd]

There has been a lot of talk about this before in the "mounting," section of this forum. Some people already have setups like this, other use what is called a swamp stick.

[glengary54]

bumpman - were did you find your olla? I have been looking for one for ages!

[bumpman]

I got it at Peddlerswagon.com in their garden section. I found mine very porous at first but I think it will slow down seeping over time.

[Ray]

One of the issues you may find, over time, is the buildup of minerals on the outside of the pot.

In such a setup, essentially all of the evaporation is on the outer surface of the pot, swampstick, etc. As that happens, any dissolved minerals, whether they be fertilizer or stuff already in the water, will precipitate onto the surface.

The only ways to truly control that is to use pure water inside the pot, and feed via a spray from the outside, then flushing the surface well.

[bumpman]

I think Ray may be right - the only way to prevent root burning.

[amberella618]

Originally Posted by Ray

One of the issues you may find, over time, is the buildup of minerals on the outside of the pot.

In such a setup, essentially all of the evaporation is on the outer surface of the pot, swampstick, etc. As that happens, any dissolved minerals, whether they be fertilizer or stuff already in the water, will precipitate onto the surface.

The only ways to truly control that is to use pure water inside the pot, and feed via a spray from the outside, then flushing the surface well.

If you just flush it regularly washing the roots and the vase off it doesn't seem that buildup would be any more of an issue than with regular hydroponic setups.

Neat idea, I've never seen anything quite like this. And successful too! Thanks for sharing.

[Rivka]

Those are so pretty! My other concern would be that in a drier environment the surface is going to stay really cool due to constant evap. Phal root might be less than amused by that. This would be much less of an issue in a warmer wetter place, not sure where the pot is going to be kept.

The idea of pure RO for the inside and a outside dunk or spray for fert sounds really good

[katsucats]

Let's hope this works.

[Rivka]

where did you get your little pot?
are you using RO water?