[clowntown]

Salt build up is a concern when doing ebb&flow. It would be easier, if you didn't mind hand watering one evrey week or 2 with plain water.

You would have to put 2-3 stakes per plant to get even watering without salt buildup. You could water with 1 stake in coco, but you could get the build up. Same with the ebb&flow though, really.

You COULD do either without watering by hand everyone in a while, but you definately couldn't try to push your plants, and just water with plain water and a wetting agent once a week.

Ebb/flow uses alot of water, whether drain to waste or recirc. Up to you really.

I have come to the conclusion personally that ebb&flow is ideal, if you can get water to the tops, or very close to the tops of the plants. If you can use wide, shallow pots, or even a bed, you would be best off IMO. Least maintenance with least salt residue.

[clowntown]

Thanks for the answer 20kw.

But I can't see why there would be more salt residue from one stake vs 3 stakes?

[Ono Nadagin]

clowntown... you could just run the 1/4" drip line to the pot... put a t junction on it then then another bit of drip in a circle around your pot connecting it to the t junction making a circle you can poke holes in to give your self a big round dripped that will distribute teh water much more evenly around the pot

Downward flow washes salts out of the medium by virtue of gravity. Much of the water in a dense media, such as coco or soilless mixes, is carried to dry areas by cohesion and adhesion, not gravity.

Basically, solution is carried sideways or upward by those processes. If the solution is not in perfect harmony with the plants needs, and I mean perfect, then it leaves a small residue. As more water moves from wet areas to dry areas, the concentration will be that of the incoming water + the residue(salt buildup).

If you water enough that you form a pool covering the entire top of the pot, then you will avoid this. If you use a drip ring, you will also avoid this.

Flush periodically, and you will dilute the buildup.

Use 1 dripper on a 3 gallon pot, and the other side of the pot will be saltier then the side with the dripper.

The actual flow from a dripper or stream is going to be in the shape of a broad upside down cone.

[aeric]

Is it preferable to use the pre-cut drip line or cut holes yourself to customize? In other words is the direction of the stream (coming from the pre-cut holes) all downward, in an upside down V, or on all sides of the dripline? I'm assuming u guys don't mean soaker hose also, because I assume it would get blocked up too easily with salts and is better for air (krusty) or straight water? Also I understand u should hook up the ring in a "P" for pressure rather than an "O" but noone has mentioned?

[Ono Nadagin]

read the precut drip line packaging... most that I have seen has a laser drilled hole every 12"/1' in a line on one side of the hose, it is generally marked on the hose also.... if that is all you can find I recomend you make your own as that spacing wont make it easy to water a plant with a small circle of the tubing unless you makea coil of hose....

gronut used a single 1/4 tubing for his 3 gal pots and had no problems... I dont see why ya would need a drip ring for anything less..

If ya want too see how a drip ring is made, just check out Mo Budz coco thread

I uase one openended 1/4" drip line per pot with no problems. I water 4 times a day for 10% runoff. The drip is fairly slow and steady as it's regulated. The coco absorbs what it needs to to keep the whole pot moist. Works like a charm.

I was gonna use a soker line around each plant..but then I wondered about clogs. Don't really need the hassle when this is working so well.

Cheers,
SH

If you have a good flow out of 1/4" tubing, and you top glistens from saturation, then it will be sufficient. Your only running a few pots, then a small pump in a small rez can feed each pot with 2 x 1/4 inch lines no problem. I don't know why I was thinking drippers. Drippers suck for clogs.

I think the spaghetti tubes are the best bet, but the flow is really low. You can just pull them out when they clog and the clogs spits right out of the hole. 1/4" landscape tubes with the barbs are a bitch, cause it is a bitch to remove the barbs if they clog. I would use at least 2-3 of those per pot though, I think that would be equivelant to 1 1/4" tube, but a few at different places, and if one clogs while your off at disneyland it's no biggee.