I like to bottom water my plants, and last year that became too labor intensive. I had to move each flat in and out of a bin of water. This year, the goal is for everything to be in a flood table that holds water. I can mix some calcium nitrate or other fertilizer in a bucket of water and just dump it into the table.
The tables are super simple, just 2x4s and 5/8" osb screwed together. I'm building some now with 2×3 sides, which are even cheaper, about $30 of lumber for a 4×8 table. They sit on concrete blocks. The liner plastic is meant for hydro or aquaponics. It's 6 mil and was cheap too, $40 for a 10×40 roll. It doesn't seem nearly as durable as pond liner, but was much less expensive.
Everything is in a light pro-mix media. The plants dont seem to mind being wet. This might not work with a more dense grow media, especially if it is cold. I could install a drain, but I don't think I will need one. The tables will make it especially easy to water larger plants in hotter weather. It's frustrating when the dried out peat mix repels water and makes top watering nearly impossible.
by Autumn_Ridge
2 Comments
This looks cool
I made one of these last year, you won’t regret it, it’s got to be the lowest maintenance + lowest setup way I’ve ever tried to care for plants. Though I was using mine mostly for full size pots, not many seedlings. I never needed a drain, personally, just made sure I was careful about how much water went in. In the summer it was impossible to water too much, the plants were always able to soak up all the water in a few hours.
If you want to take the next step, get an IBC tank, cut the top off, and use that as your nutrient reservoir. You can get a garden hose adapter for the outlet on the bottom and then put a hose timer on that (make sure its one that says it works with low/no pressure, though, that can be rare). That’s what I did (until I forgot to put the cover on the timer one day and it rusted out) but it was great while it lasted.