are watermaids with only felt sufficient for Av's???

I ordered several dozen of these but people keep telling me that I need a wick, too.....no, i don't do I????? I ordered them from www.selectivegardener.com
The instructions seem simple enough...what am I missing???

someone out there, please help me with these silly watermaids....I thought you just put the plant on top of the felt which then has a piece of the felt down in the water??????

You are right Gail : )) No you DO NOT need to wick when you use a Watermaid.They are really neat.The pad is a capillary mat and that draws the water up to your pot.I have all the info here.I will go find it I will post it below.Be back shortly.....
Nancy

OK, and thanks, Nancy....Allison keeps saying I have to use a string wick also.....I am sooooooooooooo confused.....

OK Gail...Direct From The Horses Mouth..LOL..Actually.... It Is direct From Optimara : )
Watermaid is a self-watering device developed by Optimara. For African Violets and other plants in pot sizes up to 6 inches. The Watermaid consists of three parts: a saucer, a stand which sits inside the saucer and a circular disk of capillary matting. The device relies on the phenomenon of capillary action to draw water from the saucer into the soil. To do this, part of the capillary matting is cut so that it maintains contact with the water, while the remainder of the capillary matting rests on the stand, where it stays in contact with the bottom of the pot. Self-watering devices of this sort are very effective in that they provide African Violets with a precise amount of water, thus eliminating the possibility of overwatering or underwatering. In addition, they reduce the amount of maintenance needed by holding water sufficient for up to two weeks. And because these devices employ a bottom-watering method, they help prevent certain deadly pathogens which thrive in very wet conditions, i.e., Crown Rot, Pythium and Root Rot.

Love you!!!!!

Aw Shucks...(Blushing) : ))

You are soooo funny!!!

I have these a couple dozen for my plants. I don't just use them for for just my African violets . The package directions said to wick the pots and pacle the wick in the slot into the water.
I will call Optimara for sure ... As I was surprised when I got mine there were directions with pictures on the inside of the package.
Cedernest have you used them yourself ?
Has anyone used them or have a package they can read or scan directions from ?
I never saved a package but it had pictures even to show how to do it.
Is anyone now using them where you can post a photo of it in use ??

This message was edited Apr 16, 2007 9:42 AM

I am interested in this too ... sounds very interesting! Can you buy this capillary matting and cut it to size for any size pot? Think I will go look at the Optimara website! And, selectivegardens too!



This message was edited Apr 16, 2007 7:27 PM

Lin and Robin.I have never used them personally but I ordered a few today.I got the info off of Optimaras website.I think they sound like they would work pretty well.Especially for my better av's when I am gone from home awhile and not able to water as I would like.

I decided to try a couple today without wicks....just placing the african violet on the mat. It looks like it is working. If it does work well, I may put all my plants on them. I was even wondering that if we just want to use them for going out of town, why can't we make our own on a larger scale. Can you visualize buying the thin felt from Wally World and placing it on a tray inside a permanest tray, making sure the felt is cut so that pieces of it are in the water of the permanest trays. I am going to try it for fun.....could save a lot of money ......
gail

Some people put capillary matting in bottom of trays.
I suggest anything new your going to try buy one or two first to see if you like it. It's hard to tell in pictures the quality is it going to work good in your environment ... and so on.
Lin there is a saucer then like a little table that sits in the saucer with a mat on it. If too much water kept in it the pot would be sitting right in water and this would not be good.
I fount the mat does not last long on these watermaids .
Now they are $2.50 - $3.00 each plus shipping depending where you buy them from another reason to try them first.
If I was to rate them from one to ten I'd give them a 5 -6. They are not real sturdy and can be knocked over easy .
Anything new give 1-3 months try to see how you and your plants like it. except if you see poor results of course don't keep using it.
There are as many ways to garden as there are gardeners .
Buy one and try it out.
How many people here have used them on several plants for 3 or more months ? If you have a lot of plants at $3.00 a shot they can be expensive. It does not come with a pot. They are said to hold 1 to 2 weeks of water.
You can buy matting from Bluebird Greenhouse also watermaids from them to. They cost less from Bluebirds than Selective gardeners .
I'm sure people here that water by capillary matting have special places to buy the necessary supplies needed.

Gail can you please post some pictures of your plants here that you are trying the watermaids with and how you have them set up. Maybe a picture of them also taken apart and how you put it together then the finish look.
It will take time to see how your plants like it if they are getting too much or enough water.
Bluebirds green house sells them and also sells trays and matting.
http://www.bluebirdgreenhouse.com/html/supply01.htm

That's what I don't want ... something that can be knocked over easily ... We have 4 cats!

I'm still confused. When you use permanest trays, does the capillary matting just get cut to fit inside the trays, then you pour water over the matting ... and then sit your pots on top of the mats???

I know it's probably easy to understand, but without seeing it in person, I have a lot of trouble picturing it! LOL. I'm getting old, I'm blonde and .... well ... I can't think of anything else right now. :) I'm confusing myself! Too many different things ... those little watermaid pots, capillary matting, permanest trays, wicks!!!! I better rest my brain awhile!

Lin

Taaaa Daaaa!!! Here is my jiffy little camera with my jiffy little watermaid....first just the watermaid put together with the felt going down in the center to the water below

and now.......the 4" AV sitting on the mat drinking up the water....

And, ladies, while I have the camera on, let me show you a blurry picture of my very first strep in my life....just got here on Saturday and is showing her first tiny bloom....

Gail,It looks really nice.I hope they work as nice as they look.That av is really nice looking too on its throne : ) Oh..I adore the strep too. So pretty.Whats its name?

Lin,I am not sure either how that would work with capillary matting and permanest trays?Maybe Robin can show us how it is done so we can get a better idea.I am no good at trying to picture things either.

Nancy, I received that one...Bristol blue water, Jealous Heart and Streaker???????

Those are good pictures Gail. Have you been using watermaids a long time ?? Anything new takes awhile .
My pots were still so dry and I was always finding pots stoned dry and having to water from the top.
Lin yes cats would and could knock them over. Mine knocked over a few times when my DH was hanging a picture and banging a nail in the wall. :(( What a mess.
I would think the trays would be safer .
I'd love to take pictures and have been I got a new camera for my B-Day in Feb. but I have not been able to learn how to get the pictures out of my camera.

No, this is my first one......but I have a lot of them that i am going to use on something...even if it is not AV's
I am leaving to go find information on the big mats to put in permanest trays....

Ok Gail,Now this is plain weird.LOL just today I ordered Blue Waters and Streaker from Bluebirds.Is that where you got yours?At first I wasn't going to get streaker because Janet said it wasn't blooming true but I didn't care.She said it was blooming a rich Salmon color so it will still be pretty I think.I fell in love with Blue Waters on the website.

http://indoorgardensupplies.com/self-watering-great-p-736.html
This is the whole set of capillary mat, the grid for the capillary mat and one permanest tray....sounds like not such a bad buy.....
gail ....edited to say that it was 13.25 for the set and you had to order 2...permanest trays alone are almost 7.00 each
PS. nancy, the reason I ordered the Streaker was because i love the salmon color....I saw her say that....we must have been watching the same thread....I ordered last week from Bluebird...

This message was edited Apr 16, 2007 8:09 PM

Oh Y'all .... I saw that Strep 'Blue Waters' after I ordered my Bingo Prize today .... I want that one! May just have to place another order!

We are all nuts!!!! still laffin' at ourselves wanting nothing but plants and our loved ones, be they pets or family!!!!
PS...Lin, I picked up my first case of Eleanor's whatever today....how many big bottles did you get in your order.....I have enough and paid for enough to water for the next 10 years (LOL) I haven't counted the bottles, but the box was so heavy a man had to carry to my car...AND I can still pick up heavy things....

Wow! You must have gotten the Gallon Size!

I had Ace Hardware order a case of six bottles for me ... quart bottles. Won't last me very long if I start using it for everything! I have used up one quart already ... and thats just for AV's and House Plants!

I will check tomorrow but it appears that I have a big box of several small boxes.....glad to know you use it for everything in the house....I just dmailed Rain??? where i saw your thread about sending her some moses in the cradle...I have 3 full gallons of it on my front porch doing nothing with it....just liked it.....offered to send her one. What do you all do with yours? I was told at the nursery to plant it in the ground in the shade for ground cover....don't want to do that...Do you grow it as a housplant????

I use capillary matting in the bottom of my plant trays, no wick needed as somebody mentioned above.

You can also use capillary matting on top of a grid, with a couple of "tails" dangling into a water reservoir below... I think it was plantcrazii who came up with the idea of elevating a piece of grid in a standard nursery flat using golf balls (?) under the grid. The "grid" is the white plastic panel you can get in the lighting department of the home improvement store -- it's used with florescent lights -- just cut to size with tin snips or sturdy scissors.

The Optimara watermaid is basically that same principle, applied to a single plant saucer rather than used for a whole tray of plants at once. One advantage of individual water reservoirs is that you have one less possible vector for pests (I think mealies are one that are commonly transferred between plants by communal watering).

that indoor gardening supply company i posted above has the same theory....at a good price...in fact, they have fabulous products for everything at good prices...

So .... here I am again .... the blonde who quite often has those "senior" moments. Do you have to use a grid in the tray and does the matting go on top of the grid? What is the purpose of the grid? And, do you still fill the plant tray with water so that the mat is wet? I am so confusing myself more and more! What is that capillary matting stuff made of ... is it some kind of fabric? And, Critter: what do you mean by a couple of "tails" dangling into the water? How many pots will fit in one tray and do you still have the wicks in the pots?

Sorry about all of my questions ... I am just trying to get it all straight in my head.

What Critter said is tray watering pest are more likly to travel from pot to pot not just mealies but mites and other pest too. Keeping these trays clean help and letting them dry out in-between washing them with hot water and disinfectant at least every two weeks helps also. I know lots of friends that use Physon ( SP) for trays and all disinfectant of tools, potting tables, stands and more .
You also want to not over crowd your trays plants need plenty of room to grow and breath nothing should touch the foliage and you should have plenty of room in-between them to work on your plants. Over crowding of plants does not just cause the foliage to reach tall, but encourages pest and viruses , and more problems.
What ever method of watering you use as long as it works for you makes growing your plants more fun , relaxing and enjoyable if the best method ! Trying different methods is good just try on a couple plants at a time.
Same thing with trying different plant foods , soil mixes and different growing method try it on a few plants for a month or two. Any changes take a good 6-8 weeks to see how they will affect your plants.
We buy Eleanor's-Vf-11 direct from Eleanor by the case of gallons. I think it averages to be about $19.00 a gallon.
One time we ordered from another greenhouse the 16 oz. size and each 16 oz. came with a free 8 oz. bottle. The 24 oz. was $7.00 and we ordered 10 of them. It did not last long as we use it for all house plants, garden beds and lawn . We bought a sprayer from Eleanor that works great for lawns and garden beds. Using so much our best buy is straight from Eleanor by the gallons . 4 gallons 128 oz. each per case does not last long for us.

Here is a link where you can buy different size bottles by the case . You can buy on line here.
4 gallons is $68.00 . Each gallon gives you 128 gallons of food.
You can buy cases of half gallons or smaller too.
http://www.siliconvalleywebproducts.com/

Here's a thread with some links also that might be useful, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/601288/, showing what the grid and the trays look like. I think people have mostly been using the grids to support plants with wicks, letting the wicks trail down into the water reservoir below the grid.

You could set up the grid and tray the same way, with a piece of capillary matting on top of the grid.. when you cut the matting, just leave it a bit long or leave a "tail" of fabric attached so that the fabric can go down below the grid at the ends and wick up water from the tray. That way, your plant pots are sitting on continually damp fabric, and they can wick the moisture up into the soil mix through the drainage holes in the pot. As with any continuous watering method, it's best to let them dry out a bit very couple of weeks.

Capillary matting can be purchased -- it looks a lot like felt. You can also cut up an old acryllic blanket and use that. Do not use cotton or another natural fiber, as it will quickly disintegrate.

Everybody has their own favorite fertilizers, and sometimes you just have to try different things until you find something that works well for you. I think one of the reasons why Eleanor's Vf-11 has so many fans is that it is a very dilute fertilizer -- and overfertilizing seems to be a common problem with African Violets. I use a different AV food, but I use it at 1/4 the recommended strength, and I don't use it every single time I water.

I had my local Ace Hardware Store order the case of 6 qt's for me in February and it was $35.94 plus $13.20 shipping - with tax the total for mine was $52.33. If I had ordered the same exact amount direct from Eleanor's the total would have been $71.61. So I saved $19 and change by having Ace Hardware order it. I wonder why the shipping cost would be so different? Mine was here in less than a week. A case of the Gallon Size direct from Eleanor's would have been $95.42. Those totals include our local 6 1/2% sales tax.

That price of $68 for the 4 gal case is a Great deal, $17 each instead of the $19 if purchased direct from Eleanor's ... but I went to the site you gave the link for and it doesn't give too much info on the company which makes me a bit nervous. So, if I continue to purchase VF-11, I will probably do it again through Ace Hardware.

I need to get mine out of the car and see exactly what I did get.....mine came to a total of 115.84 with tax and shipping...the shipping was 25.00 she told me (I can see it on the box, too)....You, Lin, gave me my first bottle and my plants loved it!!! I tend to overfeed......I use VF-11 every other week....then one week I use other food.....and on the fourth week I flush water through the plants. Do I know what I am doing??? A big No...just trying to learn what works best....I doubt that I will use it outdoor on my front porch....too much money...

I first heard of VF11 from Allison! And, I like the idea that it is a "gentle" plant food. I tend to have a heavy hand sometimes when I do remember to feed plants! I know it would be WAY too expensive for me to use on Everything. I think I remember Allison saying she used it on Everything .... for AV's , all House Plants, All the Outside Gardens and lawn too .... as RobinEggs above said she uses it. Of course, I haven't tried it on the lawn yet ... I'm afraid it would make the lawn look So Fabulous that I would HAVE to use it!

Great info Critter
Lin when you ordered your qrts did they come with free 8 oz. bottle ?
When I ordered qrts from I think Charlies greenhouse ( SP ?) a quart was $7.00 plus it came with a free 8 oz. bottle. I think for shipping up to 6 of these was between ^-and $8.95 I forget the exact amount. Ordering the quart size was a little cheaper than from Eleanor and shipping was less then we also got the free bottle with each quart good for extra 8 gallons each.
When we order from Eleanor direct we order gallons ars it's a good deal.
Now you can order direct from Eleanor over phone or threw mail she will send out price list ( it's the same as on line sight the link I gave you which I think it is direct from Eleanor but also wish the sight had more info I would call and email before using it ) But yes the prices orderinf from Eleanor direct is about the same she ships cheap way .. and yes buying by the gallons is best way.
If I recall last time we ordered from her direct case of 4 gallons shipping included they were $19.00 a gallon.
But if you want to order quarts and get free 8 oz. bottle with each one ( buying 6 of them you'd be getting 48 oz free) is the best buy and shipping is not bad either.
Eleanor's food is gently, mild, and can be used each time you water, or if wicking put right into wells , trays which ever method your using.
She does say use it alone . I fount this is best.
Also Lin I would be saving $$ if I just ordered a gallon from Charlies even though it's gone up some $$ I think 21.00 or 23.00 now. But shipping is $8.95 So for around $31.00 total you'd be getting 128 oz. which makes 128 gallons..
** when what your ordering from Ace Hardware is giving you
96 oz. enough for 96 gallons of food for $52.33 you'd also be saving by buying one gallon from Charlies greenhouse !!
Lin you'd be saving $21.33 plus getting 32 oz. more food enough to make 32 more gallons !!

OK Charlie's Price went up for a gallon and shipping not bad for 128 oz. 128 gallons of food not bad you think ?? I think it will still be a good savings for you Lin .
The next savings would be call Eleanor and order direct then it would be about $17.00 a gallon plus shipping but you have to buy 4 gallons.
Here is Charlies info ~

Eleanor's VF-11 Food (1 gal.)
$24.95

$24.95 Delete
Sub Total $24.95
Shipping & Handling $8.95
Total $33.90
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=7115&cid1=180&cid2=796&cid3=-99

Lin I went back to the sight where 4 gallons cost $68.00 plus shipping and fount info Who are we
http://www.siliconvalleywebproducts.com/info.html
Privacy info
http://www.siliconvalleywebproducts.com/privacypolicy.html
There is also email address and phone number ~
If I go the route of buying it for only $17.00 a gallon which is great price for 128 gallons of food... it is nnot exspensive when you work out other good plant food by the cost of gallons.
Or I think I would call eleanor again and order it straight from her for same cost ...
What do you think ?
Your getting 192 0z. 32 x 6 for = $35.94
and buy here I'd be getting 512 oz. for $68.00