[wyandotty]

Does anybody have a solution to the problem of seed trays becoming drowned by over ambitious watering cans!

I recently purchased a different rose for my can but it still floods the seed trays.  I have seen special tops that you put on water bottles to water seedlings etc but I can't find them now.  Has anybody used these?

Please help before all my seeds swim away.

[DIGGER]

http://www.organiccatalogue.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=60_177&osCsid=e6e26cfff728fa61394ad08f1747507f

[GrannieAnnie]

I try to sit mine in trays and water from below, but I don't always remember to do it!!!  But its easy to drown them that way too!!! 

[DIGGER]

Sorry,i gave you the link but did'nt answer the question.

Yes i use these and find them very usefull.

I dont have a greenhouse as such but use a sunroom until OH wants it back so i have to have control over the watering.

I tend to keep three or four bottles full as you tend to use them quite quickly.

I use a spray bottle first and the progress to the water bottle.

[JulesJ]

I just got a bottle top waterer and it's brilliant; fits onto a 2 litre lemonade bottle and gives a fine jet. I need to be precise with watering stuff in the bedroom unless I want mouldy carpet.

[celjaci]

If you have a lot it's worth getting a decent watering can like a Hawes with a fine brass rose and fit it facing up so the seedlings don't get the full force of the water.

Hawes cans are expensive but last for years and are properly balanced for ease of use - most of the others are just toys

[wyandotty]

Thanks for the advice, I have looked at the website and found the bottle waterers
the trouble is, I found quite a lot of other things I wanted as well, and my OH has just seen me entering his card number on the computer and I got a lot of this

Oh well, as I told him, he will benefit in the long run and I will remind him of it when he is sitting down to a meal with my vegetables on his plate!!

Thanks Digger!!!

[whippersnapper]

I've just changed from using a fine sprayer, which needed almost constant spraying, to putting water in the base of the seed tray and that seems very effective. The soil is always looking moist rather than drying out.

[Elcie]

I use a water bottle that has a sports cap on it (one that you have to suck to get the water out of!) like evian or similar.  When you hold it upside down it literally just drips out and you can place it exactly where you want the water to go.  As the seedlings get larger squeeze the bottle gently for a faster flow.  Very cheap!

[LivvyW]

I suffered this dilemma too. I have solved it while i was trying to solve another problem.

I will be away in April twice for a week at a time. Our lovely neighbours will tend to our chooks, and i can ask them to open and close the greenhouse door.

I can hardly ask them to water the seedlings and shade them with newspaper if it's sunny, throw bubble wrap over them if theres going to be a frost!

So my solution is, a sheet is going to be fixed over the roof of the greenhouse to protect from sun (and maybe a bit of frost).

And now, for my new discovery........capillary matting. FANTASTIC. So it's another vote for watering from the bottom, but this thing is great. I covered the greenhouse bench with the provided polythene, layed the matting, and watered it well in.

It was a whole week before i needed to top it up!  Definitly a much more gentle way to water.  And it's much easier to top it up than to water everything individually.

[strangerachael]

I tried capillary matting last year under my toms and cukes (on a concrete floor). I put one end in a bucket of water but it didn't seem to soak it up. does it have to lie flat or should it travel up from inside of the bucket? The only thing it was good for was preventing the water running all over the floor after watering.

[LivvyW]

Hi Strangerachel,

I just soaked the mat completely before placing the seedling pots on top. Did you put polythene sheeting under the mat?

Mine came supplied with a 'wick' which the instructions said to put into a bucket of water and attach to the mat. I havn't tried this bit yet.

I think the key is to really saturate it first.  I'll admit the week i did it wasn't the warmest we've had, but it was warm enough to dry them out normally.

HTH

[strangerachael]

Liv - well, mine didn't come with a wick, I just dangled the end of the mat in the bucket, and the water didn't soak up it at all. Once I had watered the pots thoroughly,and the water had come through the bottom and soaked into the matting, it stayed damp for a couple of days as long as the weather wasn't too hot. But I still had to water, which rather defeated the object