Plant watering with pipes on the balcony

No, the expanded clay is at the bottom of the containers and soil above it.

Works great. :)

Good evening Eve,

No, the expanded clay is at the bottom of the pots and soil above it.

Works great. :)

Comparable to hydro, just filled with soil?

Rhenish greetings

Good evening construction expert,

yes, it has a similar effect. However, pure hydroponics is not as good for the plants as a mixture.

There is a type of clay granulate from Substral, which is mixed with soil. Quite expensive and full of fertilizer. Depending on the fertilizer requirement, it can already be too much and the roots could "burn."

I prefer expanded clay, then expanded clay with soil, and depending on the plant, fertilizer, then soil on top.

Best regards, Eve

Hello Eve,

Thank you for your explanation!

Sounds good and practical; I will definitely adopt it :D

Rhenish greetings

In the Lechuza system, a clay mixture is also filled in at the bottom and soil is placed on top. The advantage is simply the additional water reservoir with overflow. That means there is not too much water in the pot either. The plants need about 2 weeks, then the water reservoir can be allowed to empty properly (this is also recommended), recognizable by the water level indicator. Before that, I refill almost daily because the roots have not yet grown through the granulate to the water reservoir.

Of my 12 containers, 2 are from other systems ... those were my initial purchases. They also have the water reservoir and overflow with water level indicator. However, a proper filling hole is missing and the water level indicator does not work as well.

The expanded clay is available at the hardware store, at Bauhaus, cheapest. ;)

To provide the roots with enough water from the start, part of the clay is mixed with soil. Every plant container that is placed outdoors should have an overflow or a drainage hole. Otherwise, rain could quickly become fatal. It is also advisable to place a "plate" under the container so that you don't have the broth right on the balcony or terrace.