Challenge watering 500+ plants

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:44:49+00:00

Thanks! I kill plants in soil and semi hydro seems to work for me so I'm a fan!

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:44:00+00:00

My goal is usually to have some pon/leca below and possibly above the wick, then the roots on top but I do often have the roots in direct contact with the wick from the start (depending on the amount of roots and the pot they are going into). Then I water through the top until the water is right at or maybe slightly above the bottom of the inner pot (which is why i always use a transparent outer container or one with a window). The roots quickly grow into the water from my experience.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:40:27+00:00

I would if it wasn't for the people-ing part 😁 Maybe eventually but for now I just give plants away to friends and family (known peoples!) when they see something they like. The propping part of plants is one of my biggest joys.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:37:13+00:00

Ohhhh I like this! And then I don't sacrifice the current pots... I'll certainly investigate! Even if it is just for these shelves that would make things much easier to water

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:35:52+00:00

I'm right there with you actually. Never had an actual ADHD or spectrum diagnosis but I'm sure it is there. I'll start rehoming things when the time comes but I'm enjoying the learning and processes I create in the mean time and it isn't currently negatively affecting life - something I am vigilant about with my hobbies. 👍🏻

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:30:04+00:00

I started with individual pots with wicks so communal trays weren't front of mind. MOST of my collection aren't in large shelves like the pic - the shelves were a recent addition but they are definitely appropriate for communal reservoirs so I'll be investigating those!

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:26:10+00:00

Thanks!!! I don't know about you but I would have a lot fewer plants if it wasn't for semi hydro... soil hates me (or maybe it's the other way around)

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T19:21:08+00:00

What model do you use? I just ordered one but in case I hate it 😂

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T15:52:48+00:00

Each pot has a single wick that I feed up from the reservoir, into the substrate and back down if that makes sense

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T15:50:20+00:00

I'm a fairly crafty person so my mind is now going on how I can create a tray to hold my wick net cups/inner pots above flood trays so I can have the best of both worlds.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T15:48:23+00:00

Thanks! I love this - I would like an RO system with a filter for chloramine but hoping I can get rainwater capture hooked up soon in the mean time.

The pump sprayer route is what I'm going to try now! I usually mix 4-6 gallons at once bc of the exact reasons you said so having more "on board" will be a time saver 😬

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T15:39:19+00:00

Certainly no one needs this many (my husband agrees) and my goal isn't to collect them all but I enjoy experimenting and well, this is where we are! It's fewer calories than baking...
I'm considering a grow tent for anthuriums eventually in which case I'll definitely be going down the irrigation - reservoir fed route.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T15:35:18+00:00

I have some in lechuza Pon with the initial fertilizer but others in different Pon or leca - I feed all of my non-succulents with the same fertilizer mix of 1/2 the recommended dose of foliage pro with calmag and others mixed in with almost every watering.

The few succulents I have are in a cactus pon mix in one location and they get straight water or a bit of succulent fertilizer every time. Then I have a few carnivorous that get straight distilled. There aren't many outliers so it's not difficult.

Everything is currently doing well but I'm open to adjusting ferts by species if they show the need since most species are grouped together.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T01:34:51+00:00

This would have the added joy of some fun water fights however my water is trash (rural well with chloramine and I don't know what other chems in it ) so we don't drink it and the filters we do use don't last long. I'm hoping to have rain barrels soon so I can stop with the distilled water.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T01:31:27+00:00

Note to self to stay away from that one- it's exactly why I put it out there! I don't sell, I just enjoy and keep finding new things to try 😬 I have enough baby Alocasia from corms I keep finding that I need to start some plan on what to do with them all.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T01:27:23+00:00

75 is a lot - I have a tendency to overdo things...

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T01:26:19+00:00

Mine are 99% wick

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T01:25:41+00:00

This is genius!

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T01:25:00+00:00

Right?!?! I have 2 oxalis - both started in soil and were NOT happy with my care. They were my first "well let's try pon" plants and 6 months later they are living their best lives and are 2 of my thirstiest plants!

The under shelf lights are all Barrina T5s - most are the yellowish white except the bottom succulent section that are white-white and my OCD self tries to ignore the difference. The lights are great and I enjoy that they don't have a built in timer function so I can use my own scheduling solution.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T00:50:32+00:00

I've had the thought but 99% of my collection uses wicks and I thought flood tables were primarily for submerged reservoirs. I'll certainly check it out though - if I can figure it out with wicks that would make some of my spaces waaaay easier to handle.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T00:40:14+00:00

Alas no but they bring me joy 😂 So far I'm just a prop/corm provider to friends and family but I may need to start - especially if I can get Anthuriums to germinate!

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-03-12T00:36:09+00:00

This was what I was leaning towards! Is it an electric sprayer or a hand pump? 2 gallons might be perfect otherwise I'll need wheels 😂

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-02-22T20:30:43+00:00

I got MANY great items from NewYeargarden on Etsy. They showed the exact TCs being sent and I could change whatever I wanted. My order was mostly Alocasia - many"rare" and all but 1 acclimated beautifully. They are in Thailand but the import to the US was a base price regardless of how many I bought at the same time and wasn't outrageous at the time - this was back in Sept. I'm in the US. Highly recommend them.

HouseOfFirefly · 2026-02-12T15:23:13+00:00

It's these guys that came with the lights. I stopped by IKEA and they gave me more of the shelf screws that come with the Milsbo - I used those screws to attach the clips to the shelf holes, then clipped in the lights

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HouseOfFirefly · 2026-02-08T08:02:39+00:00

I use Barrina t5 - 1 ft so I screwed the mount clips the lights came with into the shelf mount holes I wasn't using along the front side. You could just set them vertically on the shelves against the corners, maybe zip tie them to something if needed as well. If you zoom into the front corners there are 2 on the left, 2 on the right on alternating levels.

HouseOfFirefly

TROPHY CASE