Handy Gizmos

[nachtkrabb]

If I haven’t overlooked a post; no-one has mentioned watering cans? As an indoor grower a properly designed watering can is a great gizmo!. Finding a good one..haven’t been easy-peasy..Most cans I have come over isn’t designed for watering in small amounts or designed for thight spaces. Either the neck is placed the wrong angle, is to short or the opening is way to large, so it’s almost impossible to adjust the amount of water given.
(...)

You are so right, Mrs.Green. We have overlooked that, maybe because they generate so much stress? I agree, to find a real good watering can is hard labour. I also use quite a couple in all sizes & have to vary them depending on plant & situation.
That you get along with "only" four different forms is amazing to me.
N.

[ohugal]

I have a 5 liter Birchmeier pressure sprayer. It takes a bit longer to water, but it is very practical, especially for small pots and when you have a lot of them packed together.

[C And D]

The E. tulearensis is about 16 years old
I have 3 the same age, and a couple smaller ones
Working on seeds for you, I have 3 out of 10 seedlings that made it 3 months so far

[C And D]

2 other things
Hose nozzles, some are not very good

Dosamatic
https://www.qcsupply.com/120443-dosmati ... kGEALw_wcB

couldn't upload a photo

I have used one for the last 18 years
it injects your fertilizer concentrate directly into the hose water at a fixed rate
I had problems with them sometimes, but finally figured out that the hand tightened gaskets need to be more than just hand tight

[samreu]

I know this will sound silly, but I use a large turkey baster with volume markings on the side - I have mostly 5" and smaller pots with odd ones larger - it allows me to be precise in placing the water where I want it and I can be pretty close with volume delivery - I mix my water/ferts in a 1 gallon pitcher, half full to make it easy and go to town with the baster.

[nachtkrabb]

I know this will sound silly, but I use a large turkey baster with volume markings on the side - I have mostly 5" and smaller pots with odd ones larger - it allows me to be precise in placing the water where I want it and I can be pretty close with volume delivery - I mix my water/ferts in a 1 gallon pitcher, half full to make it easy and go to town with the baster.

Hey, wow, this is a really cool tool! As I never have seen such a thingummy, I had a look in some online shop. They even come in metal or with measurement marks in OZ & in ml.
I am impressed. I love it when you see things as they are & not only as they were intended. This is a good kind of phantasy & creativity!
N.

[jerrytheplater]

The E. tulearensis is about 16 years old
I have 3 the same age, and a couple smaller ones
Working on seeds for you, I have 3 out of 10 seedlings that made it 3 months so far

I have 4 seedlings that have made it 7 months so far. I transplanted them July 14 as the potting soil they were in was really bad. The new is better.

[C And D]

Denise found these plastic mesh sheets at Michael's, or other craft shops in the needle craft section
We cut pieces out to cover the big holes in the bottom of hand made pots

IMG_1233.JPG (102.21 KiB) Viewed 3365 times

[keith]

I use hand sprayers mostly to spray the Avid and TetraSan miticides I apply whenever I see flat mites showing up on some of my cacti, so those 1-liter sprayers I'm seeing on Amazon should be perfect. Thanks for the tip, Keith! "

I bought one at harbor freight for about 4 dollars works OK

[Mrs.Green]

You are so right, Mrs.Green. We have overlooked that, maybe because they generate so much stress? I agree, to find a real good watering can is hard labour. I also use quite a couple in all sizes & have to vary them depending on plant & situation.
That you get along with "only" four different forms is amazing to me.
N.

Well.in reality only two, since two of them is useless. I just use them to store water in.

I have a 5 liter Birchmeier pressure sprayer. It takes a bit longer to water, but it is very practical, especially for small pots and when you have a lot of them packed together.

Ah..that looks great! But how hard is the pressure, is it safe to use on small plants/seedlings too? They aren’t ‘blown away’?

[ohugal]

You can increase the pressure with a pump and decrease it with a valve. There are no set values, so it's a bit of trial and error. You can also adjust the nozzle from a diffuse to a more concentrated spray. It doesn't work well for bigger pots, but for smaller ones it's perfect. I like it because it really wets the entire surface of the soil. With a watering can the water runs out too fast. If a watering can with a very long spout and fine sprinkler head exist, that would be great. I also have a lot of different watering cans for my cacti, but the pressure sprayer made them obsolete. Although, the watering cans are very good for pouring very precisely along the edge of a pot and when you want the water to drain fast. I use those more when my cacti are going dormant and want to provide less water. I have a bad habit of wanting very specific 'tools'.

[jerrytheplater]

I have a bad habit of wanting very specific 'tools'.

Who said that is a bad habit?

[ohugal]

I wasn't really serious about that.
I enjoy efficiently performing a task, but I also have great admiration for someone —like my father— who was able to do almost anything with the most basic tools. I'm talking about chores around the house. He is actually a very creative person.

[C And D]

I go through 60-100 gallons each watering during most of the year
So cans and sprayers are out
I don't like watering cans because the spout pours the water out in a strong stream that disturbs the soil too much

Of course I use a spray bottle for seedlings, until they are big enough for the water to be poured over them for deep watering's

[jerrytheplater]

Ohugal-I knew you were not serious. I too enjoy tools. I've modified/extended a few of my gardening tools to make them easier for a taller person to use, especially my 3 prong cultivator. I made a dibble tip out of a stainless steel alloy in the early 1980's when I worked in a machine shop. I attached it to a wooden snow shovel D style handle. (I made the internal taper of the tip to match the existing taper on the handle.) It comes in handy when I'm planting 400-600 cloves of garlic in the fall. I can make the planting holes while standing up.

Watering cans-I am always on the lookout for them, but I've seen some copper and brass ones that were above my price range. What I do with my cheap plastic one liter watering cans is to place my index finger over the spout and limit how much water/fertilizer comes out to a very fine slow stream. Actually the speed is controlled by how much you tip the can. I end up holding the can by the spout.

I usually go through about 5 gallons for a full watering of all of my cacti/succulents.