Help me to grow some good plants with clay pebbles.
May 26, 2024 6:10 PM Subscribe
I recently got the odla growing media from my recent visit to ikea. This is my first time experimenting with these clay pebbles.
I love plants but don’t have any idea how to use these clay pebbles to get the best results.
What plants are best to grow in these?
How do you prepare the clay pebbles before planting?
What fertilizer did you use for these?
Plant loving mefites …….please share your experiences growing your favorite plants.
I love plants but don’t have any idea how to use these clay pebbles to get the best results.
What plants are best to grow in these?
How do you prepare the clay pebbles before planting?
What fertilizer did you use for these?
Plant loving mefites …….please share your experiences growing your favorite plants.
I grow plants in pots, and I use these:
- in the bottom of pots, for drainage
- as a top layer, to prevent weed growth and keep soil from drying out too quickly (basically like mulch). It seems to deter snails and slugs too.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:46 AM on May 27
- in the bottom of pots, for drainage
- as a top layer, to prevent weed growth and keep soil from drying out too quickly (basically like mulch). It seems to deter snails and slugs too.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:46 AM on May 27
- in the bottom of pots, for drainage
Just for clarity's sake, adding leca or pebbles or anything coarse to the bottom of a plant pot with a hole in it doesn't promote drainage, in fact it does the opposite. Water will not move from areas of fine media to coarse unless it's gravitational water. The remaining water that moves via capillary action will not move into the pebbles and will remain in the soil just above the pebbles. So unless you're trying to shorten the depth of tall pot, it's better not to use leca or pebbles for this.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:49 PM on May 27 [1 favorite]
Just for clarity's sake, adding leca or pebbles or anything coarse to the bottom of a plant pot with a hole in it doesn't promote drainage, in fact it does the opposite. Water will not move from areas of fine media to coarse unless it's gravitational water. The remaining water that moves via capillary action will not move into the pebbles and will remain in the soil just above the pebbles. So unless you're trying to shorten the depth of tall pot, it's better not to use leca or pebbles for this.
posted by oneirodynia at 5:49 PM on May 27 [1 favorite]
Best answer: ah! leca! In the US mostly used to grow cannabis. (I realized this, because the pages for plant food grown in leca have phrases such as "great for your valuable plants!".)
I come from a family of hydroculture-growers. Here is what I learned by doing it myself (since the beginning of the year, as the pebbles were not available in the US easily before ):
- 2 pots, as pullayup said. The inside one will need to have lots of holes. The one draining hole is just not enough. I currently use Dannon yogurt containers. You will need to drill holes in the inside one - I go for ~5-6 holes in the bottom, and ~10-12 around (up to maybe 1/2 height of container). Holes - ~0.25 inch diameter
- the containers needed are much smaller than in soil. In the dannon containers, I keep plants that would need at least an 10 inch pot in soil.
- you will need special plant food. Assuming you're growing leaves, not buds, you want to get as close to 2,1,2 as possible (nitrogen, phosphate, potash). This ... has been an issue. I use Liquid Plant Food from Aerogarden. (you'll be using 1 cupful per gallon or something, so the tiny container last a while), but
- You need to water much more often than soil plants. I use indicators like this.
- It's best to take cuttings. Don't report a soil plant into leca. I root in just water (actually, also the hydroculture solution), then plant into leca.
- the pebbles will be dusty when you open the bag. You want to rinse out the dust.
- if you need to reuse - boil the pebbles for 20 minutes to sterilize.
- I cannot speak to what to grow, as I only grow philodendrons. Philodendrons are the best.
Have a great adventure! PM me if you need more info.
posted by Dotty at 6:40 AM on May 28
I come from a family of hydroculture-growers. Here is what I learned by doing it myself (since the beginning of the year, as the pebbles were not available in the US easily before ):
- 2 pots, as pullayup said. The inside one will need to have lots of holes. The one draining hole is just not enough. I currently use Dannon yogurt containers. You will need to drill holes in the inside one - I go for ~5-6 holes in the bottom, and ~10-12 around (up to maybe 1/2 height of container). Holes - ~0.25 inch diameter
- the containers needed are much smaller than in soil. In the dannon containers, I keep plants that would need at least an 10 inch pot in soil.
- you will need special plant food. Assuming you're growing leaves, not buds, you want to get as close to 2,1,2 as possible (nitrogen, phosphate, potash). This ... has been an issue. I use Liquid Plant Food from Aerogarden. (you'll be using 1 cupful per gallon or something, so the tiny container last a while), but
- You need to water much more often than soil plants. I use indicators like this.
- It's best to take cuttings. Don't report a soil plant into leca. I root in just water (actually, also the hydroculture solution), then plant into leca.
- the pebbles will be dusty when you open the bag. You want to rinse out the dust.
- if you need to reuse - boil the pebbles for 20 minutes to sterilize.
- I cannot speak to what to grow, as I only grow philodendrons. Philodendrons are the best.
Have a great adventure! PM me if you need more info.
posted by Dotty at 6:40 AM on May 28
Response by poster: Going to experiment with all the choices available. Thanks.
posted by SunPower at 3:45 AM on May 29
posted by SunPower at 3:45 AM on May 29
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In general, you'll probably set up your pots with a water reservoir, submerging the bottom couple of inches of leca. If you're growing succulents you'll just dump water over it and depend on its excellent drainage. I've fertilized with dilute Dyna-Gro but there are lots of options. Very broadly, you'll want a liquid fertilizer that's fairly easy to dose precisely rather than a powder/granules, slow-release beads that are intended to hang out in potting mix, or spikes.
If you search for "leca" or "semi-hydroponic"/"semi-hydro" you'll find plenty of information and tutorials for transferring different types of plants to this medium.
posted by pullayup at 7:55 PM on May 26 [2 favorites]