Hairmetal: I think we talked about your problem with those plants before. I don't know why you had a problem with them. But, as I said before, I don't normally have to water any of my plants in 5-1-1 more than once every other day. This goes for six-foot tall tomatoes in 25-gallon smart pots resting on the ground as well as flowering annuals in 16-inch hanging baskets lined with coco fiber. If it rains at least an inch, they can go three or four days without more water. If you make the 5-1-1 properly and you use a container that is big enough for the root system, you will not have a problem. 5-1-1 holds a lot of water. The ground doesn't suck it all out of the pot.

Im using two sub-irrigation planters from Walmart with my standard 1:1 perlite and peat-based potting mix or pine bark fines with some CR fertilizers and top dressed with a thin layer of compost. Neither the planters nor my potting mixes smell. IÂm, however, not using these self-watering planters as you are or as instructed by Earthbox. The Misco Wal-Mart self-watering planters IÂm using have exposed and removable bottom water reservoirs. Since I am gardening under semi-protective shelter on a balcony and for various unique and horticultural reasons, I opted not to use and cover the potting mix with plastic mulch during this trial period. My potting mixes in these planters are not protected from Texas downpours and humidity. Under recent prolonged rainstorms and not being able to deliver and retain the necessary fertilizers to correct prior nutritional deficiencies, my transplanted gardenias showed emerging water stress - increased yellowing and browning of the leaves; hence, I also chose not top off the water reservoirs after the first week of use. A few days ago, I relocated the pots to let the potting mix dry out between rains to facilitate the movement of oxygen to the roots more efficiently and only filled the reservoirs partially with a weak acid-loving fertilizer solution. Any visible progress was slow. Instead of risking damaging the roots by watering and delivering the needed soluble nitrogen and micronutrients to the potting mix and the roots or further delaying supplementing the needed fertilizers and micro-nutrients until the potting mix moisture is ready, I also made due with a temporary weak concoction of acid-loving fertilizer foliar spray. The temporary foliar spray made a quick visible difference. The two gardenias have stabilized and are both doing well in the Wal-Mart sub-irrigation planters and with empty and partially filled water reservoirs. I project based on my short-term experience of using the Misco sub-irrigation planters so far with my fairly light mix and under my current wet growing conditions, topping off the water reservoirs may only be necessary periodically during vacation or hot and active growth periods in mid-summer growing conditions. Odor invariably has to do with soil moisture control and air movement. The wet rag smell is due to poor aeration, which can be caused by many factors such as, waterlogged growing medium, overpotting  little or no water and air movement due to reduced plant respiration and transpiration, emerging bacterial/fungal population, the use of plastic mulch for the wrong plant, climate/zone/season, or on the wrong SW planter, stale, unmoving, under-utilized water in reservoir over prolonged period of time, or any combination of the above. In theory, all passive sub-irrigation planters, small or large, closed or open, and without the use of air and water pumps, work off the same principles. Unless a design violates and neglects some physical laws in a major way, any differences in the effectiveness between planters should not be significant enough that they can't be easily accomplished in another way or managed by proven horticultural practices. Moreover, any advantages over hands-off effectiveness and good designs of one sub-irrigation design over another may be neutralized and less essential as in meeting the diversity of growing conditions and horticultural needs of different plants. In any case, itÂs more economical and effective to increase soil aeration (and/or the effectiveness of capillary action) by modifying the potting mix directly rather than shopping for the best sub-irrigation planter. Even if one has the best passive sub-irrigation planter on the market, the composition of a potting mix is still a leading consideration with respect to the needs of the plant and specific unique growing conditions. Other than the viewable exposed water reservoirs (an advantage or disadvantage depending on perspective) that may compromise the health of roots in extreme micro-climates and temperature fluctuations, or may subject them to attacks from insects (not an issue yet in West-Nile country Texas but the opening can be covered or insulated), I kind of like the simplicity, the functional flexibility, and the prices of WM's welf-watering planters, especially when the same laws of physics apply in all passive sub-irrigation growers. While there has been a lot of intervention on my part with this current semi-open sub-irrigation setup exacerbated by frequent downpours while trying to correct certain nutritional deficiencies in the first few weeks of this trial period, I am satisfied with the progress made by my gardenias in the Misco Self-Watering Planters. There is some appeal in branding a method or a planter as hands-off user-friendly, but my primary interests in using sub-irrigation planters and hydroponic systems in gardening are not for hands-off benefits but to be surrounded by nature, eat clean nutritious foods, grow things well with less efforts and higher yields while conserving resources  water and fertilizers to reduce environmental pollution. There is no buyerÂs remorse so far, but without testing the planters over at least one summer and winter and in other pot sizes, itÂs still too early to reach a verdict about the value of the purchase or future purchases.

As I was thinking more about this, I will plan to flush the tanks monthly. Before I refill them, I can let it sit empty for a couple hours to get some more air to the bottom of the wick. Hopefully that should keep the mix happy for a few years. If you are using potting mix for the wick you do not need to worry about it's condition at all. The only purpose it serves is to wick the water upward and everything else being equal the more broken down it is the faster it will occur. Common advice when filling a container is to not tamp the mix down, but just water it in. This is to reduce compaction. This advice is reversed when it comes to filling the wicking chamber with potting mix. In this case you want to mash it down firmly so the particles make good contact with each other. Best to prewet the mix as well so it mashes down even better. This distance the water has to travel before it makes it to the growing area of the mix is considerable with your design. I would recomend testing the design this winter and see if water wicks efficiently, particularly when the reservoir is near empty. If not you can try using a different mix in the wicking chamber. Peat works exceptionally well in the wicking chamber. Basically the qualities you want in the wicking chamber are the opposite of what you want in the growing area. Your wick has to overcome gravity and if you need the water to travel upward 12" before contacting the growing media you want a water sponge. The climate here probably won't cause me to use too much water. I am about a mile from the coast and barely saw summer temps break 85. Oh, you will be fine then. Most of the folks reporting having to refill the EBs 2x/day with tomatos are dealing with hotter and drier conditions. For me it was never more than 1x/day with a 4 gallon reservoir and that was with 6'tall plants, unpruned and bearing fruit.

There’s a lot of misleading info on Dunkers. Most of it says it’s certified organic by the EPA and safe for vegetables. From what I’ve found, this isn’t true. I like the idea of growing organic veggies (yes they’re in a plastic pot (supposedly BPA free...)) ... but, the EPA has this product listed as a pesticide and the labeling says “excluding water for food and feed plants...” https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/ppls/006218-00087-20161109.pdf IMO the best “organic” mosquito fix is: put a little olive oil on the surface of the water to help prevent them from crawling out and good ol fashion redneck taping the opening and gaps shut- get fancy and build a door or cover with some scrap screen. I use a lot of tape for work (gaff, paper, rubber bla bla) ... I like foil tape the best for this application. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nashua-Tape-1-89-in-x-50-yd-322-Multi-Purpose-HVAC-Foil-Tape-1207792/100030120?MERCH=REC-_-mobileweb_navplp_rr-_-NA-_-100030120-_-N As with most things, FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS! Dunkers are great for all the applications it’s listed for. I use them around the yard in stagnant water. It’s a great product, there just isn’t enough conclusive evidence that it’s safe to consume. (Please prove me wrong! I wanted this to be work for my veggies!) Cheers!!