> unless you are refilling the water level daily - does it matter to the plants how fast the excess water evaporates? Fast over one day, or Slow over several days, but the same amount of moisture either way. You assume with hydroton at the bottom the water will evaporate over, say, a day, then the hydroton will be dry till the next watering. That does not need to happen. You can have enough water underneath (and enough hydroton to raise the pots so they are not in a puddle), so that the stronger evaporation still last for the whole time between waterings. Then humidity will be both higher and long lasting. > I guess the downside is that [hydroton is] much more expensive In my case, I bought a big bag a growstones without having a clear plan for them other than a little experiment here and there - so whenever I say hydroton, I actually mean growstones in my case, and I already have a bag. But you are right, of course. Re comparing Chula's smallest pots. I exchanged emails with Harry, and here is the summary of all the differences: 2.25 NCUV: uneven bottom (I put insect screen on the bottom of my pots, and looks like this may be a [small] issue); annoying top ridge; no legs/risers; lighter weight; more see-through. 2.25 SLOTS: more level bottom; smooth top /no ridge; little leg risers; heavier; more opaque. Both have some good advantages - I might just get half of each. > There seem to be two main overlaps with Hoya people. Orchids and Succulents. Good observation. And people who like hoyas with succulent leaves also tend to (surprise!) like succulents. I am not among them, by the way. Hoya kerrii or obovata do very little for me. I mean I'd grow them, but they wouldn't raise my pulse like many others do. Which probably explains why my succulents and cacti combined pots could look better than they do, AND I have little desire to do anything about it. Anyway, that's a tangent. Doug, thanks for chiming in - I thought GG and I lost others a long time ago here. :-) > There is a certain type of personality, that dips their toe in and is quickly up to their neck. The byline of my plants photo album on facebook says very tongue-in-cheek "I can quit any time, OK?" :-) I definitely feel the orchid attraction. What's pulling me back a bit is how ugly most of them look out of bloom (unlike many hoyas!) The leaves are nothing to write home about. When I mentioned this at an Orchid Society meeting, one woman replied, "Eugene, you just need A LOT of orchids, and then something will always be in bloom to distract you from the ugly foliage". HAHAHA, looks like they heard it all before and are well prepared with a perfectly logical "let's submerge to the neck" kind of answer. I have 9 orchids, but there's space on the stand which I bet will not remain empty forever. Back to hoyas... > I have to vote against the hydroton as a replacement for egg crate as I have been there and done that. The biggest problem was having the roots grow through the pots and attach themselves to the hydroton. Well, as you said, the stability insert helps with this. Those roots will have to grow through the insect netting (I'll probably have that depending on the size of the drain holes), out the pot, then around the stability insert pocket, find those holes (they are small and few from the looks of it), and into the hydroton last. They wouldn't attach too firmly, I guess, because I'd be taking the insert out of the tray once a month or so for their showers, and maybe more often for other reasons like watering or draining. > the roots grow through the pots and attach themselves to the hydroton, which makes them very hard to re-pot when the need arises. I imagine you try to dislodge the clinging hydroton or if that does not work, cut the roots just above the highest hydroton ball under the pot. This looks to be minimal root pruning to me - but I appreciate practical experiences, of course, 'cause I am all about theory here. :-) This is a good problem to have, anyway, as the plant is growing vigorously. > The constant evaporation causes strong salt build up on the leca decreasing their effectiveness over time. True, but it will never be as bad as plastic crate's wicking/evaporative abilities, right? :-) By the way, I am sure you get this, Doug, but making sure everybody else reading understands - salt build-up is very bad in media because of fertilizer burn, but here we are talking about something happening outside the pot, so none of that applies (apart from the reduced wicking capacity Doug mentioned).

Hey Lavender -- every time I scroll down this thread I give a little internal smile seeing that sink. Thanks for it. I think I'm not going to opt for a round sink, but I would love to have that if I were going to! Rhome -- yeah I had been thinking about the Stages sink, you're right. But I think it's more of a prep sink and cleanup sink rolled into one. If you can have just one sink (and fit it) it would seem perfect. But I have space for a separate, large even prep sink, and space as well for a huge cleanup sink. So I decided not to go for it I think. The smaller stages I thought about for the island, but I don't think I need or want to devote the limited island space to a reef like that. And at the cleanup sink space I'd rather have more sink and less sidebar. So while I love the idea of the sink, I am thinking it specializes more than I need. Numbersjunkie -- thanks for the picture. That shape sink looks absolutely perfect there. I notice the angle of your cabinets is greater than 90-degrees though, more like 100 or so; it's quite a different setup and use of space than what I'm contemplating... not to say it's not great or really helpful to see, just that the problems I'm worrying about might not be addressed by your experience. Can you tell me about your cabinets? They are just beautiful. I love the grain of the wood. Thanks all.

In reference to your 30 inch base question... I have a 23 inch SS single-bowl in a 30 inch base and opted for this size because I have a small kitchen and preferred counter space instead of a larger sink (no prep sink either). I measured and found that the sink depth (mine comes to a bit over 9 inches including countertop) - and my choice of a high-arc faucet with a pull-down - was just as important as the width of the sink. I cook daily - and bake often - and wanted to be able to clean pots/pans/cookie sheets easily - which I can do with my 23 inch. I quickly move DW items into the DW so don't use my sink to stack/store so much. Like artemis above, I also have over-sink colanders that I love to use as I do lots of veggie rinsing/prepping and moving the over-sink items around on a single-bowl is super easy. I think it all comes down to use and personal preference. Note how you use your current sink - if you love it - keep it! Perhaps a change in faucet - or some new sink colanders/cutting boards - might make all the difference.

My prep sink is used for prepping and cooking...from washing veggies & fruit to draining pasta to washing up utensils if needed. I love that I don't have to compete w/dirty dishes in the sink OR dirty dishes sitting around the sink getting in the way of prepping. Having a separate prep sink also allows you to separate the Cleanup Zone from the Prep & Cooking Zones...a much more functional setup. No competing for sink space w/someone cleaning up while you're trying to prep and cook. No DW in the way. It increases the functionality of a kitchen so much and gives you multi-functional space when needed (like when you have several people working in the kitchen at one time.) My prep sink is 15-3/4" square and is fine for most things. Occasionally, I wish it were a couple of inches wider, but not that often. However, like RHome410, if I ever do another kitchen I will aim for a prep sink a bit wider...21" to 24". I'll still stick w/my double-bowl sink, though. (Maybe make that wider as well if there's room.) Most people who find their prep sinks "useless" for much more than an "ice bucket" at parties or as a "drinking fountain" either have a sink that's too small (width/depth/deep) OR it's not located properly. I'm not saying that your particular layout is "bad", but I do think you are going to run into the "competing" issues at the main/cleanup sink...competing for floor space (especially since it's so close to a corner), competing for counterspace w/dirty dishes, and competing for sink space with, again, dirty dishes. If you plan on using just one side for dirty dishes and the other for prepping and only putting dirty dishes on the counter on the DW side of the sink...well, good luck with that! I tried that in my old 1-sink kitchen and it never worked! Maybe your family is very disciplined & will follow your plans, but mine family is not! Plus, w/only 25.5" on the DW side, it's not much if you have substantial overflow of dirty dishes (or if you have to take the dirty dishes out of the sink so you can prep in the sink). If you've already lived with this and know that it works for your family, great! Bottom line...this is your kitchen and you should design it for your family and how your family works. We just offer you our experiences as well as mentioning the experiences others have reported.