How steamy does the Instant Pot's immediate area get?
Alisande
4 years ago
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ravencajun Zone 8b TX
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoravencajun Zone 8b TX
4 years agoRelated Discussions
How does root get their oxygen?
Comments (21)Yeah Mike, you're right - tomato cuttings root easily and don't need any artificial oxygenation if you put them in (a small or bigger) amount of water. If they die or wilt in a few days before taking roots, it's not because of a lack of oxygen in the water, but most likely because they suffer (ending up in cell damage) from heat or other unfavorable causes. The mostly overseen aspect of water oxygenation and condition is probably that Hydrogen Molecules have a high affinity for Oxygen molecules anyway -> H2O. Which is definitely a good thing as "water" tends to catch Oxygen molecules when ever it can. In fact it can't be without them and that's why you actually never encounter H in it's pure form in nature ;-) The other common error is to assume that one can saturate or hyper-charge water (or nutrient solution) with oxygen through mechanical methods. But as there is a limit to the dissolved oxygen water can absorb and hold, which is dependent on water (nutrient) temperature and to altitude to some extend - you can't exceed the physical maximum that can be dissolved under the existing conditions. At see level, water has indeed a bigger capacity of dissolved oxygen as water at a certain- or high altitude has. Hence, depending on temperatures and altitude (to some extend only for the later) water can (literally) only hold a certain amount of oxygen anyway. And here is exactly the point where ideal water temperatures of nutrients make sense. But then again (and here I truly speak from experience) sometimes over-idealized or even overrated. Although a temperature of 24 degree C is commonly accepted as ideal and is probably the best compromise between dissolved oxygen CAPACITY and growing rate, - a slightly higher temperature, up to 28 degree C, may end up in a better growing rates with CERTAIN conditions. As long as the (indeed lower) capacity of dissolved oxygen at higher nutrient temps is replaced continuously, of course. One must add here that the higher the nutrient temperatures climb, the more likely fungal introduction and spread becomes. There also is a lot of controversial debates and "experimentation" about if you can "add" any OXYGEN through air bubbles at all - and if, how much? And what would be the difference between finer and bigger bubbles? I've read a lot about the topic and couldn't conclude anything plausible out of it so far- which made me end up in not using any air bubblers at all. The only thing that I conclude, is that water movement of any sort (including the one created with bubblers) is accelerating and promoting oxygen replacement. Hence I generally use the downfall of any runback of nutrients for the purpose. With success I must say and apparently with sufficient re-oxygenation support. And that's the term I would use here, I guess: "re-oxygenation support" ;-) Cheers, Lucas...See Moreattracting birds to an urban balcony (no trees in immediate area)
Comments (5)Thanks for the great thoughts. Yes, I do have plants on my balcony....two blueberry shrubs (first year shrubs though, so no berries this year. I know birds LOVE them, no? ;-) All the rest are flowering plants or herbs....though no flowers out at this time, but surely I have greenery. And in the Fall I understand my blueberry plants will turn color and my Wisteria I think as well? Anyway that's a good idea to just set some seed and water out though....I have 6' open weave (very open in fact) trellises all along the balcony railings, so there's really no place to 'set' seed or water right now, except on top of a table or on the balcony floor. That might be next to impossible for getting the birds' attention. My initial plan was to get feeders etc that can be affixed to the railing and/or by utilizing hangers affixed to the railings, and then suspending the feeders from those. Anyway, I DO also have some wire pot holders that hang from the side of the balcony and so they face outwards. Maybe I could remove the pots from the holders, and put some kind of dish or receptacle in there to see if the birds come. Course, the receptables will have to be sorta narrow...the pot holders are only about 8" wide....but maybe a plastic soup container filled with peanuts in the shell would be the best best. Bluejays (which I HAVE heard in the area) should easily be able to pluck out some peanuts from that. And if I see that works, then I can augment my collection, since once one bird comes (esp loud Jays), the others will follow. I've also heard cardinals in the area.... Tx!...See MoreTrouble-shooting a just bought Fiddleleaf-immediate care tips please!
Comments (24)My POV based on my experiences and years of interacting with innumerable growers on the topic of container media: 1. It's about impossible to tell if a failing plant is getting too much or too little water- even with Al's help (too little is very common). If a failing plant is in a well-made gritty mix and is collapsing due to a watering issue, it's almost certainly due to not watering frequently enough. You actually have to work quite hard to over-water plants in a medium that holds little or no perched water. There are some plants that can be overwatered because their nature is to not tolerate much water in the soil at ALL (cacti, quiescent mesembs, .....), but for the overwhelming majority of plants discussed on this forum, it would be difficult to over-water. Any plant will fail if you don't water it, regardless of the medium it's in. It's a fact that plants in the gritty mix will need to be watered more often than plants in Miracle Grow and others similar. If someone doesn't want to water more often than these soils require watering, don't use the gritty mix - simple. 2. In dry or hot weather, it can be extremely difficult to provide enough water. Until the entire pot is colonized with roots, you might need to water daily, or even more often. Many of the plants I grow would be considered large houseplants in very small pots, so my plant mass to soil volume requires much closer attention to watering than someone growing in larger pots that would hold 2-4 times the amount of soil relative to plant mass. I pretty much use the 1:1:1 ratio for all those plants normally grown indoors. In winter, under lights I have no problem keeping plants hydrated for 4 or 5 days, and in summer when houseplants are outdoors, I water daily or every other day, depending on the weather (primarily sun, temps, and wind). When a plant is newly planted in the gritty mix, it's necessary to retain a mental image of where the roots are and make sure you water frequently enough that the medium surrounding the roots doesn't grow dry. Generally speaking, these newly repotted plants should be in shade and out of wind to minimize transpirational water loss. I can't remember the last time I lost a plant due to the roots drying out after a repot. If you don't feel as though you want to nurse your plants through the just repotted stage - don't use the gritty mix - simple. 3. Grit doesn't anchor a plant until the entire pot is filled with roots, so tall plants topple over, and hanging plants fall out. At least until the roots have filled the entire pot, you need to devise something to anchor your plants in their pots: bungee cords, tape, chicken wire, zip ties, etc. All else equal, the gritty mix provides more shear strength than peat-based mediums. So, while a recently root pruned plant potted in the gritty mix might need support, the need for supporting the same plant in soils like MG would actually be greater. Whenever we root prune or bare root, especially top-heavy plants like trees, no matter what the medium used - they should be supported. This is not an issue unique to the gritty mix by any means. 4. Special watering devices and methods are needed for some plants. Unlike soil that absorbs and spreads water, grit lets it run directly through, so you must water the entire surface of the grit, or dip the entire pot in water to wet it through. you can't water a plant from a corner, or around the edges. I have to use a laboratory squeeze bottle to water several of my plants because I need to direct a narrow stream of water between dense leaves that completely cover the surface of the pot. It's a pain, but my other choice is to submerge the pots, which means I have to carry them and a bucket of water around several times a week, which increases the risk of them being dropped or spilled. I think that if a person chooses to submerge the pots when they can envision so many potential catastrophes associated with that method, another method is probably a good idea. It is true that water quickly runs through the gritty mix, so you need to try to wet the entire surface of the soil as you water. This is also not a problem unique to the gritty mix. The gritty mix won't become hydrophobic, like peat based soils, unless you have a lot of dry algae growing on the soil surface (but then you have a larger problem), VERY often, problems arise when peat-based soils dry down to their hydrophobic stage, at which point only a tiny fraction of the water applied is absorbed, while all the rest runs down between the soil mass & pot wall. At least if you cover the entire surface of the gritty mix with water until it flows out of the drain hole, you can be pretty certain you're wetting the soil mass & not just throwing water at it. I use some very sophisticated watering tools: The tool above is a very simple water brake. You can buy one for the hose end for a couple of bucks. That's ALL you'll need to water anything in the gritty mix outdoors. I use it in combination with a hose-end shut-off that allows me to control flow volume. The sophisticated tool below is what I use to water all my indoor plants during the winter. I have 2 growing tables in the basement that are 4ft by 8 ft. I have about 100 plants packed onto the two tables, so the plants in the middle are 2 ft from the edge. I water ALL of those plants with this watering can and never once empty a drainage saucer (I use white plastic plates to catch the water that runs through, and it evaporates in a day or 2) or move a plant. I took the rose (nozzle) it came with off and slipped a nozzle from a tube of caulking over the spout. It gives me pinpoint accuracy so I can cover the entire soil surface - simple. 5. It is easy to overwater with soil, but it's even easier to underwater in grit. There is little margin for error. If a plant wilts one day, it'll likely be dead 24 hours later if it's not watered. You can't put it off to the next day. It's easy to underwater in any medium if the grower doesn't hold up his half of the bargain. Under-watering is another issue not unique to the gritty mix, and to say there is little margin for error is deceiving. Any plant that is wilting in any mix is likely to be just as dead next day in whatever medium it's in. The gritty mix does require more frequent waterings, but that doesn't mean the chance of under-watering is increased. One either waters on time or doesn't. The consequences are the same regardless of the medium used. Where fast draining soils shine is in the area that produces the most problems - OVER-watering. As already mentioned, you'd have to work hard at over-watering media like the gritty mix, while excess water retention is an inherent problem in almost all peat-based media. 6. You end up a slave to watering schedules. You can't really have a friend or neighbor water your plants when you go out of town for a week. Every plant ends up on a different schedule, and you can't just stick a finger in to see if it's damp. It's too complicated and confusing to most people. A slave? Different schedules for every plant? In summer, I make the watering rounds daily, but my situation is a little unique. I have lots of bonsai in very small soil volumes, some of which DO require watering daily. Those plants I'm growing pots the same size others might use are watered every 3-4 days, 2-3 days when it's really hot. I water almost EVERYTHING (other than bonsai) on the same schedule. In the winter, every plant except 1 large Fockea edulis and about 4 very small bonsai gets watered every 4 days. The F edulis gets watered every 8 days & the tiny bonsai every 2 days - not hard at all to keep track of. In summer, I have a number of bonsai that get watered daily. The rest of the plants get watered every 2-3 days, depending on weather. Soils that hold little to no perched water ALLOW you to water on a schedule, which is MUCH easier than trying to figure out when 200 plants in a peat mix might or might not need water - nothing complicated or confusing about it - simple. 7. Grit is extremely heavy and clumsy. A five-gallon potted tree that you might've easily moved outside during the day, and back in each night becomes a chore that needs to be set on wheels. Because the pot's depth plays into how much water it holds in relation to the soil volume, there is no way to be exactly precise in measuring the weight of the gritty mix vs a peat mix. In 1-3 gallon containers, the gritty mix weights about 2-3 times what a peat-based mixture weighs when both are dry. When both are saturated in the same size container, the gritty mix weighs about 25-33% more than the peat-based soils. I grow some pretty big plants, and don't think twice about the weight. The term clumsy to describe a soil wouldn't have crossed my mind. When spring temps are erratic and my numerous plants need to be moved in and out to avoid chill-related injury. I put them on nursery carts and move 50 plants in and out in 5 minutes - simple. 8. It wastes a lot of water (and expensive fertilizer). I have to go around dumping drip trays after every watering. In a dry climate, of if you have heat on indoors to dry the air, it might not be an issue, but we're right around 100% humidity indoors and out here. As noted, I've never dumped a drip tray - they do evaporate indoors long before the next watering is required. Outdoors, it's a non-issue for me. Again - not an issue unique to the gritty mix. If you're watering correctly and flushing the soil when you water, you have water in the collection saucer. If you don't, you're promoting salt build-up in the soil, which comes with its own set of problems. 9. Self-watering pots and devices won't work with grit. Completely true ...... by design. The gritty mix is purposely designed so it doesn't support the perched water SWCs depend on to supply water to the plant. Even the 5:1:1 mix isn't suited well to SWCs. Most growers that prefer bark-based media and the convenience of SWCs add additional peat to the 5:1:1 mix so they end up with something like a 5:3:1 mixed of bark:peat:perlite Growing is all about compromise. Growers that want the convenience of week-long intervals between waterings aren't going to get it w/o sacrificing a measure of their plants' potential. When we depend on water-filled pores between soil particles to extend watering intervals, we also accept the fact that roots occupying the saturated portion of the media are functioning very poorly and dying from a lack of oxygen. This is very expensive in terms of energy outlay, and robs the plant of energy that might have been applied to something other than regenerating lost rootage. It's up to the individual to decide what best allows them to order their priorities as they choose. Blaming failures on the mix w/o some feel for what else might have gone wrong is very unfair. Very often, we discover that in their haste to 'get the mix made', it was made with ingredients that shouldn't have been used (too large). Often, too, growers go forward with root pruning that's poorly timed and before the undertaking is well-understood before repotting into the gritty mix. When a plant is doomed before the repotting session is completed, it's hardly reasonable to blame the medium. I repeat over and over that I'm not selling recipes, I'm selling a concept and encouraging people to understand what drives the concept so they can make use of it to avoid the issues that bring 90% of the growers to this forum seeking remedial advice for problems ultimately related to poor root health. This thread is a perfect example. I extolled the virtues of fast draining soils and never mentioned a recipe or any particular soil until the topic was broached in a fashion biased enough that I felt an alternate view would be appropriate. YMMV - just trying to keep it real. Al...See MoreHuge Instant Pot Cheesecake Failure
Comments (34)I think in the past year I have made 6 to 7 cheesecakes and never had a failure. As for the water drops on top, you can cover the pan with some foil. Here is my basic recipe. CheesecakeThis recipe looks long but it’s really 3 simple steps: make the crust, make the filling and make the topping. The instructions are just detailed so that even a first-timer can have a perfect result. Crust:1 cup graham, chocolate or vanilla waferscrumbs 2 tsp sugar 3 Tbsp melted butter Filling:2 8-oz pkg cream cheese, (low-fat works, too) 3/4 cup sugar (sugar substitutes work, too) 2 eggs (warm 5 minutes in a bowl of warmwater) 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/8 tsp salt (1-2 tsp grated lemon zest - optional) Topping:1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt 2 Tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla. The recipe and cook times are for a 7” cheesecake pan. Adjusted times for other pans are included below. It is not necessary to line the side of the pan with parchment paper. It buckles and mars the edge. My favourite is the Fat Daddio 7” push pan but any pan will do. No need to cover it with foil before cooking, either. This is a very simple recipe. **Important: Warm the cream cheese. Trust me on this. I've been making these for 45years. It's MUCH easier to blend if it's warmer than room temperature and it only takes a few minutes. Put the wrapped cream cheese in a ziplock bag, but don't seal it. Push it into a sink or bowl full of hot tap water to force the air out and THEN seal it. Weight it down with a plate for about 15 minutes. It will be very soft and easy to blend.Lining the bottom with parchment is optional. Spray it with baking spray if you prefer. And don't press the crust in too firmly. It will be easier to serve if you use a gentle touch. CRUST: Mix ingredients with a fork and gently press it in the bottom of the pan and up the sides a bit if you like. Put it in the freezer or if you prefer, bake it at 350 for 9 minutes, then cool completely. FILLING: Mix all ingredients except the eggs until completely smooth. Add the eggs and beat until just incorporated. (Don't fret too much about overbeating. This recipe is practically bulletproof.) Pour the filling into the crust.Put 1 1/2 cups water and the trivet into the IP. Place the cheesecake on the trivet, close the lid and set the valve to Sealing. Hit Pressure Cook (or Manual) and use the + and – buttons to get to 26 minutes for a 7-inch pan. This will produce a perfect, creamy filling. If you prefer a denser texture, cook it for 28 minutes.- - -PAN SIZE AND COOK TIMES:6-inch pan --- 29 minutes (31 for dense texture)7-inch pan --- 26 minutes (28 for dense texture)8-inch pan --- 24 minutes (26 for dense texture) **see below Individual ramekins or mason jars --- 10 minutes For 1 1/2 times the recipe:7–inch pan --- 29 minutes (32 for a dense texture)8-inch pan --- 27 minutes (30 for a dense texture)For 2 times the recipe:8-inch pan --- 33 minutes (35 for a dense texture)- - -When it beeps that it's done, leave it for a 15-minutes Natural Release. Then flip the valve to Venting for a Quick Release. When the pin drops, take out the cheesecake.It will appear "jiggly." That's GOOD. It will firm up as it cools. It may have some condensation on the surface. If so, gently blot it with a paper towel.Leave it to cool on the counter for an hour. It will settle down and flatten out. Then cover the cheesecake and refrigerate it in the pan for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. In my opinion,this is the hardest part of the whole recipe... the waiting...See Morekathyg_in_mi
4 years agoAlisande
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4 years agoravencajun Zone 8b TX
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