| I personally soak my plants because it is what works for me and my plants are thriving. What may work for one person may not always for another though. I have have few plants (19) so soaking these is borderline manageable as far as time is concerned. I like to soak them because I frequently go out of town and have a very busy life and find that I water less often when I provide a good soaking anywhere from 5-20 minutes. After I soak I always flush the mix in each plant. Top watering for me has not worked out very well just because I have had difficulties wetting the mix evenly and find that I use less water when soaking each plant. My water quality is very poor and highly softened so I buy reverse osmosis water, soaking saves me money. Although it is not recommended by many growers I do share soaking water to save time and money. I soak all of my seedlings together at the same time in a tray. I soak my phals together. I soak my neos and my catts separately but using the same water, adding more when needed. I always soak the catts last. I also use one of those gigantic turkey basters to help flush and make sure they are thoroughly soaked. (That probably sounds funny, but it is very helpful and useful) Sharing water between plants can like before mentioned spread virus, disease, and pests though. But sharing is one way I try to conserve and save money and time. |