Will A LAYER of Clay Pellets in soil increase pot drainage?

[Footclan]

Im doing a passive hydro with a peatmoss soilless mix(sunshine mix#4) and i heard that if you mix clay pellets or rather put a Layer of clay in the middle that u can increase drainage in turn resulting in more frequent waterings/fertilzers with less chance of salt build up and nut lock up.......Anyone ever heard of this and/or played around with putting layers of clay pellets in a PeatMoss soilless type pot mix?? Also i heard you can put a layer of clay pellets on the very top soil to discourage flys and other bugs from digging around in the soil. Anyone ever heard this before too???

thanks

 

[2hiegh4u]

get sum perlite. also newspaper on the bottom of the pot will give you equal drainage.

 

[Screwnuts33]

Pearlite is good. Newspaper I would shy away from. It will retain water and likely contribute to root rot.

 

[Droopy Dog]

I run a peatmoss soil less and have for many years.

For good drainage you need lots of perlite and I mean lots. I usually run close to 40% perlite. Peat moss is very fine and water retentive and if you don't really lighten it up, you will have problems.

Dolomite lime is another addition you will need. I mix this in dry when I make my mix ~ 1 or 2 cups/cu ft. It is a slow release and helps buffer the mix, but you will still need to add cal-mag. Have to with my mix anyway.

I've added stuff to the bottom of the pots, usually river rocks or granite chunks, mainly for the weight for tall growing plants.

It can help or not. If there isn't enough perlite in your mix, the fine particles drift down between the rocks/pellets/whatever and clog it up as if they weren't there. Enough perlite prevents this from happening and you get excellent drainage with or without the rocks/pellets.

Clear as mud, right?

DD

 

[bud brother]

Hey D Dog how often do you fertilize and when do you flush ? Also what type of fert s are you using ? I,m using botinicare and find after two feedings with water in between the ph is down to 5.8 and i have to flush to get it back to 6.5 .Thanks

 

[Bandit420]

Adding one to two inches of pea gravel, hydroton, etc has been a solution for gardeners of all types over the years to improve the drainage on poor draining containers and for cheap low quality heavy dirt clay potting mixes.
Your soiless mix sounds like it should already be well draining and probably would not need the layer of clay rocks to improve the drainage unless the container drain holes are so small that they get clogged.

 

[DEAN420]

Adding one to two inches of pea gravel, hydroton, etc has been a solution for gardeners of all types over the years to improve the drainage on poor draining containers and for cheap low quality heavy dirt clay potting mixes.
Your soiless mix sounds like it should already be well draining and probably would not need the layer of clay rocks to improve the drainage unless the container drain holes are so small that they get clogged.

Orangeblood has given you the top answer... ::

Instead of putting a layer at the bottom put one at the top, as this will act like a mulch allowing your roots to colonize all of the soil...