Cape Cod Violetry sells trays in a couple of sizes, with or withut egg crate.

You can send John an e-mail at violets@cape.com and ask for a catalog to be e-mailed to you. He does not have a website.

Barbara

Hi Thom,

I'm going to start wicking as soon as some supply orders arrive. There are many different tray sizes. I received a Cape Cod Violetry catalog recently and have an order in there. Here are a few other tray sites:

http://www.kkorchid.com/1misc_watering.asp
http://indoorgardensupplies.com/accessories-trays-c-108_111.html?osCsid=270d89a38c118afe10f8acb131b01d39
http://www.calwesttropical.com/index.php/categories/humidity-trays

~Donna

I have one tray set up for wicking small starter plants. Other than that I prefer to wick individually. I do this just in case something unwanted shows up, then it only affects that one plant.
Fred in NJ

Thank you all for your help. I did find heavy trays with grates at Charlies
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=8311

I would like to wick my plants individually, but I haven't figured out how yet. How do you do that Fred? I have two taking turns sitting in a shot glass. I love the Optimara Waterships, but I'm not going to buy 40 of them.

Have a great week. Thom

I use 1/2 pint deli containers as my water reservoirs. You should be able to buy them at any supermarket that has a deli section. Be sure to get ones with lids that are the same material as the container, the totally clear plastic won't hold up. I cut a hole in the lid with a box cutter in a diamond shape, easier than a circle. Since all pots don't have a hole in the center, be sure to put the hole where the wick will come down without pinching. You can also cut an elliptical shaped hole at the edge, large enough to pour water through.

I pay $7.00 for 50 lids and containers.

If you are hung up on grates, you can always determine what you want your bottom container to be and buy eggcrate at Lowe's. It's the stuff in many fluorescent light fixtures. Then spend a month cutting it to size! LOL

Good luck, Thom

Barbara

I just had a thought - may be my only one of the day.......

The egg crate material comes in sheets about the same size as your shelf. You could get by without cutting the material....stay with me here....I'm envisioning the 1/2 pint deli containers (without the lids) placed on the shelf, and then the sheet of eggcrate laid over them. If the containers were placed as close as possible to entirely cover the area, you can still place the plants so they aren't crowded.

Pros - each plant is in an individual water source, reducing the spread of bugs. Increased humidity. No loss of space that will occur with trays.
Cons - filling reservoirs will be a little tricky. If you removed all plants at the same time from the shelf, it would be a little easier. The only problem is that plants will differ in their rate of uptake.

Sometimes I amaze myself!

Barbara

Great ideas Barbara. I will have to think about this for awhile.

You are amazing. Thom

I have some of my larger violets sitting on individual containers, but they take a lot of room. My little babies from leaves are sitting in trays on mats. I've wicked all the 3oz. solo cups, put about an inch of perlite in the bottom of each cup and set the cups on the matting in the tray. I add 2 1/2 cups of water (with week fertilizer) into the trays each time I water. This seems to be the correct amount of water. I allow the matting to dry for a day or two, before re-watering. So far, all the little planlets look happy and are growing bigger.
This is just another way of wick watering for you to consider. It's a learning procedure and will depend on your area and how many pots you have to water, and how often you need to water. Have fun! It's a great obsession, collecting violets. You can't have 'just one more'.

Barbara, thanks for the tip about buying deli containers at the supermarket. I hadn't thought about that. I ordered a few from Cape Cod Violetry. The lids already have holes in them, but they are much more expensive than what you pay. Your idea about putting the egg crating over the deli containers is great too. The individual containers could easily be filled without creating a mess using a funnel stuck through the egg crate openings.

Thom, I was looking for the best prices and white trays (although I bought a brown windowsill tray for my dining room) so I didn't list sites like Charley's. For example, did you notice the $10.95 price of the 12"x22" Pro-Grow tray from Charley's Greenhouse does not include the grid? The grid is $7.95, for a combined total of $18.90, while the 12"x22" Gro-Pro tray including grid is $15.95 at Kelly's Corner. Permanest trays and egg crating are even cheaper. I'm glad you started this thread: I'm learning from Fred and Barbara too!

The best price I see for trays - if you by in quantity- is here - but who needs 1, we always need a dozen.

About grids - you need 1 good one for a template - and then you go to Home Depot or Lowes to the fluorescent lights isle - and get a large one for $10. Makes 4-5 of them - and keeps DH busy when he cuts them. When you select the grid - get the heaviest and sturdiest you see - but several condiment cups under the grid help keep it in place anyway.

You want tan or green?

Irina

Here is a link that might be useful: Permanest trays

Hi,
I use pint deli containers for my reservoirs. I started by using the containers I saved from chinese take out when I bought soup. I finally purchased some from Cape Cod Violetry but if you have a restaurant supply around you can most likely get them there. I cut two holes in the top, one slightly off center for the wick and the other near the edge to allow access to fill the reservoir.
Fred in NJ

If I have learned anything this week it is that methods for growing AV's are very diverse. Everyone finds their own way of doing things. So my challenge is to find what works for me.

The permanest trays look more like what I had in mind and Matting seems like something that might work for me. Fred always gives great advice.

I just received my order from the Violet Barn. We will see how long I am able to stay at work with my new babies sitting under my table. (Probably not long LOL)

Thank you all for your help. How lucky we are to have this forum.

Thom in Indy

Hi again Thom,
It's true that matting works great for watering plants but, you have to be sure your plants are disease free because if one plant has something like soil mesalies it can be easily passed on to the other plants on that same mat. I lost two collections that way and it was devastating to have too replace all my plants. That is why I tell people to be careful with matting and to isolate any new plants before you add them to your cloolection.
Fred in NJ