You can seal it if you do not wick water. It is more efficient to have a humid air and barely moist soil. If you enclose both pots and reservoir - it will be too wet.

Thank you.

Can't add anything to what Irina advised except GOOD LUCK!!!!! Rosie

I'm planning on switching from wick watering to mat watering as soon as I get some trays.

Hi Leon! Why the switch? What happened? I would be afraid my mats would dry out. Or my puppy would drink all of the dampness. But seriously,,,,why? Rosie

It will save space and make water checking far easier. Checking the mats is simple, adding water is simple, and, very importantly, the space that the water reservoir takes will be saved.

I can see that. I know one other person that mat waters. Seems to do well for her. And I suppose it depends on the setup or space a person has. I have considered it and really thought about it, but I don't have the space to have a "reservoir" for the mats and water.

In fact, just this morning I managed to get about 300 of the large condiment cups/lids that coleslaw comes in. They will be (of course) turned into wick systems.

I guess for now, at least, I will stick with the wick! But good luck on your conversion,,,,let us know how you like it,,,,ok?

BTW, do you have to change soil composition or anything like that or do you just plop them off the reservoir and onto the mat? Any other changes? Rosie

Same light soil for mat watering as for wicking, so Leon is probably fine right now and can just switch over easily.

Speaking of providing consistent watering, I managed to talk my sister into wick watering after the Ann Arbor display and sale. She bought some shallow trays and some baking racks at the dollar store and used a crochet hook as I advised to add wicks to her pots which she had recently repotted and didn't want to disturb again. The dozen new small AV's I had brought for her already had wicks in them (which helped convince her - and it was reinforced when she noticed that each and every beautifully grown plant at the sale had a wick, too!) One month later when I visited, she and her DH were just raving over the difference in her plants. And they were indeed much healthier and blooming more than I have ever seen them before. Mats, trays, small reservoirs - they can all work to give you much happier plants!

Here's a photo of a mat watering system that a collector on another site provided me and which I'll try to use :

One more picture - this one shows the pot he uses :

I am really pondering a mat system to use for my leaf rooting. hmmm,,,let me think on and keep reading posts on this. But something is turning around in my head about it. It just may work,,,,,,,,,let me think. Rosie

Leon, the holes in that pot are overkill. I make 3 or 4 little punctures in the bottom of my containers with an old fashioned ice pick. That's it. I never even used to use a wick - and the water gets up in there, really it does. No need to mutilate your pots in that fashion, or slice a finger off trying to make such big cut outs.

I use both wicks and mats. Iput condiment cups on the bottom of my trays, then eggcrate, then mat, then wicked AVs. My mat is always wet, but soil doesn't get soggy. I refill the trays up to the mat - every 10 days or so.

AnneCecillia, I agree. I just posted the photo the way I got it. I buy commercially made pots (they'll be 3 inches for leaves) and they've got the holes I need.

I've been reading about group wick watering. It consists of a tray on which there's water with a metal grid over it. Then, pots are put on the grid with the wicks going into the holes in the grid and into the water. This arrangement also saves space because there's only one community reservoir instead of many. Perhaps I'll try that instead of mat watering.

In order to do that, I'll need to find a grid, and I'll be looking in hardware store to see what I can find. Is there anyone else here who has done this ?

That also sounds like a good method! I bought a grid at a yard sale several years ago and I don't use it for plants. I clean porcelain and ceramics over it. Sorry, I digress,,,,, BUT it is made out of plastic and I can see where it could easily be broken up into smaller sections. Rosie

On my way to Lowes today !

GOOD LUCK LEON!!!!!!! Let us know how you do!!!!!! Rosie

Couldn't find one at Lowes. The only diffusers they had were not perforated. I've looked online and found only very expensive ones. I guess I'll just keep looking. If anyone knows where they can be found, please let me know.

Leon -- check Home Depot.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Plaskolite-4-ft-x-2-ft-Suspended-Light-Ceiling-Panel-1199233A/202025149

Leon!!!!! Irina is right!!!!! That is the thing I was talking about!!!! Good luck!!! Rosie

Got it ! TNX.

By the way, do you have Alchemy Morning Star ? I'm rooting two leave of that one also. Leon

If you are asking me if I have Alchemy Morning Star, no I don't. Rosie

Well, Rosie, I'm also rooting a couple of the Alchemy Morning Star leaves. So, if luck holds and the leaves produce, then I'll have more to share since, like you, I hate to throw the extras out and, at the same time, don't want to crowd my whole house with duplicates and triplicates.

I wonder what others do with all those extras. When I first started with NOID's I rooted some and got five or six babies in some cases, all clumped together. I separated them, kept the best one and tossed the others. But I don't want to do that with name AV's....especially these rare, collectors' items. Leon

Leon, I went to 2 Home Depots but couldn't find them so I asked a store employee if they were in a different area. I was told in both stores that they stopped carrying them because for every one they sold, they had many more broken ones. They just were more trouble than they were worth. I hope you're able to find them. Maybe you could ask a handyman or electrician in your area if they know where you can buy.

Thank you for your help. I'll try to find a substitute somewhere.

Leon - you can order them online in HD - they will deliver them to HD of your choice, and you pick them up free of delivery charge.

Leon, I understand about not wanting to throw away the collectible violet babies but I am sure there are lots of people willing to trade with you! BUT be sure of your phraseology when you want to put it out there. Some people here have trouble with good old fashioned English. Maybe direct people to a "Trade" folder on your profile page. There you can say anything you want to as far as trade, trade for postage etc.

I don't think listing them in the Exchange category will be productive.

Also Irina had a good suggestion about online ordering. Also try some of the smaller independent hardware stores. Sometimes they carry things the big places don't. Like Ace, Aco etc. Good luck Leon!!!!! Rosie

Leon, I happened to go by Home Depot yesterday still hoping to find egg crate grids since their website showed that they had 18 in stock. I finally found an associate who told me they were in stock, but were a different model and they had moved them to a different area of the store. They were in the lumber area but the website shows they were in the lighting area. The ones they carry now are sturdier, but cost twice as much ($14 vs. $7). Good luck in finding some!

They all are $14 now... we need to bite the bullet...They tripled in price since 1999.