I have had that gelatinous stuff but when my wicks develop algae. Once I clean everything off it goes away.

Don't know what it is,,,,anybody out there know? Rosie

I've always wondered how you keep the water fresh enough? I live in a valley so it's mold and fungus city (a prime reason I don't wick). But all your plants always look beautiful Jeff, I wouldn't worry too much. :o)

I was waiting to see other responses..I've had this but usually the water needs to be changed and the jars cleaned. When you wick a new plant do you wash the wick with soap and water? Not sure where I saw to do this..but I take some dish soap and quickly wash before potting.

Marina..might not be bad as you think..my home is usually high in humidity and our weather is too. I do have these cooling fans that are meant for cooling PlayStation boxes or cable boxes on my shelves so powdery mildew isn't much of an issue. Honestly thought the jars for the water reservoir would grow things but so far nothing.

The process of forming these semi-solids only takes minutes, not the amount of time normally associated w algae or other naturally occurring spooges. I do soak my new wicks (lengths of acrylic yarn) in a solution of water w a cpl drops of dish soap in it before using. Maybe I should try rinsing them a bit in that solution. I do use a small amount of Physan20 in my water. Prevents algae but may be the root of my issue here.

At any rate, I am still experimenting and at this point, all the ingredients of my water are fine except my two drops of dish soap to my gal of plant water. With soap I have nearly immediate settling. Without soap, crystal clear. Im not sure I need the two drops of soap but I thought it might help insure wicking when water reservoirs are low. More experimenting for now.

I have backed off on the amount of water I add to my rock trays in an effort to curb that pesky powdery mildew. That stuff loves my minis. Mostly leaves the rest of my plants alone. I do the same thing you do Heather in that I have computer fans mounted on my plant racks. They run 24/7.

Since you already have Physan - why don't you spray the PM plants with it? It is a fungicide anyway, mild though.

And it is probably dish soap that gives you the murky water. Who knows what happens with it when it is exposed to the light and bacteria.

Yeah I still battle PM on just a few plants..not as many

Well, I have concluded my experiments and discovered that I am an idiot. The solids in the new wick water was definitely the dish soap and something else. Since I only added two drops of dish soap into a gallon of water, anything more than the two drops of unidentified spooge cannot just be soap.

I put the two drops of dish soap into solution by adding it to a small amount of hot water. This was then added to the remaining ingredients for one gal of water w/o any clouding or semi solids coming out of solution.

I should have guessed that something like that could happen given the characteristics of physan and PH down.

I have tried the physan for pm and it works fine. I have Ortho Rose and Flower spray also. None of that stuff is any good for plants w blooms. I almost hate to spray em when they're loaded with blooms.

I do not think it is necessary to add soap every time. If you soak your wicks before using - they will start OK, but adding more will eventually make the soil too wet... and it is not plant food anyway.

Nah - you are not an idiot - and do not say it ever. Screws the energy.

The properly planned experiment either confirms the theory or proves that it is wrong. "No" is an answer too.

Example - I can have a theory that adding soap to my water will make me healthy, happy and rich. After a month of drinking water with soap I would establish - healthy - no - I have a non-stop diarrhea. Happy - no - for the same reason. Rich - no, I spent a fortune on a toilet paper. Conclusion - soap in your water is not conducive to your health, happiness and financial growth.

Pretty funny. I guess everything is relative. I have a low tolorence level for stupid. Even more so when I find myself in that category.

I had a problem that I should not of had, spent more time than necessary to fix it and ended up back where I started. If I watched somebody who worked for me doing the same things, I would quite likely at least "think" he is an idiot!

The good thing is that I am quick on my feet and not likely to do any other dumb things for a day or two!

We live, we learn... Sometimes the idea is valid - sometimes it is not - but you learn from it more than from a positive result.

Irina, I love your analogys!!!!! Rosie

Well said.