Hi all,
I have a quick question ( well at least i think so).
Right now i'm growing 8 plants and they're getting big!! Does anyone know how i should feed so many potted plants?
I was thinking a 5 gal bucket and submersible pump like this one connected to a hose maybe? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

i use a manifold and dripper stakes for multiple pots; makes things much less of a hassle. a water wand on pump might work great too for only 8 plants

thanks kp2
just wondering,
how many will i need for 8- 7 gal pots?
one per pot? or two (one on each side)?
will it evenly distribute the water/nutes (no hotspots)?
thanks again

one per pot is fine, i use the ones that cause a dispersal in a star shaped pattern. watering frequently ensures that all the medium is watered, and soil/perlite will wick from the running and draining water/nutes. hot spots (better known as dry spots) occur when you let the soil dry too much, then water too quickly (the salts in the soil will actually repel water, making it hard to re-saturate the soil mass).

with regular irrigation, you'll have more hydro-ish plants.

I use the set up with the pump. 20g trash can. Pumps about 2g a minute on flat ground.

So, if i use 6.5" stakes, will i need to water/feed more or less? And you say it will make the plants more hydroish, will that increase the chance of root rot or have you never/rarely encountered that problem? where should i place the stakes to reduce this problem and make it more even distribution of water/ferts.
thanks guys for the quick responses guys!!

the time it takes to water individual plants is very KEY. EVERY plant requires different water. By going to a mass watering solution, you simply lose this the mosst important ability. That is the ability to care for your plants INDIVIDUALLY!

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I would not go to a mass feeding system unless i had more plants than i could care for in one day. I simply do not believe in the Drip system, so if this is your objective, listen to nothing i say. if your going to spend that much time.... make it a bubbleponics system... you just cant go wrong with that

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i've never had root rot in pots, only fully hydro. with soil, there is the danger of over watering. this will drown roots, and kill them, resulting in a dead or severely damaged plant.

my "dirt" is 60% perlite, and i water daily with no problems at all. my 100% perlite requires a basin to allow the medium to wick water back up (since it drains so quickly)

with a higher ratio of compost/soil, you'll have more compaction, and that will cause the mass to retain water for longer periods (and will it lessen the amount of oxygen to the roots).

when dirt is "cut" with perlite, you have plenty of air pockets and can hear the medium fizzle as the water travels through it.

i also have catch pans for runoff, and the soil is allowed to wick from there. when i start the pump, i watch for the first drips, then turn off the pump, let it drain, soak back up. once a day works well, though i'm about to start watering twice a day with a waste pan instead of catch pan, turning it into a drain to waste and making it easier to wash out old salts when watering with fresh nutes. i want to go from feed-feed-water-repeat to feed-feed-feed-repeat.

hope this helps

One last question. where should i place the watering stakes in my pot? by the stem, by the edge, somewhere in the middle.
thanks ahead of time guys!!
edit: i'm using ffof as is (no extra perlite) and the entire 6pc line up if that helps.