Sherwin Dubren wrote in message ...
I have had a perpetual problem in that my vacations always seem to fall
out when I'm in the middle of seed starting from trays. I don't want to
impose on relatives or neighbors to keep them watered. I have seen
these
special trays with reservoirs at the bottom and some kind of wicking
system to keep seedlings from drying out. Does anyone have any
experience
with these trays? Also, how long can one expect one of these trays to
continue moistening the seedlings, as sometimes I go away for several
weeks.
I have tried wicking systems and feeding tubes with a siphoning
effect to water my potted plants, with limited success. I can't use my
bathtub, since there is no way to bring light to the seedlings. Does
anyone have a better idea?

Sherwin D.

what is your setup? southern window or grow lights? Plus you are in
Chicago, right? so you have time as nothing needs to be started for
another month at least.

Here is what I found: if you fill the tray with one inch of water (I
have a southern glass door plus some fluorescent), no cover, the
seedlings will stay moist for two weeks. I have cut off a square of
four from a corner, which I take out when I need to water them again.
The operation (with a bucket of water, and a half gallon pitcher,
which corresponds approximately to one inch) takes less than a minute.
With this kind of time commitment, perhaps the neighbors can come in
every two weeks in exchange for some of your summer fruits (every year
I think I am coming to see the Nafex. Some year I will). 6 weeks
seedlings need to be watered only twice before transplanting.

You will lose some to damping off, because they get soaked, but
tomatoes, lettuce and radicchio damp off very little. I had no losses
with carrots or spinach either in one try. Chard damps off a bit. Most
of the damping off losses are with brassicas (or related species, such
as tatsoi), at least in my case. But these you can start early or
later, if you want them for the fall, so you can start them when you
are around. Or plant a whole tray (I suppose you need less than 72
cabbages) and transplant the survivors. You can also limit damping off
by sterilizing the tray with bleach, pre-baking the potting soil (I
use sterile mix for the brassicas and chard. Otherwise I use sifted
compost) and by having air movement. I may have a good situation
because the daily warming of the area near the door creates some air
movement.
and by cooking the planting soil.