[QUOTE=Delerium;466390]I disagree. DE actually makes the soil medium dry up way faster. Especially outdoors. I have stopped using it for that reason alone. Maybe using DE in the half way point of the container might help if wicking issues are a problem.[/QUOTE]

Say what D?!? Are you talking about open containers or subirrigated?

Both. DE dries up fairly fast outdoors. It might actually work okay if you cover the top to retain moisture as intended with SWC. I don't cover the tops /w plastic because i like the soil to be able to get air and mulch it with straw. And also i like to be able to top water to flush out excess salt build up over time. With DE added you will have to water more often. At least that has been my experience with adding DE to growing medium. No negative impacts to plants but.. soil medium dries up real fast.

[QUOTE=Delerium;466445]Both. DE dries up fairly fast outdoors. It might actually work okay if you cover the top to retain moisture as intended with SWC. I don't cover the tops /w plastic because i like the soil to be able to get air and mulch it with straw. And also i like to be able to top water to flush out excess salt build up over time. With DE added you will have to water more often. At least that has been my experience with adding DE to growing medium. No negative impacts to plants but.. soil medium dries up real fast.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. More info for consideration....

Hello Mr. Ray:

Thank you for this great gift to all urban dwellers with limited options. Got approval from landlord to do a few ETIII on my rooftop. There was a question that I could not answer, and I was hoping you could guide me.

1) during heavy rains, how much liquid escapes thru the drain hole if there is a paint cap on the breathing tube? That is to say, how much rainwater drains in from the mulched-reflective plastic area and eventually out of the reservoir? I ask this in an attempt to figure out what type of secondary container I may have to place under the ETIII to more or less guarantee that no water will escape from it even in relatively heavy rains (an infrequent occurrence around these parts).

2) Is there a utility tray/spill containment tray that you recommend for the EarthTainerIII?

Thanks in advance!

There will be no more water expelled versus what normally would have fallen on that area of the roof to begin with. In fact, the EarthTainer will actually retain some of that water which would have fallen in that same footprint.

In a heavy rain, any type of outer tray would likely fill from the downpour on its own. As I indicated, the EarthTainer would act as a "buffer" to trap rain water into its own water reservoir under most conditions other than a Hurricane.

Raybo

Thanks for the quick reply!