Hi folks,
New to your forum but not new to growing. Posting here for both my product and I would like to open up a disucssion on methods you use for root zone heating for citrus or any other tropical fruit.
For the past 6 years I have been working with methods of root zone heating, the first product I brought to market was a called the Thermoplanter, its a heated container for tropicals. Good product but never made the big time. I have spent the last 2 years working with another root zone heating product we call the Lazy Gardener, its an inexpensive product that warms the root zone and waters the plant at the same time, a process we call Evaporative lift irrigation. we are using a subtle water vapor created by a low volt heat source to warm and water the plant at the same time, the water vapor created allows for better heat penatration because it is not a drying heat. The process enables us to use 1/2 the wattage normally needed with heat tapes and both products are well under 20 inches long. The convection created helps to aerate the plant creating healthy constant water to air ratios. www.mylazygardener.com
I would like to give 3 away to the forum for feedback and get your thoughts on the product. Thanks, hope I hear from you.

Welcome to the forum. If I need to heat the root zone I usually use an old waterbed heater, it works well.

Stephentown NY? I used to date a girl from Stephentown. Great area (in the summer).

Cool product.

Hi Laaz,
thanks for the reply, small world wonder if I know her?

Its even nice in the winter, although we did not have one last year. Maybe this year we will.

Possibly, she used to live on Horse heaven Rd.

I guess I just got sick of the long winters up there. Here we get a few days a year where it gets below freezing at night.

Hi Mark,
Could you tell us what makes the water flow?
The thermostat is at the end of the wick. Is it the only place it warms or does it warm all along the wick?

Thank you for answer.
Sylvain.

Edit: Indeed I am ready to test one of your product.

Sounds very interesting!

I guess it uses a 110V mains supply? In that case it probably needs a transformer to use it in Europe...

Hi, Well the water flows two ways, for our single units we just use a wick draw, water is pulled up with the fiberglass wick into the black tubing,(thats the part that heats) the heat evaporates the water off wick and through the porous membrane into the soil, very simple, It will use a little more than a cup a day. If your plant is out side and the weather is wet the evaporation stops because the soil is saturated. The Lazy Gardener then helps to dry the soil out so your plant does not sit in cold wet soil and the water vapor moves again as the soil dries.
We have systems that conect 6 pots at a time that will be available in September, they use a passive gravity water feed from a 5 gallon bucket, but the process is the same.
We have low voltage systems now and we may switch the whole product line to a low volt system. I have just started talking to distributors in England and Germany so product will be available in the fall, all European systems will be low voltage.
Good questions, hope I answered them well enough

It does sound like an interesting product especially if you can link several pots together. I wouldn't mind trying one.

What about fertilisation? Is it possible to add a liquid fertiliser to the water in the tank?

Ah, yes my most frequently asked question, I am sorry to say no, the fertilizer gets all nasty and clogs up the wicking system.

I fertilize with a liquid, tried almost all of them I think, all seem to work well. What I do is double the concentration, so if it says 1 tsp per gallon I use 2. and water a little less with it.

The next most frequently asked question is "how about salt buildup" I have never had a problem with this but if you do you can of course just flush out the system like a regular pot.

Another question is can I use the cloth planting bags, (not sure if you guys use these for citrus, very popular in lawn and garden now. The answer is no here also. We need the structure of the pot to make the convection, like a chimney, cloth pots breath everywhere and the vapor just evaporates out. Cloth bags work well but use way to much water in my oppinion.

this is great keep them coming.

Well, if the pump is the evaporation in the wick, you have to fill the tube before the first use. Not like in the video. Do I get it right?

Sylvain.

Hi Sylvian
the process will start even if you just put the wick in water, Priming it will make the process start faster but only by a few hours. Its not a bad idea to soak it for 10 minutes or so just for tha reason. You can also get it all together, put the wick in water and plug the unit in a few hours later. The two sizes for containers are only 7 and 9 watts so we are really not talking about that much heat or electricity, a small night light is 7 watts to give you a refrence.

before somebody asks, cost for running monthly is 10-20 cents.

The most important thing is to water the whole pot well after installation that is the biggest help to getting the whole process going.

Thank you Mark for your clear answer.

Very interesting product and thanks for showing us.

In the spring/summer/late summer and even fall, temps are fine in the root zone and if you need to water automatically, you setup a automatic watering system that requires no electricity(well, maybe a 9v battery). Where this product has potential for this crowd is in the winter storage of container citrus.

The automatic watering is a bonus but the real need is correct root zone temperature during cold months

What temperature increase will the 5W and 7W device provide compared to ambient temperature? Example, if my room temperature is say 40F what will the soil temperature be? then, same question for 70F room temp?

One of our primary issues in the winter is we never want the root zone to go below 55F, this is when root activity stops, this is the danger zone when a tree will begin to defoliate and possibly begin to die back(depending on light conditions). meanwhile the room temperature may drop to 35F, my concern is 5-7Watts is not enough to hold the root zone to 55F in a 35F room. If the my lazy gardener device will only increase root zone temperature 5-10F or so I and many others will still need supplemental root zone heating or boost ambient temperature, possibly defeating the need for this product.

I have been struggling with the winter issue for a few years now. I provide addl humidity and keep the room at 68 but still have some issues with leaf drop...last year was the best yet but the conditions here in Minnesota were wonderful. It is a challenge that I welcome but help would not hurt!