Perusing some liquid ferts in the LGC I noticed the instructions said water at the base of the pot i.e. in the 'saucer' I suppose. I've got plants in pots in a tray and being tied down means I cant get them out one by one to water and then pour off the excess. Always use the dry and wet method and they could always have their own mini tray so they are not sharing a communial bath.
Just wondered if anyone does this.

NSS

Let them sit in their runoff for half an hour or so, but I wouldn't leave them soaking in it for any longer - you'd really run the risk of root-root and other nasties as the roots would suffocate with no air getting to them.

Thanks for the reply Scribb|e but I was asking if anyone used the capillary action of watering at the base allowing the plant to absorb as much water as needed so I wouldn't need to syphon off the excess water. It is done and I remember being told to do this when left in charge of some Tomato plants years ago ... (yeah Tomato plants )

NSS

I'm sure Owderb waters his like this with no probs and I must admit i'm giving it a go at the moment (plus the odd supplementary water from the top) as it's less messy and just easier. So far so good but I've only recently started watering like this.

I used to grow poinasettias comercially and we always watered the capillary matting not the pot as standard, apart from ocasional pots to keep moisture levels even accross the crop. The main advantage is it keeps the compost on the dry side avoiding root problems and reduces humidity round the leaves. It works but i can't think of any advantage in a growroom unless you have poor ventilation and a humidity problem. Having said that i am using capillary matting as a moistur reserve under the pot, the runoff from watering is held in the matting and in theory is drawn back into the compost as the pots dry. Just beware as the plants will happily root into the matting given half a chance.