Grow Mediums Autopot Copper disk, up, down, in tray, in pot...Im confused!!!! :-)

[KonopCh]

And the brochure explicitly says copper down. Copper kills roots, you don't want it tuching roots in pot, you just want it to keep roots from doing an end around to the vent holes. It IS science.

Copper doesn't kill roots, my plants are doing just fine.

 

[BII]

Since the 'disks' [actually squares] are presumably somewhat permeable, soak up and allow some water to pass/diffuse through, I would presume the 'disks' would work positioned either up or down. The 'disk' material saturated with copper ions should keep the roots away no matter the orientation.

Part of the conflicting instructions could be due to different bottom 'disk' systems formerly or maybe still being sold in Europe vs. U.S., with U.S. just using a single sheet, while I recall the EU version used/uses 2 layers/pieces.

 

[Archaic]

Copper doesn't kill roots, my plants are doing just fine.

Google ''chemical root pruning"

Copper kills the root tips and acts similarly to an airpot to prune the roots away from copper impregnated barrier. It does not negativity affect plant growth, but it will keep roots from plugging up your autopot valve.

 

[Tiny Bubbles]

Ya I’m pretty sure mine are copper side up in the bottom of my pots because when I put them together for my second grow with them I couldn’t remember which way it went and didn't bother to look it up. For what it’s worth, my plants are doing just fine and aren’t showing any signs of root issues. Could they be doing better? Maybe
but I’m happy with them

When I harvest them I’ll try to remember to take pictures of what the roots look like at the bottom of the pot with the copper side facing up

 

[KonopCh]

Google ''chemical root pruning"

Copper kills the root tips and acts similarly to an airpot to prune the roots away from copper impregnated barrier. It does not negativity affect plant growth, but it will keep roots from plugging up your autopot valve.

So as I said, copper stops roots from growing more.
This not means like you said: copper kills roots. Because when you kill roots, you kill plant too.

 

[Archaic]

So as I said, copper stops roots from growing more.
This not means like you said: copper kills roots. Because when you kill roots, you kill plant too.

Yes, it 100% kills roots wherever they contact it, copper has been used as an herbicide for years. It only kills the point that contacts the copper aka root pruning by burning the tip of the root where it contacts the copper to stop its growth. Touching a hot skillet does not kill you even though it kills the cells at the tip of your finger.

http://www.eco-nomic.com/pix/Tree Root Control.pdf

"roots in contact with or immersed in copper sulfate solution absorb copper for a short distance into the root system. Use of this treatment has yet to cause the loss of a tree or shrub. Apparently the absorbative function of the roots is destroyed before toxic copper travels very far. This results in only local killing action. There is no leaf discoloration when used as follows. In fact, copper-lined containers are routinely used for growing tree seedlings"
Mitchell and Schnelle, Div. of Ag. Sciences; Oklahoma State University

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/copper-sulphate-root-killer-side-effects-98502.html

"The chemical only kills roots that it directly contacts and does not travel up the roots to kill plants"

https://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/plants/factsheets/CopperFactsheet.pdf

"Copper has been used as an aquatic herbicide and algaecide since 1950. Copper compounds for aquatic use are manufactured either as copper sulfate, or as a copper chelate. Both forms contain metallic copper as the active ingredient" Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources, 2012

 

[Cotton46]

I use landscape fabric and cut my own and have had no issues at all and your never confused with which side up or down lol

 

[MassMom]

And the brochure explicitly says copper down. Copper kills roots, you don't want it tuching roots in pot, you just want it to keep roots from doing an end around to the vent holes. It IS science.

I just got another email from Autopot. Yes, copper disk side down in the pot OR face up in the tray OR both.

 

[Flipper]

I just got another email from Autopot. Yes, copper disk side down in the pot OR face up in the tray OR both.

Hi MassMom, thanks for getting this clarified. I've done "both" on all my Autopot grows as I had seen others with issues and it seemed cheap enough to double up. Belts and suspenders I guess, ha.

 

[MassMom]

Hi MassMom, thanks for getting this clarified. I've done "both" on all my Autopot grows as I had seen others with issues and it seemed cheap enough to double up. Belts and suspenders I guess, ha.

I always mess things up, so I figure if I have 2 in different spots maybe one will work like its supposed to...HA HA.