ok, here was my dilemma:

I have some carnivorous plants (S. flava with a few D. capensis, for those of you curious) that had out-grown their last pot and needed to be put into a new one.

so I decided to transplant them into a much larger container-- with the key difference being that this container did not have any drain holes. it's a large square plastic box-- approx 18"x18" and 20" tall, made of thick light brown plastic, no way to see into it.

my dilemma was that without drain holes, I needed to know what the water level was inside the pot, despite the fact that it would be filled to the top with a 50-50 mix of sphagnum peat moss and perlite. oh and I'm too cheap to want to buy one of those water-level sensors.

I go to Home Depot and pick up a large bag of perlite, a big bag of sphagnum moss... as well as a length of 3/8" OD clear vinyl tubing. I bring it home and grab my pocket knife as well as a 2" binder clip from my junk drawer.

about 30 mins later I have my carnivorous plants in their new home, and now with just a glance (no need to touch anything) I can know exactly what the water level is inside the pot.

using simple high school physics, and the items I listed above, can you devise the way that I am now able to know the exact water level in the pot with just a glance? (this is a really easy puzzle-- don't knock yourself out)

I think my high school physics teacher would be proud.

p.s.-- there is an added benefit to my set-up, but to say what it is would be too large a hint.

 

Put clear tube to bottom of planter and surround with soil. Peek down the tube and see the water level. That is a great idea Think I will use it the next time I have to do a transplant.

 

LOL. not quite. (it's a bit dark down there, hard to gauge the *exact* water level)

 

A water level is great old time solution.

 

A dilemma is a choice between two equally-unpleasant alternatives.

What were the two, in your case?

 

I suspect that the tube starts at the bottom of the pot on the inside, runs up the side, over the edge, down the outside to the bottom, then turns back up the side to somewhere near the top; sort of a sideways "S". (No pun intended.) If the entire tube were filled with water, then the level in last portion of the tube - going up the outside - will be the same as the level inside the pot.

Furthermore, you can use the tube to water the nasty beasts to whatever depth you like.

 

Im willing to bet that also. Homemade manometer.

 

thank you for the correction-- there was no dilemma. (and to think, I got my degree in English. )

 

[QUOTE=magician,Feb 19 2006, 10:06 AM] I suspect that the tube starts at the bottom of the pot on the inside, runs up the side, over the edge, down the outside to the bottom, then turns back up the side to somewhere near the top; sort of a sideways "S".

 

not quite a manometer (because both ends of the tube are open to atmospheric pressure) but similar design with the fluid-filled U loop.