Pots & Trays — Plant Trays

A tray under the pot does more than protect the floor. Water that runs out is water the plant did not take up, and it carries exactly the salts you were flushing away. Without a tray that wicks back up into the pot and the flush was for nothing.

Under one pot

The square saucers are matched to the pots in this category, and each says so: the 17.4 cm fits under a 7 litre square pot, the 20 cm under 6.5 and 7 litres, the 25 cm under 11 and 14, and the 29 cm under 18 and 25. They stand 3 to 4 cm deep, so they hold what one watering puts out and no more. For more buffer than that, look at the large trays below.

Under a whole tent

The Fertraso plant trays at 80, 100 and 120 cm are the common tent footprints, so you cover the floor in one piece instead of puzzling with separate saucers. They have a 12 cm rim, which lets the 80 cm hold 76.8 litres. That is not a detail but the reason to choose them: a toppled tank or a split line then stays inside the tray rather than being caught by your floor. They also fit standard grow cabinet racks.

The Flextray folds through the door

The Fertraso Flextray comes in the same three sizes but is flexible: you fold it through the door and open it out inside. That helps at exactly the point where a rigid tray fails, namely when the frame is already up and the opening is smaller than the floor. From Garland there is also a standard tray at 56 x 40 x 4 cm holding around 9 litres with a flat bottom, so it can be used for watering from below, and a square one at 60 x 60 x 7 cm holding around 25 litres, whose deeper rim makes it usable as the base of an ebb and flood setup.

Frequently asked questions

Can run-off sit in the tray?
Better not. It holds the salts you just flushed out and the pot draws it back up. Tip it away or pump it out, and do not reuse it as watering water.

Which tray fits my pot?
Each saucer states the pot size it is meant for. When in doubt take the larger: a pot that only just sits inside the rim leaves no room to lift it without the tray coming too.

Can I use a large tray as a growing system?
The 60 cm square Garland has the rim for it, and the Fertraso trays are also used as the inner tray of a system. Complete systems and benches are under Grow Tables.