I totally agree - it was more of a thought experiment. What I have observed agrees with an earlier post - that some soil mix will percolate through the base medium and form a bridge to ground. In a very large pot I grew OrienPet Lilies over a base layer of inverted 1 gallon plastic pots covered with landscape fabric ; with about 12 inches of planting mix on top. The lily roots completely colonized the base layer with what looks like water roots - they adapted to the conditions and grew very well. Chad Schroter -----Original Message----- From: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Leo A. Martin Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2013 7:51 AM To: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org Subject: Re: [pbs] Bean bag stuffing hydrophobia > SO if you want to maintain drainage and > save weight you must use a material of > the same particle size - but lighter. > Perhaps the Styrofoam beads used in > "bean bag" chairs would work better > than Ghost Farts. For capillary action to function the medium must be capable of being wetted. Foam repels water and there would be no capillary action, so these small foam beads would not provide better drainage. I do this to make containers lighter for the inevitable moving around. And as for the cycad seedlings - they didn't take P chem, and they are very definitely much less rot-prone in deep containers with a layer of foam peanuts under then soil as opposed to without the peanuts. Leo Martin ________________________________ PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this electronic mail message is intended only for the use of the designated recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this message in error and that any review, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender by telephone or e-mail (as shown above) immediately and destroy any and all copies of this message in your possession (whether hard copies or electronically stored copies).