{ "id": "orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups", "sku": "orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups", "title": "ORIMERC 3 Inch Net Cups 12 Pack with Self-Watering Wick and Plant Labels", "slug": "orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups", "price": 14.99, "currency": "USD", "availability": "in_stock", "category": "accessories", "category_label": "Accessories", "tags": [], "colors": [], "materials": [], "dimensions": null, "weight": "1 lb", "images": [ "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/main-orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-10.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-2.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-3.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-4.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-5.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-6.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-7.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-8.jpg", "https://americanhydroponic.com/dropship-images/accessories/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups-9.jpg" ], "description_short": "A 12 pack of 3 inch slotted mesh net pots with a wide lip, plus 12 feet of self-watering wick cord and 12 reusable plant labels, ready for mason jars, buckets and grow beds.", "description": "The problem with growing in a plain pot\n\nAnyone who has killed a basil plant knows the feeling. You water it, the soil holds the water, and a week later the roots are brown and the leaves are limp. It looks like thirst. It is usually drowning.\n\nRoots need oxygen. In a solid pot, water fills every gap between soil particles and pushes the air out. The plant sits in a wet sponge with nowhere to breathe. Growers call it wet feet, and it is one of the most common reasons houseplants and herbs fail indoors.\n\nA net cup fixes that in a blunt, obvious way. The sides and base are cut into open slots, so water drains straight through and air moves in. Roots do not just sit inside, they grow out through the mesh and into whatever sits below, be that nutrient solution, a bucket reservoir or a fish tank. The plant gets water on demand and air at the same time, which is the whole trick behind hydroponics.\n\nHow these net cups work\n\nThis set gives you 12 net pots in the 3 inch size, 12 feet of self-watering wick cord and 12 reusable plant labels. The cups are polypropylene, black, round, with slotted mesh running down the walls and across the bottom.\n\nThe slot spacing is the part worth noticing. It is tight enough to hold clay pebbles, rockwool and other coarse media where you put them, and open enough that water and air move freely. Soil does not pour out the sides. Roots still find their way through.\n\nOn top sits a 3.2 inch lip, wider than the body of the cup. Drop the cup into a hole in a bucket lid, a foam raft or a mason jar, and the lip catches on the rim and holds the cup at the surface. That is more useful than it sounds. It means your hole saw cut does not need to be exact, and it gives you a solid edge to grab when you lift a plant to check its roots.\n\nThe wick cord adds a second way to use the same cups. Thread a length through the mesh into the growing media, drop the other end into water, and capillary action does the rest. Water climbs the cord and keeps the media damp. You can run that on a windowsill pot, an orchid, an African violet, or a tray of starts you cannot check every day.\n\nWho these suit\n\nBeginners get the most out of a set like this. Twelve cups is enough to try two or three different builds without a big outlay. A mason jar kratky grow takes one cup. A bucket takes one. A small raft takes four or five. You can learn what works for your space and still have spare cups.\n\nThey also suit people short on outdoor room. A sunny window and a jar is all you need for a steady supply of basil or lettuce. Under a grow light in a spare room, you can run greens through winter without touching soil.\n\nOrchid growers are a quiet second audience. Orchid roots evolved clinging to tree bark, exposed to air and rain. A slotted mesh cup filled with bark mix is much closer to that than a solid pot of potting mix. The open sides also let you see root color, which is the fastest way to tell if an orchid is happy.\n\nIf you already run a larger system, these work as spares. Aquaponics beds, PVC pipe builds, rain gutter systems, aeroponics frames, cloning trays and small tower gardens all take a standard 3 inch cup.\n\nChoosing the right size and setup\n\nSize follows plant. The 3 inch cup is the middle of the range and the most generally useful. It fits lettuce, spinach, arugula, basil, parsley, chives, mint, oregano, thyme, sage, cilantro and strawberries comfortably. Tomatoes and peppers will start in one happily, though they will want a bigger reservoir and more root room as they mature.\n\nSmaller 2 inch cups suit dense plantings of seedlings and microgreens. Larger 4 inch cups suit big fruiting plants or anything you plan to keep for a long run. If you are unsure, 3 inch is the safe first buy.\n\nGrowing media matters just as much as cup size. Clay pebbles are the common choice, cheap, reusable and easy to rinse. Rockwool cubes are good for seed starting and clones. Coco coir chunks, perlite and bark all work. Plain fine potting soil does not, since it washes out through the slots. If you really want to use soil, line the cup first with coir or a paper filter.\n\nThen think about your reservoir. Passive kratky grows need no pump at all, since the water level drops as the plant drinks and leaves an air gap for the roots. Deep water culture needs an air stone and pump to keep the solution oxygenated. Both work with the same cup. One is simpler, the other grows faster.\n\nSpacing trips up more new growers than anything else. Crowded lettuce stays small and stringy. Give leafy greens about a hand width between cups and give fruiting plants a container each.\n\nKeeping them in good shape\n\nThe cups are built to be reused, which is most of the value in buying a pack of 12. After a harvest, pull the root mass out, rinse the cup in warm water and run a soft brush through the slots. Root hairs and a thin film of algae are normal and come off easily.\n\nFor anything stubborn, a mild dish soap wash or a soak in diluted vinegar will do it. Rinse properly afterwards and let them air dry before stacking them away. Skip the dishwasher and skip boiling water, since heat can warp thin plastic and distort the lip that holds the cup in place.\n\nThe wick cord lasts longest when it dries out between uses. Trim frayed ends with scissors. The labels wipe clean if you write in pencil or a garden marker, so you can reuse them each season rather than buying more.\n\nOne habit worth building is covering your reservoir. Algae grows wherever light touches nutrient water. An opaque lid, a wrap of dark tape or a simple cloth cover cuts the problem down to almost nothing, and it keeps your cups cleaner between grows too.\n\nThe short version\n\nNet cups are a small piece of plastic that solve a real problem. They give roots water and air at once, which is something a solid pot cannot do. This pack gives you 12 in the common 3 inch size, plus wick cord for passive watering and labels so you remember what you planted.\n\nThey fit mason jars, buckets, rafts, grow beds and gutter systems. They suit herbs, leafy greens, strawberries and orchids especially well. They rinse out and go again.\n\nIf you have been meaning to try hydroponics but did not want to spend much finding out whether you like it, a pack of net cups and a jar is about the cheapest honest start there is.", "llm_summary": "The ORIMERC 12 Pack 3 Inch Net Cups is a hydroponic growing accessory set containing 12 slotted mesh net pots, 12 feet of self-watering wick cord and 12 reusable plant labels. Each cup is 3 inch size with a wide 3.2 inch top lip, made from polypropylene, black, round, with breathable slotted mesh walls for drainage and root aeration. Listed item dimensions are 3.26 by 2.91 by 2.6 inches, pack dimensions 3.27 by 2.2 by 2.6 inches, item weight 16 ounces. Brand ORIMERC, model XLZ3IN12DE. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use, including kratky mason jar grows, bucket systems, deep water culture, aquaponics and orchids. Country of origin and GTIN are not specified in this record.", "returnable": true, "return_policy": "Voluntary 14-day change-of-mind returns in original condition, buyer pays return postage; state consumer protection law and implied warranties for faulty goods. Return postage on faulty goods is ours.", "shipping_profile": "standard", "warranty": null, "brand": "Hydroponics Company", "gtin": null, "mpn": null, "condition": "new", "url": "https://americanhydroponic.com/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/", "canonical_url": "https://americanhydroponic.com/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups/", "json_url": "https://americanhydroponic.com/api/products/orimerc-12-pack-3-inch-net-cups.json", "updated_at": "2026-10-09" }