Material to make watering wick for vacation
frank325
15 years ago
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Comments (6)
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years agoRelated Discussions
The best wicking material
Comments (23)Prasad recommended coir/ coco peat/ coco pith (all the same) as a wicking agent, but roots will grow through the drain holes into the coir and coir is different chemically and physically from peat. It has a much higher pH than peat - which precludes use of dolomite as a liming agent, and less loft - which is why it compacts so readily when top watered and why it has so much less aeration when wet. It is very high in potassium, very low in sulfur and, often excessively high in manganese - which can limit uptake of iron, potentially very high o/a in dissolved solids (residual salt from being processed in sea water), and studies have also shown the significant presence of phenolic allelochemicals in fresh coir can be very problematic for a high % of plants, causing poor growth and reduced yields. My personal experience using coir as a direct substitute for peat have been very disappointing. Chamae (short for chamaecyparis?) said: In a container on a patio, elevated with planter feet, would it make a difference either having the wick dangle and drip versus touching the ground and acting as a bridge? Specifically regarding the competing forces to avoid perched water, it seems one might be better. I find the dangle and drip to be more satisfying, but for no reason I can articulate. You might feel that way because it's more satisfying to actually be able to see the concept at work as water drips off the end of a dangling wick, but having the wick in direct contact with soil beneath the pot has greater potential when it comes to effectiveness. What pushes water off the end of a dangling wick is gravity's effect on the water column in the pot - it's gravitational flow potential. Once a drop of water falls off the end of the wick, the force of cohesion to the remaining water on the wick is nil; whereas, if the wick is in contact with soil having the ability to absorb water (the pot is not sitting on a cement slab or in a puddle), the added 'pull' of water molecules to water molecules and soil particles increases the gravitational flow potential of the water in the pot by exactly the force exerted by the additional capillarity (which we know is the sum of adhesion + cohesion). Al...See Morewicking water in large containers
Comments (9)My original plan was to use 2 wicks from each res. and spiral them upward halfway between the res. and the outside edge. The lower set to the bottom of the upper res., then the upper set to 2" below soil surface. The new plan is to run a 3rd wick from each res. to the outside within 1/2" of the burlap liner hopefully allowing it to aid in the process. Strawberry plants are shallow rooted so I will need to get water both to the top and the sides where they are planted in the holes. The distance between the sides of the buckets and the side of the barrel where the soil will be is only 6 1/2". The wicks will be at 1/2",3",and 5 1/2" from the outside edge. I'm hoping to run them 6" apart horizonally spiraling upward. The lower res. will water the lower half and the upper the top half. Thanks for your input. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. I'm open to suggestions and criticism. How else can I learn this stuff? I hope ya'll can understand this. I wish I could draw it. It is kind of hard for me to put into words. I been trying to word and type this for more than 30min. Bad typing skills didn't help. MJ...See Moreautomatic watering (for short vacation)
Comments (4)Sounds like a job for an simple sprinkler and inexpensive automatic timer hooked up to the hose bib with a length of hose in between. That's how I went on vacations, leaving an expensive bonsai collection behind. I've also left flats of seedlings in cell packs....See MoreSip vs wick watering?
Comments (19)it's essentially the same method, but with sub-hydro there probably will be more water wicked up - so the soil has to be 50% perlite and the wcik farely thin. i use twisted 2-ply acrylic yarn from a knit shop. even then it might be too soggy. i use smth like that bottle method, except that the AV is in it's reg pot with wick trailing in water in a large yogurt container. the pot is usually too small to rest on the rim. so i nestle the 3rd container in between with a hole cut in the center, thru which the wick trails down. so it's like yogurt container, shallow 'dip' container the same diameter with hole cut and then AV pot on top. with this contraption i don't have to add/change water more then once every 2 weeks. algae not a problem since yogurt containers are not transparent.and i add peroxide (and fertilizer) in water to keep it fresh. if i see that the soil i soggy - i just lift it out or periodically stop adding more water and let it go drier. at some point i had over 40 AVs going very happy and blooming non-stop and getting very large too. but then mites came...but that's another story. i have no problem going away on vacation either :). but i do remove rotted bottom leaves promptly. and i don't put very young small plants on the wick - too wet for them. they stay bagged and watered by hand minimally until they start flowering....See Moredkotchey
15 years agojeff-n-jessa
15 years agofrank325
15 years agosolanaceae
15 years ago
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