My only concern with a 100# smart SIP would be that it would get full of roots and by the end of the season you would end up with all of your perlite tangled up in a rooty mess. Probably wouldn't be THAT big of a deal, just something to think about. I usually rotate my pots 1/4 turn every day to keep that in check. I have seen a lot of people do 5 gallon bucket SIP's outdoors, but that may be a little too small for ya lol.
Also, SIP's tend to favor the bottom of your container. Dunno how tall a 100# is, but you may find that you will still need to water the top unless you mulch 'em pretty thick.
i got a 100gallon smarty, its about 2' tall. pretty sure the top would be bone dry if doing a sip in that. maybe an ollas (unglazed clay pot that's buried in the soil and filled with water) would be a better option for a container that big peace!
I was hoping the roots growing down into the perlite would help keep the plants happy in our dry hot summers. I use the 100g on my patio and it seems like every time the roots grow down and hit the concrete under the pot I start having problems, while the plants next to them in raised beds are still happy and green. I will still water from the top once a week or so alternating acts and SST. My main challenge I foresee is watering enough without watering too much and having a bunch of run off get down in the perlite. A drip system may be the trick so the soil has time to absorb the waterings. I appreciate the brainstorming. I really hope this works.
Besides weekly top watering, my other idea was just rolling the pot down to half or 2/3's it's normal height and having a short wide planter. If I had room Id try one both ways. But even if I still have to water from above I still think it might help keep my plant happier to have the moist perlite underfoot.
When using these pots outside, I drill holes in the tub at the top level of the lava rock so the tub can't fill up from drainage or rainstorms, higher than the lava rock. I have to top water the fabric pots to keep the moisture level correct or they dry too much on top. The double bucket sip stays wicking better than the fabric, but you have to fill them every day to keep up when the plants fill out. I like lava rock for the bottom better than perlite for outdoor. it doesn't blow away when dry. PW
What about making a water system like one of those doggy dishes for water. Using a 1 gallon jug do you think you could put it upside down into a pic pipe feeding the bottom of the perlite almost like a backup reservoir of water waiting to be sucked up by the plant and perlite?
no reason you couldn't. just make sure the whole thing is air tight up until where you want to water level to be or it will just drain into the wicking tub. peace! edit: i actually plan on doing this with some 5gal container with a spigot i have laying around, sorta like this:
I have two of those containers lying around I might have to find new use for use hosing to the pvc. That way it's more steady than direct hose going down to the res. I would also only think of doing this because of vacationing for 7 days n not knowing what would happen while I'm gone
Thank you, this is a wealth of information. My soil is cooking now and plants go out in May. I'll make sure to re-read this whole thread before then so I don't forget anything important.
After looking over several designs both commercial and backyard I decided I had a better mouse trap in mind and cooked up several versions..
So the bottom's are cut out of those water bottles, essentially making them tubes? Or are they perforated? Don't you have a tutorial for these SIP's somewhere? I think I'd like to try this for my OD grow. Those blue totes are the perfect size for what I want to do this year...
Iv ran into a small problem ... The only perlite I can find around me is at lowes... It says its "enriched" with miricle gro. Its not alot but its there. Can i use it as is or can i rinse it out or something? As much as i like lowes, it's a shame that the big stores have ran out all of the smaller ones leaving my only choices up to what lowes wants to sell.... Thanks