Checked my plants at light on. The one in the first pot I made is already up and running. The soil is moist just an inch or so down. The second pot was made a full day after so I guess it just needed time to catch up since "wicking" is a slow process. I top watered her because she was looking thirsty. I'll be sure to check in with updates.
I checked on the 4 folded up paper towels roughly 2 hours after placing it in the container, and I could wring about a half a shot glass of water out of it... next up, putting plants to the test... Edit: there needs to be one thread with all the sip discussion in one place, too far spread across the boards.
mosesnumb, what size is the lava? Sounds like a good thread to start "SIP links". Keep track of links your reading.
Well I took about 12 pics of it with a quarter as a reference but the app won't let me upload pics atm... I'd say its all penny and dime sized.
SIPs are a fairly new thing here in the city...but they're catching on fast. Chances are there'll be a 'SIP grows' section someday....for now we just have to hunt them out. Sharkbait started a thread in an attempt to get related links and information posted all in one place...hasn't really gotten a lot of notice I don't think. I'm sure he'd welcome contributions....lemme get that link. http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-marijuana-growing/1135124-s-i-p-ahhs.html
Thanks noob, I'm already sub'd there though ;p... I most definitely will be doing testing on this, you said you had some weed blocker cloth, but it wouldn't wick through correct?
Yep, so I cut holes in it for the pots to go over. It's cheap weedblocker though...I'm thinking a different type might work better. I feel a plastic type material in this particular fabric, which would explain why it's not wicking. I really don't care as much for the system with the weedblocker because the pot doesn't sit down into the perlite like it did before. Still wicks, but I don't have those pretty white roots growing through the bottom anymore. I think this next grow I'm going to just 'skirt' the fabric around the pots instead of laying it on top of the perlite. Might be a bit messier, but that's ok.
Cause I know from my hydro experience that the lava rock will start to grow algae, so I best plan ahead on that one.
There is an advantage to the soil wick. Keep the water level below the exposed media. There is always a trade off.
I'm a farm boy as well, I have been pondering for awhile if I could "tile" a large smartpot somehow. I bought a bunch of smart pots right before I started reading about sips and switched to that method and never even opened the delivery box my smart pots came in. Definalty going to try this out since I have always thought that mixing these 2 methods(airation from the smart pot and the wicking action of theSIP) would work great.
Question about the roots growing out the bottom of the pot. Do you trim those off so they don't grow into the rez or is it OK for those to be submerged in water?
Also I think I might cover the rez with panda plastic like I did with my sips, cover the top of the tray so that it won't actually come in contact with the perlite and cut out holes for the pots. Any issues any if you see with this? I'm going to use a fill tube and overflow hole like a Hempy so I don't see any reason why the perlite would need to be accessed.
They just come out of the pot. Since what they find is a damp air layer (perlite), they don't continue to grow further down...at least that's been my experence. I remove my pots from the trays fairly frequently though for pruning, rotation, etc (I'm running 2 pots per tray) so if the pot is left in place permanently it's possible that they'd grow deeper, I dunno. Unless you keep your water level pretty close to the top though, I don't know why they would. The roots grow seeking water and the soil stays plenty hydrated because of the wicking. It'd be interesting to hear from someone who's running one pot per tray and not removing the pots....DD?? Anyone?
That's what I do with the weedblocker. As long as the bottom of the smartie has direct contact with the perlite you're good.
Mine are coming out of the pot and I'm not been moving it. We'll see at harvest time how far they go down in the saucer, I don't have that deep of a saucer so I keep the water pretty close to the top of the perlite.
Sorry for the late reply. I dont yet have any roots coming out of the pots. I lifted them up last night just to take a look and also to see if I could see any kind of discoloration on the perlite. The bottoms of the pots are nice and wet...not dripping just wet. No color on the perlite to hint of algea growth or anything and yes...the soil in the pots is still moist . Ive noticed that I can add approx 1 cup of water every other day until the water is coming from the drain holes, so my goal is to see if I could go 5-7 days between needing to add water in the most extreme case.
I know with the soil wick the roots grow right into the res. I get root pruning at the edge of the smart pot where it meets the hydrotron. DDD, when these things get cranking I plow through the water. I'll dump 5 gallons in the res every 3 days (2 #15) I now always keep 10 gallons ready with aquarium pump running.