noobwannaB
Member
Hi everyone. I'm fairly new to this forum...been a member for awhile but made myself 'at home' elsewhere. I'm on an ipad, and this forum always lagged for me making any time spent here unbearably frustrating. Just found the app (TapaTalk) and was asked by a friend that recently found this forum to 'share the goods' here, so ...here goes.
It's caught on fast in this other forum and people are loving the results. I wasn't sure which area to post this in, but I'm sure the mods will take care of that
Since I'm new with no rep and a relatively new grower (started a year ago) you have no reason to take me seriously or trust me, but if you have some perlite, and a suitable tray/saucer laying around I challenge you to try it....you may just be pleasantly surprised. Doesn't matter to me....it's your grow.
This method is especially effective with organic soil, and was designed with it in mind, but I see no reason that it wouldn't work with bagged soil. It does go against everything we've been taught about the wet/dry cycles, but with organic soil the benefit of keeping it evenly moist is huge.
I love the health and vigor I've witnessed with a SIP (self irrigating planter) system, but have no room for 5 gallon buckets in my grow room. Frankly I like to keep my plants smallish and love the benefits of fabric pots as well, so I went looking for something that would provide the evenly moist condition for the soil (the benefit) without using large self contained buckets full of soil and came up with this.
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NoobwannaB's Fabric Pot SIP method (works with hard pots too)
1. You want a tray to hold the wicking material and water. Doesn't matter what size, kind, etc...you can use a plant saucer or a plastic swimming pool or anything in between. I started using seed flat trays and have moved up in size since.
More volume means more water/medium means less maintenance, but it's up to you. Also, the larger the tray the more pots you can fit inside.
2. You need to fill the tray with wicking material. I use perlite and think this works best, but I've been told that lava rock, hydroton and the like works also. ROCKS, stones, and anything that is bio degradable will NOT work. The stones won't wick and you don't want to use something that will break down causing issues with mold, smells, etc
3. Add water. I like to use an inverted water bottle so that I can gauge the water level but it's not necessary. The perlite will soak up the water so keep adding until it's at the level you want it which can be anything YOU want it to be, but I suggest at least an inch below the top of the perlite. The reason for this is you don't want your pots sitting directly in the water.
Sit your pots on the top of the perlite. That's it.
-You WILL have roots growing out of the bottom and sides if using a smartie after awhile. This is normal, and they usually dry up after awhile.
-You MAY see white mold on top of the soil for a few days (Santa's beard) until the system regulates itself. This is a good thing (means your soil is alive) and nothing to be alarmed about. The plant will back off pulling excess water after a few days and the 'good mold' will stop.
-You may (probably will) see a slight discoloration of the top layer if using perlite. This is algae because of the damp conditions and high light. It won't hurt anything, but if it bothers you, you can either cover the top with landscape fabric, black plastic, whatever, but I don't suggest using anything between the perlite and the bottom of the pot. Either cut holes or drape it around the pot(s).
*I now line my tray with weedblocker fabric before adding the perlite and leave a good amount of excess before cutting. After the perlite is added, I bring the excess up over the perlite and tuck it around the pots. It shades the perlite, and helps hold moisture in the tray as well....perfect.
Once the roots start growing out the bottom, within a few days the growth up top will explode because the plant has a steady supply of good, moist living soil, and that's because the soil has a good steady supply of water.
Enjoy!
---------------------------------
You CAN use hard pots, but smart pots work best. When you place hard pots make sure there are drain holes on the bottom of the pot, and push the pot down inside the perlite a bit so that it makes good contact with the soil through the drain holes. It's probably best to avoid moving hard pots much so that the wicking (via the drain holes) isn't interupted. You can move smart pots around as much as you like.
For teas and drenches, I suggest top watering outside of the tray..pull the pot out, water it with whatever and let it drain a bit before returning to the sip tray. I suggest this because imo pouring things into the res that have the potential to rot and smell doesn't appeal to me, but it is of course your choice. I found out the hard way using hydrolyzed fish ferts....not a pleasant clean up experience.
Photo courtesy of my good friend Richayy-thanks again sweetie!!
I challenge you to try this even if on a small scale with one plant...especially if you like smart pots. You're gonna love it.
Pretty simple, but I'll try my best to stop by daily to answer any questions you may have.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
It's caught on fast in this other forum and people are loving the results. I wasn't sure which area to post this in, but I'm sure the mods will take care of that
Since I'm new with no rep and a relatively new grower (started a year ago) you have no reason to take me seriously or trust me, but if you have some perlite, and a suitable tray/saucer laying around I challenge you to try it....you may just be pleasantly surprised. Doesn't matter to me....it's your grow.
This method is especially effective with organic soil, and was designed with it in mind, but I see no reason that it wouldn't work with bagged soil. It does go against everything we've been taught about the wet/dry cycles, but with organic soil the benefit of keeping it evenly moist is huge.
I love the health and vigor I've witnessed with a SIP (self irrigating planter) system, but have no room for 5 gallon buckets in my grow room. Frankly I like to keep my plants smallish and love the benefits of fabric pots as well, so I went looking for something that would provide the evenly moist condition for the soil (the benefit) without using large self contained buckets full of soil and came up with this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NoobwannaB's Fabric Pot SIP method (works with hard pots too)
1. You want a tray to hold the wicking material and water. Doesn't matter what size, kind, etc...you can use a plant saucer or a plastic swimming pool or anything in between. I started using seed flat trays and have moved up in size since.
More volume means more water/medium means less maintenance, but it's up to you. Also, the larger the tray the more pots you can fit inside.
2. You need to fill the tray with wicking material. I use perlite and think this works best, but I've been told that lava rock, hydroton and the like works also. ROCKS, stones, and anything that is bio degradable will NOT work. The stones won't wick and you don't want to use something that will break down causing issues with mold, smells, etc
3. Add water. I like to use an inverted water bottle so that I can gauge the water level but it's not necessary. The perlite will soak up the water so keep adding until it's at the level you want it which can be anything YOU want it to be, but I suggest at least an inch below the top of the perlite. The reason for this is you don't want your pots sitting directly in the water.
Sit your pots on the top of the perlite. That's it.
-You WILL have roots growing out of the bottom and sides if using a smartie after awhile. This is normal, and they usually dry up after awhile.
-You MAY see white mold on top of the soil for a few days (Santa's beard) until the system regulates itself. This is a good thing (means your soil is alive) and nothing to be alarmed about. The plant will back off pulling excess water after a few days and the 'good mold' will stop.
-You may (probably will) see a slight discoloration of the top layer if using perlite. This is algae because of the damp conditions and high light. It won't hurt anything, but if it bothers you, you can either cover the top with landscape fabric, black plastic, whatever, but I don't suggest using anything between the perlite and the bottom of the pot. Either cut holes or drape it around the pot(s).
*I now line my tray with weedblocker fabric before adding the perlite and leave a good amount of excess before cutting. After the perlite is added, I bring the excess up over the perlite and tuck it around the pots. It shades the perlite, and helps hold moisture in the tray as well....perfect.
Once the roots start growing out the bottom, within a few days the growth up top will explode because the plant has a steady supply of good, moist living soil, and that's because the soil has a good steady supply of water.
Enjoy!
---------------------------------
You CAN use hard pots, but smart pots work best. When you place hard pots make sure there are drain holes on the bottom of the pot, and push the pot down inside the perlite a bit so that it makes good contact with the soil through the drain holes. It's probably best to avoid moving hard pots much so that the wicking (via the drain holes) isn't interupted. You can move smart pots around as much as you like.
For teas and drenches, I suggest top watering outside of the tray..pull the pot out, water it with whatever and let it drain a bit before returning to the sip tray. I suggest this because imo pouring things into the res that have the potential to rot and smell doesn't appeal to me, but it is of course your choice. I found out the hard way using hydrolyzed fish ferts....not a pleasant clean up experience.
Photo courtesy of my good friend Richayy-thanks again sweetie!!
I challenge you to try this even if on a small scale with one plant...especially if you like smart pots. You're gonna love it.
Pretty simple, but I'll try my best to stop by daily to answer any questions you may have.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
