This will likely be the final update on my ‘wick watering’ experiment. Details in the comments below. (Spoiler: It has been successful beyond my most optimistic expectations.)
This will likely be the final update on my ‘wick watering’ experiment. Details in the comments below. (Spoiler: It has been successful beyond my most optimistic expectations.)
by b_rog_b
3 Comments
b_rog_b
This has been a really successful experiment. None of these plants have been watered all season, other than occasionally topping off the reservoirs. Last season I had eleven plants that produced about 4.7 Kg of harvest. This season I only have four plants that (so far) have produced over 5.5 Kg. The spreadsheet I posted above shows about 5.15 Kg, but it has been updated a couple of times since I snapped this, and there are a lot more pods ripening on the plants right now, although they are definitely starting to slow down. We’re supposed to have nice weather for about another month, so I’m optimistic that many of them will mature.
I am really amazed that the plants thrived during a really wet period, and now a prolonged dry period … no signs of over- or under-watering. The only time the plants received ‘any’ moisture from above is when I fertilized a couple of times. Otherwise, it’s was always ‘let them take what they need’. I will definitely be doing this next season. BTW … this method also worked out really well with the seedlings I started in February, for both my pepper seedlings and some other veg seedlings I started indoors.
There are folks who have constructed elegant self-watering or sub-irrigation systems that work really well. I wanted to see if I could do well with just a bare-bones setup that didn’t require any build, other than just using the reservoir/wick concept. I also had a couple of non-veg plants (a Gerbera Daisy and a Rosemary bush) that were in grow bags. I put those on a ‘wicking mat’ that draws water up from a reservoir to be absorbed by the grow bag and wicked up into the soil. Those plants were also really happy!
I was very skeptical about this, but I have to say I’m sold on it now.
.rog.
duerra
I built 10 SIPs this year for my home garden. They have been incredibly productive, and while it was a ton of work, I’m really happy that I did. My peppers have been especially happy, and my potato and tomato harvests were already tremendous. Next year I’ll add cattle panel fencing over the peppers to help keep them upright after a heavy wind, but beyond that it really could not have gone any better.
TinStingray
Wow, impressive yield! What do you use as the wick? Any problem with algae in the reservoir?
3 Comments
This has been a really successful experiment. None of these plants have been watered all season, other than occasionally topping off the reservoirs. Last season I had eleven plants that produced about 4.7 Kg of harvest. This season I only have four plants that (so far) have produced over 5.5 Kg. The spreadsheet I posted above shows about 5.15 Kg, but it has been updated a couple of times since I snapped this, and there are a lot more pods ripening on the plants right now, although they are definitely starting to slow down. We’re supposed to have nice weather for about another month, so I’m optimistic that many of them will mature.
I am really amazed that the plants thrived during a really wet period, and now a prolonged dry period … no signs of over- or under-watering. The only time the plants received ‘any’ moisture from above is when I fertilized a couple of times. Otherwise, it’s was always ‘let them take what they need’. I will definitely be doing this next season. BTW … this method also worked out really well with the seedlings I started in February, for both my pepper seedlings and some other veg seedlings I started indoors.
There are folks who have constructed elegant self-watering or sub-irrigation systems that work really well. I wanted to see if I could do well with just a bare-bones setup that didn’t require any build, other than just using the reservoir/wick concept. I also had a couple of non-veg plants (a Gerbera Daisy and a Rosemary bush) that were in grow bags. I put those on a ‘wicking mat’ that draws water up from a reservoir to be absorbed by the grow bag and wicked up into the soil. Those plants were also really happy!
I was very skeptical about this, but I have to say I’m sold on it now.
.rog.
I built 10 SIPs this year for my home garden. They have been incredibly productive, and while it was a ton of work, I’m really happy that I did. My peppers have been especially happy, and my potato and tomato harvests were already tremendous. Next year I’ll add cattle panel fencing over the peppers to help keep them upright after a heavy wind, but beyond that it really could not have gone any better.
Wow, impressive yield! What do you use as the wick? Any problem with algae in the reservoir?