Shiggity's SIPS

ShiggityFlip;3463307 said:

The idea of sub irrigated planters has piqued my interest. I have been a fan of the wet dry method of veg growth. Drench a pot to saturation and then let the roots search out water as the pot goes dry. It produces some amazing root systems in veg.
But during flower I tend to water more often and try to keep the soil at a nice base moisture level, never quite going dry. That is what makes me interested in Sub Irrigated Planters (SIPs). They use an under soil
Reservoir to hold water and keep the soil above wet through wicking action.
The concept is very similar to hempy, but in this case we are using a living soil. SIPs have gained popularity with no till growers so I have decided to see what they can do for Doc's living soil methods.

Here is a diagram for a basic SIP

I am mostly following this design with a few minor changes. I am using the corrugated plastic ventilated drainpipe for my reservoir. I am using the 27 gallon bins from homie de POT. You know the cool yellow and black ones. I use the 54 gallon size for cooking soil. The lids make great plant trays too!

In the center you can see I have a section of pipe sideways. It will be filled with soil to act as a wick between resevoir and soil.

I wrapped the other pipes with drain pipe fabric but left the wick pipe with the top open so it can be filled with soil. Duct tape helps keep the fabric in place.

The next step was to add a drain. You could just use small fittings but I went ahead and splurged on some bulkhead fittings because they will allow me to unscrew the blue drain and put a tube in there to pump the whole tub dry if I want the soil to dry a bit. The drain is located where it will always make sure there is about 2" minimum airspace between resevoir and soil (except the wick)

The next step was to add a full pipe. I am using 1.5" potable water PVC to which I will attach a funnel to fill the resevoir when needed. It goes on an angle right into one drain pipe. It's a tight fit so soil won't get into the resevoir.

The next step was adding cooked high brix soil. I packed it into the wick tube to make sure it would draw water properly.

Finally I filled the tub with soil, never compacting it down.

Tomorrow I will make a few more SIPs and plant some plants!

Click to expand...