Building a SIP like planter

[Melville Hobbes]

Hey guys, I'll be documenting my attempt to make my own SIP like planter here.
I have acquired the following items

25 litres perlite

90 litres soil

A 63 litre tote

A length of pipe that reaches from the bottom of the tote to just above the rim

It's about 5cm in diameter.

I also have a roll of burlap, and a raw cotton bag big enough to hold a bottle of wine with plenty of space to spare.
I'm intending to put about 10 litres of perlite in the bottom of the tote, surrounding the end of the pipe and the raw cotton bag which will be full of soil.
On top of that will be a layer of burlap to keep the soil from infiltrating the perlite with a hole to the cotton bag, then the soil on top.
I'll be posting pics here as I build it, assuming @Azimuth or anyone else who has experience with SIP/swick containers doesn't tell me I'm completely wrong about whether or not this will work.
I'm open to any suggestions or critique you all may have!

 

[Melville Hobbes]

I forgot to mention, I intend to drill an overflow hole about 2cm below the top of the perlite.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I forgot to mention, I intend to drill an overflow hole about 2cm below the top of the perlite.

So your Perlite is your makeshift res so to speak ? Should work. Not sure what you're doing, but sounds like you're layering things. I've heard you shouldn't with SIP's, but never tried it. Look forward to a step by step of what you put in the bucket.

 

[Melville Hobbes]

So your Perlite is your makeshift res so to speak ? Should work. Not sure what you're doing, but sounds like you're layering things. I've heard you shouldn't with SIP's, but never tried it. Look forward to a step by step of what you put in the bucket.

Yes, that's the plan. Perlite alone in the bottom, except for a column of soil in the cotton bag. The bag goes through the burlap to the main part, with the bag open at the top, which is a mix of the soil amended with the rest of the perlite since I don't think this soil has any.
I tried to find a suitable platform to create the res, but the sizes never really worked out. I could have gone for the SIP insert for a 20 litre bucket, but I could only find 3 or 10 packs of them, and I didn't want to spend $90 for 3 inserts. So far this has cost me a grand total of $35.
I'll be starting the build tomorrow after I get the wheelbarrow back. That's where I'll be mixing the soil and perlite.

 

[Bill284]

Hey guys, I'll be documenting my attempt to make my own SIP like planter here.
I have acquired the following items

25 litres perlite

90 litres soil

A 63 litre tote

A length of pipe that reaches from the bottom of the tote to just above the rim

It's about 5cm in diameter.

I also have a roll of burlap, and a raw cotton bag big enough to hold a bottle of wine with plenty of space to spare.
I'm intending to put about 10 litres of perlite in the bottom of the tote, surrounding the end of the pipe and the raw cotton bag which will be full of soil.
On top of that will be a layer of burlap to keep the soil from infiltrating the perlite with a hole to the cotton bag, then the soil on top.
I'll be posting pics here as I build it, assuming @Azimuth or anyone else who has experience with SIP/swick containers doesn't tell me I'm completely wrong about whether or not this will work.
I'm open to any suggestions or critique you all may have!

Rock and Roll.
You better start planning your scaffolding to hold her up now.
That's going to be huge in that pot.




#VIVOSUN #Love What You Grow
Bill284

 

[Melville Hobbes]

Rock and Roll.
You better start planning your scaffolding to hold her up now.
That's going to be huge in that pot.




#VIVOSUN #Love What You Grow
Bill284

First plant in there will be one of the autos. I just have to decide which one

 

[CaptainLucky]

First plant in there will be one of the autos. I just have to decide which one

I’d like to see a Landrace Sativa in that setup it’s too bad you don’t live somewhere where it’s possible. CL

 

[Melville Hobbes]

I’d like to see a Landrace Sativa in that setup it’s too bad you don’t live somewhere where it’s possible. CL

Lol, no. A 12 to 20 week flowering period wouldn't work outdoors here. Otherwise I would definitely be growing Amnesia Haze.
My next winter journal should be a Purple Satellite grow. It's a cross of '79 Oaxaca Gold x Baglung Nepali sativa.
I would think of growing one of the seeds in this, but they're reg seeds. Besides, I'm not a small guy, but lugging that tote full of damp soil down to my basement would probably give me a hernia.

 

[CaptainLucky]

Lol, no. A 12 to 20 week flowering period wouldn't work outdoors here. Otherwise I would definitely be growing Amnesia Haze.
My next winter journal should be a Purple Satellite grow. It's a cross of '79 Oaxaca Gold x Baglung Nepali sativa.
I would think of growing one of the seeds in this, but they're reg seeds. Besides, I'm not a small guy, but lugging that tote full of damp soil down to my basement would probably give me a hernia.

Funny thing you mention that ,well maybe not that funny but last year’s outdoor grow I had a Temple Kush in a 5gl. Hempy pot. I forgot about watering it earlier and picked it up with my back instead of using my legs. I threw my back out n was on a heating pad for a month and then wound up with a hernia.Smh CL

 

[CaptainLucky]

Btw that Oaxaca cross sounds intriguing. Where are the seeds from? That’s a new one on me. CL

 

[Melville Hobbes]

Btw that Oaxaca cross sounds intriguing. Where are the seeds from? That’s a new one on me. CL

It was bred by Green Mountain Seeds and sold by Ace. Looks like Herbie's is out of stock of it.
Maybe another sponsor sells Ace?

 

[CaptainLucky]

It was bred by Green Mountain Seeds and sold by Ace. Looks like Herbie's is out of stock of it.
Maybe another sponsor sells Ace?

Yeah I love Ace but you’d think that they would know that they sellout of everything often. Or is Herbies to blame ? CL

 

[Melville Hobbes]

Yeah I love Ace but you’d think that they would know that they sellout of everything often. Or is Herbies to blame ? CL

They can only make so many seeds at a time, and they have quite the catalogue of strains.
They can't build up extra stock to hold on to either since viability can suffer. If you get known for selling old seeds with low germ rates your reputation is going to suffer more than being sold out often.

 

[Azimuth]

Hey guys, I'll be documenting my attempt to make my own SIP like planter here.
I have acquired the following items

25 litres perlite

90 litres soil

A 63 litre tote

A length of pipe that reaches from the bottom of the tote to just above the rim

It's about 5cm in diameter.

I also have a roll of burlap, and a raw cotton bag big enough to hold a bottle of wine with plenty of space to spare.
I'm intending to put about 10 litres of perlite in the bottom of the tote, surrounding the end of the pipe and the raw cotton bag which will be full of soil.
On top of that will be a layer of burlap to keep the soil from infiltrating the perlite with a hole to the cotton bag, then the soil on top.
I'll be posting pics here as I build it, assuming @Azimuth or anyone else who has experience with SIP/swick containers doesn't tell me I'm completely wrong about whether or not this will work.
I'm open to any suggestions or critique you all may have!

Interesting build, Mel. Sounds like it should work just fine.

How deep will the perlite layer be, and how high up is your overflow hole going to be?

 

[Jack420]

I’m iN sip is all new to me !!!

 

[Buds Buddy]

Btw that Oaxaca cross sounds intriguing. Where are the seeds from? That’s a new one on me. CL

Oaxaca is an Indian word pronounced (Wa-Ha-Ca). Maybe that will tell you something about it's origin. I only know that because I drove cab for a while & use to pick up at an Indian Bar with that same name.

 

[Buds Buddy]

I’m iN sip is all new to me !!!

That's because you keep disappearing for short spells.... lol. Welcome back ! I can just imagine how your grow area will look if you start doing SIP's. Think it was full before ? Ha-Ha. Think again ! Giant plants come easy with these pots.

 

[Melville Hobbes]

Interesting build, Mel. Sounds like it should work just fine.

How deep will the perlite layer be, and how high up is your overflow hole going to be?

We're going to be finding out today. I'm planning on putting two 5 litre bags of perlite in and marking the level it gets to. Then I'll drill the overflow hole 2cm below that.
I'll measure the heights and post them here.
I've been trying to get caught up in the SIP club thread, but 88 or 89 pages takes a while, lol!

I’m iN sip is all new to me !!!

This will be my first foray into it too!
Closest I've come before now was some 10 litre bottom watering pots from the dollar store.

Oaxaca is an Indian word pronounced (Wa-Ha-Ca). Maybe that will tell you something about it's origin. I only know that because I drove cab for a while & use to pick up at an Indian Bar with that same name.

Oaxaca Valley in Mexico, in this case. It's the Spanish spelling of a Nahuatl word I'm not even going to try to spell. It's also the name of one of the states down there.

That's because you keep disappearing for short spells.... lol. Welcome back ! I can just imagine how your grow area will look if you start doing SIP's. Think it was full before ? Ha-Ha. Think again ! Giant plants come easy with these pots.

I've seen pics of your grows in them! Very impressive!

 

[Azimuth]

I’m iN sip is all new to me !!!

Then come on over and check out the #SIP Club thread for some background. It's basically a grow container with soil above, water below and an air gap in between.

Grows bigger, healthier plants with less effort. Because of the water resevoir in the bottom, the plant waters itself so there's no pause in growth like you get with the wet/dry cycle.

 

[Jack420]

Sounds amazing how well does it work