InTheShed Grows Inside & Out: Jump In Any Time

Beautiful work there Shed. :thumb:

@Carmen Ray has been wanting someone to do a side-by-side experiment with Swicks and SIPs so maybe here's her chance to see it!

If you do, I wouldn't wait to upcan the GM. There seem to be different rules for roots for these sub-irrigated containers and a regularly watered plant will have to transition its roots over to the ones it'll use in its new reality which will likely take a week or two, so might as well start the transition now.

I would try to get some soil in between the rootball and the reservoir even if you have to rough up spread out the roots a bit wider/flatter to make room. And, if you wet the soil first before putting it on top of the reservoir container, less of it will fall through the small holes. Not a big deal if some does fall through, though.

These containers are kind of fun to grow in once they "catch" often making for bigger, healthier plants than those grown with the wet/dry cycle, probably because there's no pause in growth during the dry periods since those no longer exist. You've already seen some of that on your Swick plant.

The downside is you might have to reopen the renovation budget to widen the doorways as you schlep them in and out. ;)
 
Late night Saturday update, the one where I build my SIP (sub-irrigated planter)! I'll walk you through how I did it but keep in mind there are many many ways to build one to suit your needs.

For those who want to learn all about SIPs, I recommend @Azimuth's thread here.

This is what I started with:


I happen to have the 1/2" in PVC on hand but I wanted 3/4" for the feed tube so I used both. First step is to cover the bucket in a few layers of duct tape to keep the light out:


Next up was to measure where on the bucket the drain hole needed to be, mark it, and drill it. When drilling holes in plastic it's better to run the drill backwards:


Fits perfectly:


Then I spent a very long time using the soldering iron to put holes in the side and top of the res tub, and then had to go back with a drill bit to make sure they were all holes. Oy! That one step took longer than the rest of the build.

Next were the holes in the reservoir tub for the feed tube:


and the drain tube. The drain maintains about a 1" space above the water called the "air gap." When I measured the hole for the drain tube I made sure it would angle down toward the outside of the bucket. Here is the drain tube in place:



I sealed it to the tub with contact cement but slid it through the bucket without glue. Then I glued in the feed tube:


Here's the whole thing assembled:


Time for soil! I mixed up Fox Farms Happy Frog (FFHF) and perlite to about 60% soil and 40% perlite, along with @DYNOMYCO and packed it outside the reservoir tub. This is called the wicking foot, where the water soaks into the soil through the small holes and it's brought up to the plant via capillary action:


at which point it occurred to me that there was almost no depth below the existing roots for new roots to grow. :(


The only place they could grow would be to the sides and into the wicking foot, which may or may not be enough. Here it is filled with soil:


I didn't leave room for the plant because I wanted to see how long it would take for the water to wick from the res to the top of a full bucket. I added over a gallon of nutes before I got overflow through the tube, which means the res is bigger than I thought! I'll add more tomorrow and see how long it takes for the top of the soil to seem wetter than it was when it came out of the bag.

Plants? Yeah I have a couple, here on day 33. The 5 Killer Cookies on the left this time to keep it from casting a shadow on its much smaller mate:


There's a huge difference in size, node growth, trunk thickness, and overall happiness. Two different varieties but still.

SaugaView® of Grandpa's Moonshine:


And the much much bigger 5KC:


So, if you've made it this far, here are my thoughts: since the 5KC is having such a good time in the perlite SWICK, maybe I'll build it a 5gal SWICK and instead put the GM in the SIP to see if that will improve its demeanor (after the top-water to bottom-water transition). I'll take a look at the GM roots Sunday and see how close to needing transplanting it is. I figure the 5KC SWICK is ready to upcan because it's drinking 24 oz/day now. :eek:

That's it for me, and thanks for following along! :ciao:
Why is it better when drilling plastic to run the drill in reverse? Do you have a link? Thanks Shedster for your very informative post. lol CL🍀 :popcorn: :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
Why is it better when drilling plastic to run the drill in reverse? Do you have a link? Thanks Shedster for your very informative post. lol CL🍀 :popcorn: :cheesygrinsmiley:
Less 'rippage' of the plastic material. The drill bit doesn't bite or grab the material quite so aggressively, making for a smoother hole.
 
Less 'rippage' of the plastic material. The drill bit doesn't bite or grab the material quite so aggressively, making for a smoother hole.
I can confirm this. I drill out similar plastic a lot and Shed is correct, it works better in reverse. Otherwise you end up with hanging chads on every hole. Then you have to saw, pick, or sand them all. If you go in reverse this problem will still exist (in my experience) but be FAR less and more manageable. Nice call Shed. Not everyone would have included that gem of a detail.
 
Nice job Shed.

Is the reservoir glued to the bottom of the bucket or does it just get held down by the weight of the soil?
 
Late night Saturday update, the one where I build my SIP (sub-irrigated planter)! I'll walk you through how I did it but keep in mind there are many many ways to build one to suit your needs.

For those who want to learn all about SIPs, I recommend @Azimuth's thread here.

This is what I started with:


I happen to have the 1/2" in PVC on hand but I wanted 3/4" for the feed tube so I used both. First step is to cover the bucket in a few layers of duct tape to keep the light out:


Next up was to measure where on the bucket the drain hole needed to be, mark it, and drill it. When drilling holes in plastic it's better to run the drill backwards:


Fits perfectly:


Then I spent a very long time using the soldering iron to put holes in the side and top of the res tub, and then had to go back with a drill bit to make sure they were all holes. Oy! That one step took longer than the rest of the build.

Next were the holes in the reservoir tub for the feed tube:


and the drain tube. The drain maintains about a 1" space above the water called the "air gap." When I measured the hole for the drain tube I made sure it would angle down toward the outside of the bucket. Here is the drain tube in place:



I sealed it to the tub with contact cement but slid it through the bucket without glue. Then I glued in the feed tube:


Here's the whole thing assembled:


Time for soil! I mixed up Fox Farms Happy Frog (FFHF) and perlite to about 60% soil and 40% perlite, along with @DYNOMYCO and packed it outside the reservoir tub. This is called the wicking foot, where the water soaks into the soil through the small holes and it's brought up to the plant via capillary action:


at which point it occurred to me that there was almost no depth below the existing roots for new roots to grow. :(


The only place they could grow would be to the sides and into the wicking foot, which may or may not be enough. Here it is filled with soil:


I didn't leave room for the plant because I wanted to see how long it would take for the water to wick from the res to the top of a full bucket. I added over a gallon of nutes before I got overflow through the tube, which means the res is bigger than I thought! I'll add more tomorrow and see how long it takes for the top of the soil to seem wetter than it was when it came out of the bag.

Plants? Yeah I have a couple, here on day 33. The 5 Killer Cookies on the left this time to keep it from casting a shadow on its much smaller mate:


There's a huge difference in size, node growth, trunk thickness, and overall happiness. Two different varieties but still.

SaugaView® of Grandpa's Moonshine:


And the much much bigger 5KC:


So, if you've made it this far, here are my thoughts: since the 5KC is having such a good time in the perlite SWICK, maybe I'll build it a 5gal SWICK and instead put the GM in the SIP to see if that will improve its demeanor (after the top-water to bottom-water transition). I'll take a look at the GM roots Sunday and see how close to needing transplanting it is. I figure the 5KC SWICK is ready to upcan because it's drinking 24 oz/day now. :eek:

That's it for me, and thanks for following along! :ciao:
Looks good can't wait to see the results of the SIP & swick
 
Nice work on the diy SIP! :welldone: How heavy is that going to be, with a full reservoir? My guess: about 30 lbs.

That 5KC is certainly liking its SWICK home!
 
Greeting folks and thanks for all your feedback! Quotes below but I want to start by saying I'm thinking of taking it apart and drilling bigger holes for the water to pass through in the res. Very little was taken up by the soil overnight and I'm thinking larger holes might speed up that process. Thoughts @Azimuth?
First and foremost - that’s a beaut of a coloured bucket Shed! And beautiful neat work as well, of course! Drill plastic backwards - tyvm for the tip!
Thanks Nick! It's Home Depot orange. :)
Are you going to add a float?
Nah, I've got my high tech water sensor on hand:
20230604_091559 SIP water sensor.jpg


I left it in too long so the water spread up the bamboo but it should work fine with a quick dunk.

Love the clean finish and particularly the care to angle the overflow down.
Seemed like a reasonable decision!
Hey shed very creative & neat job , inspiring
Thanks TU!
Nice SIP build Shed! Seems they may not need a whole lot of soil to do their work well.
Thank you Otter! I'll try to get as much above the res as I can when I upcan.
Thanks for the SIP assembly tutorial Shed!
:thumb:
Beautiful work there Shed.
Thanks Azi, and thanks for your leadership in SIPville!
@Carmen Ray has been wanting someone to do a side-by-side experiment with Swicks and SIPs so maybe here's her chance to see it!
Not sure this will give anyone a true idea of how they compare with two different varieties started two different ways. It will be interesting to see if the GM makes a big move after the transition period though.
If you do, I wouldn't wait to upcan the GM. There seem to be different rules for roots for these sub-irrigated containers and a regularly watered plant will have to transition its roots over to the ones it'll use in its new reality which will likely take a week or two, so might as well start the transition now.
Good idea, thanks!
I would try to get some soil in between the rootball and the reservoir even if you have to rough up spread out the roots a bit wider/flatter to make room.
Noted, and I'll do my best.
And, if you wet the soil first before putting it on top of the reservoir container, less of it will fall through the small holes. Not a big deal if some does fall through, though.
More good info!
The downside is you might have to reopen the renovation budget to widen the doorways as you schlep them in and out.
LOL! I think it just means I flip much earlier. I can't see that 5KC going my usual 90 days in veg. :eek:
Why is it better when drilling plastic to run the drill in reverse? Do you have a link? Thanks Shedster for your very informative post. lol CL
What Azi and Jon said below. I first heard it when I was researching home-built aeroponic cloners, and I included that tip in the 2018 tutorial thread I did for that. Oh, here's the link. ;)
Less 'rippage' of the plastic material. The drill bit doesn't bite or grab the material quite so aggressively, making for a smoother hole.
I can confirm this. I drill out similar plastic a lot and Shed is correct, it works better in reverse. Otherwise you end up with hanging chads on every hole. Then you have to saw, pick, or sand them all. If you go in reverse this problem will still exist (in my experience) but be FAR less and more manageable. Nice call Shed. Not everyone would have included that gem of a detail.
Thanks guys!
Nice job Shed.
Is the reservoir glued to the bottom of the bucket or does it just get held down by the weight of the soil?
Thank you GDB! The tub is held down by the weight of the soil above it. I wanted to be able to pull the res out at the end to do a rootopsy, which is also why I didn't glue the drain pipe to the bucket.
Thanks Shed ,that help clear up somethings I was not to sure on building A SIP
Glad to help sb!
Looks good can't wait to see the results of the SIP & swick
Thanks con, me too!
Nice work on the diy SIP! How heavy is that going to be, with a full reservoir? My guess: about 30 lbs.
That 5KC is certainly liking its SWICK home!
Well the soil isn't completely saturated yet but the res is full, and it weighs (interestingly enough...) 30 pounds! You should work at a carnival. :)
 
Been reading back here a bit, tonight. Sorry you had a nasty Covid run earlier in the year. I hope it’s blown it’s way well out of you by now, with nothing lingering.
:circle-of-love:
Enjoying the garden and the innovations, as usual.

You gonna schlepp those SWICK/SIPs? :hmmmm:
 
Been reading back here a bit, tonight. Sorry you had a nasty Covid run earlier in the year. I hope it’s blown it’s way well out of you by now, with nothing lingering.
Still a little stuffed in the ears and recently some random mild vertigo (a symptom of long covid?), but other than that all better! Thanks for reading back and always lovely to see you. :)
Enjoying the garden and the innovations, as usual.
:thanks:
You gonna schlepp those SWICK/SIPs?
I yam. Already schlepped the empty SIP in last night! It's what I do...I'm schlepper.
 
little stuffed in the ears and recently some random mild vertigo (a symptom of long covid?), but other than that all better!
… it can be , yes. My immune-challenge is same mechanism as the long-Covid (post-viral, mast cell related) and vertigo can be a symptom. Sounds like you have all the protocols going already - the vit C, D zinc etc and the antivirals - plus you already know how to take a rest when you need one so, I have faith you’ll keep improving!
Already schlepped the *empty* SIP in last night! It's what I do...I'm schlepper.
How much heavier will it be when fully charged with water?
 
I want to start by saying I'm thinking of taking it apart and drilling bigger holes for the water to pass through in the res. Very little was taken up by the soil overnight and I'm thinking larger holes might speed up that process. Thoughts @Azimuth?
You should be fine as is since the wicking doesn't flow  that fast. :laughtwo: It's a bit hard to see on your void container, but I like to make holes as close to the top (bottom when installed) of that container as possible or put a layer of perlite on the bottom of the bucket, just so water can seep out a bit all the way to the bottom and so there's not a flush fit between the two.

But, it's not a big deal.

So, let's talk about how you charged it the first time. Did you just use the fill pipe, or water as normal to wet the soil? And, is your mix peat based? That stuff goes hydrophobic when it dries and is difficult to rehydrate from below. Here is a post I did in my 'Alchemy' thread where I was experimenting with different base materials when I was looking to replace CSPM in my grow mix. I tested dry leaf mold, coco, and CSPM, and the CSPM was a complete fail when I tried to rehydrate it from below.

If that's the case, I'd tip the pot toward the drain hole and get as much water out as you can, and then slowly water from the top this first time just like you would a normal upcan. Once the wicking process starts it'll be fine watering from below through the fill tube.
 
Thanks Azi!
You should be fine as is since the wicking doesn't flow  that fast. :laughtwo: It's a bit hard to see on your void container, but I like to make holes as close to the top (bottom when installed) of that container as possible or put a layer of perlite on the bottom of the bucket, just so water can seep out a bit all the way to the bottom and so there's not a flush fit between the two.
The tub is so old and brittle that there's a 1/4" broken gap at the bottom for about a third of it, and I drilled holes close to the bottom the rest of the way around (you can see some of that if you zoom in on this pic). Definitely not flush to the bucket!
So, let's talk about how you charged it the first time. Did you just use the fill pipe, or water as normal to wet the soil? And, is your mix peat based? That stuff goes hydrophobic when it dries and is difficult to rehydrate from below.
This is Fox Farms Happy Frog with perlite added, so it's about 40% perlite and 60% soil. It was a bit damp coming out of the bag and the perlite was rinsed first so it had some moisture as well. I didnt top water, just filled the res until it came out the overflow tube, and it took over a gallon to fill.
 
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