SWICK Watering Systems: Letting The Plant Water Itself

[DrZiggy]

Looking at it again, forget about the fabric. The algae isn't a problem if you don't mind the look of it. You should have no problem just filling this baby with perlite and set the pots right into it. Put as much perlite as you can into it. Get all the advantage you can out of it.

I'll watch for updated pictures.

ok..thank you again..no fabric. got it..

 

[SweetSue]

TY, Sue. I will add some more perlite to the 2 i have and do the fabric idea this week. I need to get a large bag of perlite.

The best offer I found was Home Depot. They don't often carry it in the stores but they let you order and pay online for store pick up. About $15 for a huge bag. I had to pay shipping and it was still only $26. For the value it brought to my garden it was worth every penny I spent.

 

[DrZiggy]

The best offer I found was Home Depot. They don't often carry it in the stores but they let you order and pay online for store pick up. About $15 for a huge bag. I had to pay shipping and it was still only $26. For the value it brought to my garden it was worth every penny I spent.

TY, Sue. I got mine from same place as my azalea pots..I paid around 18. that was year ago.

 

[sheepleschism]

This looks very very interesting. I absolutely LOVE that 45gal smartpot in a kiddie pool. I could see pot-tiering 3 plants in that badboy and put the kiddie pool on a lazy susan.

 

[SweetSue]

This looks very very interesting. I absolutely LOVE that 45gal smartpot in a kiddie pool. I could see pot-tiering 3 plants in that badboy and put the kiddie pool on a lazy susan.

I was thinking the same thing sheepleschism. The lazy Susan would simplify the whole thing. I think before I set up a big pot I'm going to make one to sit it on. We did a lazy Susan for our Christmas tree two seasons ago (I'd been asking for one for about 20 years ) and it made decorating the tree a breeze. Lazy Susan's are definitely the way to go. These pots get heavy!

 

[sheepleschism]

With those roots growing right into the perlite...will it hurt the plant to pick it up, turn it, or whatever mid-grow?

Also, would you still top water drenches and teas? what about flushing?

 

[SweetSue]

MAKING THE SWICK WORK

There are some guidelines that make this system work smoothly.

1. When you mix up your soil, go overboard on the aeration, to the tune of up to 25% more in volume. This will assist the wicking up through the entire pot.

2. Keep the water level to 1-2" below the bottom of the pots, whether sitting on the surface or snuggled into the perlite. You want to avoid the roots sitting in water.

3. A SWICK will work best with perlite. The smaller particulate matter wicks the water up more smoothly than larger pieces, but lava rock will work well too. Once the water has begun wicking up it maintains a continuous flow on demand. If using hard pots, go with perlite.

4. Go as deep as you comfortably can. This system is designed to eliminate the stress of watering. A deeper reservoir means less frequent topping off. A shallow reservoir might need replenishing numerous times a day. If you travel regularly choose a deeper reservoir. We know of one case where the grower went away for a week and his plants didn't skip a beat.

5. If you use big pots you might want to consider lazy susans under them. Think of how easy that will make maintaining and grooming your plants.

6. Fabric pots act as additional wicking agents, pulling the water right into the matrix. If you use hard pots you need to nestle them into the perlite so that the soil comes into contact with the perlite through the drain holes.

7. After the system has set itself you will notice an eerie consistency on water draw by the plants. I have no explanation for this, but it's held consistent all through my grow. When they were ready to harvest water draw dropped by almost half about three to five days ahead. This makes it easier to prepare for harvest.

8. You can tell if the system is working by checking for wetness along the bottom of the pot. Not wringing wet, but obviously moist.

9. Roots exiting the pot can be scraped off without any damage or stress to the plant. These are only water roots. You can also leave them until you harvest and scrape them off as you reset the pot for the next planting. Incidentally, when you see those exiting roots you should expect a growth spurt to occur.

10. Consider one large SWICK for numerous plants. The plants apparently communicate with each other in much the same manner that those sharing a soil matrix will. This is a subtle thing and difficult to quantify, but plants sharing a common SWICK seem to be happier and healthier. There is so much we don't understand in this wonderful world of ours.

That's all I can think of. We have a limited amount of time to edit this, so if anyone has any other pointers, please let me know and I will edit.

 

[SweetSue]

With those roots growing right into the perlite...will it hurt the plant to pick it up, turn it, or whatever mid-grow?

Also, would you still top water drenches and teas? what about flushing?

Loving the questions sheepleschism.

The exiting roots are only water roots and can be scraped off without harming or stressing the plant. You don't have to do that though. If you lift and turn the pots daily that tends to break them off or keep them from getting too much mass build up, but again, not necessary.

Drenches can be accommodated by either

- reducing your volume and using a more concentrated drench or tea that is watered in slowly so it doesn't pollute the reservoir, or

- removing the pot from the SWICK and moving it to a staging area with a basin to catch run off. Once the pot stops draining simply place it back on the SWICK.

Removing the pot to drench is the method most choose. Obviously that's not an option with a 45 gallon pot. I prefer the concentrated drench method. My thought is that the soil food web will have no problem shuttling those micro-nutrients in the teas and drenches around in this evenly-hydrated soil matrix.

We're growing in LOS or HB. No flushing is needed. Worth considering, eh?

 

[Radogast]

Love the kiddie pool!! I'm six bucks into my perlite containers,, or I'd do that. You have that in a 4x4 right 36Gr0w?

Got my lava yesterday,, I like it, wish I had it in this run....Will be in the next!!

MassMedMan

Please pm me with your lava supplier. I've called Connecticut and a mining wholesaler looking for pumice. !

 

[Radogast]

For those of you with large perlite trays, do you get powder in the air?
I'm looking at 16 cu. ft. in a flood tray and don't want to breathe dust every time I open the door.

 

[SweetSue]

For those of you with large perlite trays, do you get powder in the air?
I'm looking at 16 cu. ft. in a flood tray and don't want to breathe dust every time I open the door.

No worries Rad. When filling the reservoirs it's advised to wear a mask. That's the smart approach, since perlite does throw copious amounts of dust when dry. Once you wet it down and fill the reservoir and the perlite has begun wicking, the surface is damp and dust becomes a non-issue. It stays wet as long as you keep water in it.

Again, after it has become uniformly wet there is no dust to speak of from then on. To get dust you would have to let it dry completely. As ClosetPharmer discovered with his, that would take quite an extended period of total neglect. The surface of the perlite particles hold and retain a surprising amount of water.

If you use those huge trays you have for a SWICK you are going to be amazed Rad.

 

[DrZiggy]

Im SWICKing.. and high from some awesome Willie Nelson..

Purple Malawi before upcoming her, SWICK'd

Tote Top w Perlite

Plants in Perlite SWICK

 

[SweetSue]

Im SWICKing.. and high from some awesome Willie Nelson..

Purple Malawi before upcoming her, SWICK'd

Tote Top w Perlite

Plants in Perlite SWICK

There you go Ziggy. Watch the roots explode.

 

[DrZiggy]

There you go Ziggy. Watch the roots explode.

Im doing the High Brix SWICKs

 

[SweetSue]

Im doing the High Brix SWICKs

In a month I'll be joining you, and in a 4x4tent, nonetheless.

 

[DrZiggy]

In a month I'll be joining you, and in a 4x4tent, nonetheless.

 

[Radogast]

Im doing the High Brix SWICKs

"High Brix SWICKs" sounds like a featured dance bit from a Ginger Rogers musical !

Quite a lyrical ragtime number

 

[36Gr0w]

Copied from my journal. 4th day running the pool swick.


Gotta say, I'm loving the swick so far. I had my doubts with the depth of the 45gal, but other than the top inch or so(which dries out without mulch), everything including the 45 gal is staying perfectly hydrated. There was no water left at the bottom of my pool when I finally got in from the yard after work. No problem, the perlite seems to hold enough moisture; I'm still not at risk for drying out my swick for a few days, then the plants have time after that before they really dry out. Seems like a great buffer so far. I'm not leaving town without knowing this works, and so far no reasons to believe it won't. Roots haven't even reached the res yet and I'm seeing great lateral growth and nice big leaves. Thai Stick and Chocolate Thai are looking great. Chocolate Thai has a great fragrance to get already. I'm stoked.

 

[ClosetPharmer]

I welcome anyone with a SWICK or anyone setting up one to feel free to document it here. The more we can illustrate the easier it is for newcomers to this excellent system to begin their own transitions.

ClosetPharmer, I'd appreciate a testimonial about your coming home after being away a week. Awesome story!

Great idea, BTW I discovered your journals and this site when I was reading the thread at that other site, thank you for connecting me to this great community!

So on to my story. I was looking for was the easiest, laziest way to grow. I frequently have to go out of town for several days and I need the plants to be able to left alone. I made mine from RubberMaid containers and hydroton (the recylced glass type not clay). I wasn't smart like SweetSue and didn't put the rock in a black bag. Given the tubs are transparent, I've got some interesting algea growing in the tubs.

I was able to leave them for 7 days and they still had water felt in the tubs!

Here's a shot of my cabinet today. More details on the soil and cabinet in my journal.

 

[SweetSue]

Thank you for posting ClosetPharmer. Your story is an invaluable asset to our endeavor.

That algae won't have any detrimental effect on the SWICK. If it gets too unsightly the best approach is simply to lay it out to dry and reuse. You could drape them with weed blocker cloth. Cut it long enough to go to the floor and just scrunch it around the pots. That would cut down on algae growth.

And may I say "Wow". Those plants are getting huge!