Living Soil Wicking Beds

Hey y’all if you’re curious about my grows here’s my latest thread.


Happy Growing!

Seedlings detwisted and started to grow again. Damn hot vermicompost! It usually sets me back a week or so, but I'm only growing for myself.

Haven't topped off the reservoirs yet, but I will add about a gallon of fresh tap water today. I am relatively sure the cannabis roots are into the SIP water table!

I have been top-watering a bit almost every day to keep the clover going. The roots of the big clover sprouts are about into the water table as well!

You take your soil from your backyard right? Do you know it’s texture? Sand silt clay ratio?

JimmyJackCorn said:

Seedlings detwisted and started to grow again. Damn hot vermicompost! It usually sets me back a week or so, but I'm only growing for myself.

Haven't topped off the reservoirs yet, but I will add about a gallon of fresh tap water today. I am relatively sure the cannabis roots are into the SIP water table!

I have been top-watering a bit almost every day to keep the clover going. The roots of the big clover sprouts are about into the water table as well!

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Roots will find the water pretty quickly,Im filling less this round just to see.I normally fill once empty but I start with bigger plants.

DankTankerous said:

You take your soil from your backyard right? Do you know it’s texture? Sand silt clay ratio?

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I don't know its real makeup or gradation. It's a story almost a decade long. But it's basically leaves, grass, and local topsoil--which is kinda heavy in bentonite (Great Plains river valley). But I have input used play sand, random coarse sand, and inert topsoil from the batch plant--at different times and in different amounts. I have taken from it, added back--it's riddled with half-decomposed pine cones and sticks. It's really just a pile of dirt and refuse that I learned how to amend by growing different plants in it and compensating for deficiencies.

Cannabis is a lot more demanding, nutrient-wise, than most other plants I've grown and it has taught me the most. And what I learned about my soil through cannabis made the rest of my garden way better!

myke said:

Roots will find the water pretty quickly,Im filling less this round just to see.I normally fill once empty but I start with bigger plants.

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I kinda want to do a setup with a wick like you do so I can get a feel for the difference, because I noticed in my pilot wicking-bed project (a 15gal pot 18" tall) that the water level in the reservoir (a tray in this case) determined how saturated the soil became (less gravity to fight, I guess). I don't know how it affected the plant, but it didn't seem to be at all antagonistic. But the top part of the soil would dry out further down if I didn't keep the tray filled.

I'm curious how the soil and water interact differently between our two similar but different systems--or if the difference is moot when the overall soil depth is less.

JimmyJackCorn said:

I kinda want to do a setup with a wick like you do so I can get a feel for the difference, because I noticed in my pilot wicking-bed project (a 15gal pot 18" tall) that the water level in the reservoir (a tray in this case) determined how saturated the soil became (less gravity to fight, I guess). I don't know how it affected the plant, but it didn't seem to be at all antagonistic. But the top part of the soil would dry out further down if I didn't keep the tray filled.

I'm curious how the soil and water interact differently between our two similar but different systems--or if the difference is moot when the overall soil depth is less.

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My top soil is always moist,lids keep the light away and slow down evaporation a little I guess. With smaller plants I let the res go dry for a few days before I add and Ill only fill 50%. Weary of over water I guess,once plants start growing the res empties quite fast so at that point Ill keep them full.

How much capillary action do you get from the rocks? If your res is 1/4 full is the mat/fabric still moist?

So when I first started in Organics, I made these custom sip boxes. some 2x6, plywood, casters, and pond liner. Filled them with lava rock. Well once the plant got to bloom it would drink the 25 gallon pot and all the water in the box. Huge plants. I was using the sips as a giant over flow. after my first harvest i picked up the pot and most of the lava rock came with it. The roots grew right through the pot into the rock. Worked great.

myke said:

My top soil is always moist,lids keep the light away and slow down evaporation a little I guess. With smaller plants I let the res go dry for a few days before I add and Ill only fill 50%. Weary of over water I guess,once plants start growing the res empties quite fast so at that point Ill keep them full.

How much capillary action do you get from the rocks? If your res is 1/4 full is the mat/fabric still moist?

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I worried a bit about that, but it seems to wick the water well. I don't have much experince with how these new beds react, but it's the same gravel that was in the pilot project.

I didn't do any measuring of my soil depth and where it got wet or anything official, so my answer is by feel. In that 18" pot, I had to manually keep the top wet or my top dressings wouldn't break down. I'm hoping this new shallower bed doesn't have that issue--but the clover cover will obfuscate the comparison.

Overall it worked well, and wicked water up through most of the soil even when the reservoir was mostly empty. The "water table" throughout the whole pot was even. Regardless, the cannabis roots were growing out the bottom of the gravel and into the tray/reservoir. Still, shallower soil levels might be better in this system.

m4s73r said:

So when I first started in Organics, I made these custom sip boxes. some 2x6, plywood, casters, and pond liner. Filled them with lava rock. Well once the plant got to bloom it would drink the 25 gallon pot and all the water in the box. Huge plants. I was using the sips as a giant over flow. after my first harvest i picked up the pot and most of the lava rock came with it. The roots grew right through the pot into the rock. Worked great.

View attachment 5026883

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That's nearly the same as my pilot project--just the rocks were in the pot and it sat in the tray. Cool stuff!

I still have them, just dont use them anymore. More stuff in my mass of shit that ive used over the years and dont anymore. LOL

The bed is wicking well! I mulched the top with leaf mold and dry leaves, and I haven't needed to water. The soil stays consistently moist all the way up to the leaves, and it starts to feel damp about seven or eight inches down. I haven't dug further than that yet.

The plants pretty much quit growing, though!

So the two plants started popping up Oct. 21. I transplanted Oct. 30, which was too soon and likely contributes to this hardship. It has been a slow grind to a stop over the last couple weeks, and pictures over the last three days show no noticable change in growth.

At first I thought it was VPD. Mine is notoriously high, and a dry front had recently moved in. But five days ago I got the RH up to 45% (from 20-25%). 72dF (nighttime temps drop 5d at most). No improvement!

So I made sure the lights were good. 300W LED from MH, 28" high and dimmed to 50% (I put the light at 75% for a day two days ago and the poor plants nearly curled under themselves).

Reservoir smells like it always has. Bugs still crawl around in the soil.

I planted two fresh seeds today in 1:1 ROLS and an older batch of soil (same pack, C#4xChoc Diesel). If they surpass, I will make sure they are established better before transplanting into the wicking bed. Considering the damage to the plants is barely noticable, I am going about this as though it's a minor pH problem (soil is HOT; clover is struggling to sprout). In other words, I'm thinking a more established transplant's soil and root system will sufficiently buffer the effects of the new soil.

At least that's my idea right now. I'm also accepting ideas!

They may appear to not be growing but Ill bet roots are growing.Hang in there give it time plants look good.

myke said:

They may appear to not be growing but Ill bet roots are growing.Hang in there give it time plants look good.

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I sure hope you're right. I'm in no hurry to pull the old ones up. We'll see what happens.

The edges of leaves are starting to lighten, so I'm thinking potassium is locked up by the hot soil. I have plenty of bud to tide me over, so I'm just watching!

Only reason I started some backups is because I'd like to harvest before it starts getting hot in late May.

Thank you!

Maybe next time just make a 1 gallon hole and fill it with a light mix first. I veg in 2 gallon pots so when I transplant in it’s not such a shock.

myke said:

Maybe next time just make a 1 gallon hole and fill it with a light mix first. I veg in 2 gallon pots so when I transplant in it’s not such a shock.

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Definitely. I cut a corner due to Life Happening, but won't be cutting that particular corner again!

One of the two new seeds didn't sprout. The other went from underground to fully popped and straight up in one 18-hour light cycle! Still too early to decide what I'll do (four-plant max by law and I have two mothers), but this new one has my attention!

I like the idea of a sip system but how do you feed the plant? Do you use liquid nutes just a question? I grow in living soil and am setting up a irrigation system for 30 gallon pots and have a huge plastic bed for runoff water but I use top dressing to feed the soil as I go along so how do you feed them in a sip system

Hiphophippo said:

I like the idea of a sip system but how do you feed the plant? Do you use liquid nutes just a question? I grow in living soil and am setting up a irrigation system for 30 gallon pots and have a huge plastic bed for runoff water but I use top dressing to feed the soil as I go along so how do you feed them in a sip system

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When it becomes necessary, I have been top-dressing with dry fertilizer, and keeping a jug of compost tea on hand. With mulch on my soil surface, the top stays wet enough to break down the fertilizer. I just hit it with a 1/4 cup to a 1/2 cup of 4-4-4 every two weeks. If the leaves lighten in color, I give some compost tea, but not enough to runoff into the reservoir. All micros (living and mineral) are already in the soil!

This worked for my last grow, but I started seeing too fast of fade so I upped the 4-4-4 to a full cup on my last feed, gave it tea every day thereafter, and got it through the last four weeks. That plant was a HUGE nitrogen hog.

So as long as you can keep your dry nutrients wet, they should break down and seep into the soil.

There is a crap-ton of knowledge here: https://www.rollitup.org/t/sip-thread-sub-irrigated-planter.904886/

JimmyJackCorn said:

When it becomes necessary, I have been top-dressing with dry fertilizer, and keeping a jug of compost tea on hand. With mulch on my soil surface, the top stays wet enough to break down the fertilizer. I just hit it with a 1/4 cup to a 1/2 cup of 4-4-4 every two weeks. If the leaves lighten in color, I give some compost tea, but not enough to runoff into the reservoir. All micros (living and mineral) are already in the soil!

This worked for my last grow, but I started seeing too fast of fade so I upped the 4-4-4 to a full cup on my last feed, gave it tea every day thereafter, and got it through the last four weeks. That plant was a HUGE nitrogen hog.

So as long as you can keep your dry nutrients wet, they should break down and seep into the soil.

There is a crap-ton of knowledge here: https://www.rollitup.org/t/sip-thread-sub-irrigated-planter.904886/

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info will check it out

i use a layer of reflective insulation as mulch and polypropylene webbing to draw water up into the fabric pots from the reservoir. i've found to keep the soil level to half the height of the pot diameter, which when combined with the plastic mulch should produce a wet/dry ring (see picture) on top of the soil. top dressing at the first sign of flower produced a crazy upward root explosion last fall on my balcony, although by then i was watering from the top because i didn't put enough wicks out to make up for the extra water loss from being outside and the plants had gotten too big (after i realized i needed to top water) for me to try to add more

for a small indoor grow though wicking pots are awesome. i do all of my soil mixing and potting in the kitchen and bathroom. all i do in the tent is point a modified watering can/hose/wand thingy at the reservoirs to water. also it is nice because the plants can be easily moved from reservoir to reservoir

in flower though it is true watering is more frequent, although still better than hand watering. since i make a flowering soil mix there is no need to top dress, maybe only when re-potting mother plants. good thing about fabric pots is you can trim them down and still have enough left to fold over, and then unfold if you add top dressing, it's just about keeping the soil ratio to half height to width and the plastic mulch layer. although, as the plant grows, i found i can keep adding layers of soil to the top, and then i will add an extra wick to the bottom. this way i can keep a mother plant in the same pot for a while before repotting. plants go root bound in fabric pots different than in solid pots, if root bound is what to call it. more like, the roots overtake the viable soil in density in the root ball, and then things slow down etc and then time to add fresh soil