SIP thread -- (Sub-Irrigated Planter)

[raggyb]

@Polyuro do you think I will have wicking problems with the fabric pots evaporating too much esp in flower?

I believe the wick will work even when it's low water though things will be moister when it's high.

 

[meangreengrowinmachine]

Ugh I cant clone to save my life fuck me so frustrated and discouraged this go round... guess im just a from seed guy from now on ... well you're welcome seed breeders

 

[Deadhead13]

Has anybody ever used the GroBucket inserts? I’ve got a couple of EBs and a SIP that I made from a bucket but got lazy and bought 3 of these inserts. I’m planning on trying an inside run with a Spiderfarmer SF2000 and a 2 ft by 4 ft tent.

 

[GreenDave123]

Look interesting
How do they attach to the bottom of the bucket to hold water?

 

[Deadhead13]

Look interesting
How do they attach to the bottom of the bucket to hold water?

They are supposed to drop right into the bucket. I just didn’t see a wick area cut out like with an EB type system.

 

[GreenDave123]

I believe it uses the soil in the corner to wick the water up like a earth box

 

[GreenDave123]

Does anyone have a diy float level design

 

[raggyb]

Does anyone have a diy float level design

good idea. i think something like shave a wine cork down so it fits in the fill tube and floats up and down. then i cant quite think of what to poke in. something like an incense stick or a thin wire that is just stiff enough? mark it for when empty and full.

 

[1shaggyDude]

Does anyone have a diy float level design

I use a bamboo skewer. Kind of like a car dipstick for checking oil. It works okay. I believe @Tim Fox made one with a hose and grommet that's alot easier to see when filling up the res.

 

[GreenDave123]

That’s what I’m after
I was thinking the Bamboo inside a straw

 

[Bignutes]

Get one of those long skinny bobbers for fishing and a piece of stiff wire going up in a small piece of tube to keep it vertical

 

[Tim Fox]

Yup

 

[GreenDave123]

Cool that sounds like what I was thinking
Some real MacGyver stuff

 

[Bignutes]

Come to think of it a round bobber will work better because the needle type tend to submerge themselves too much so it will hit reservoir bottom and wont register the bottom few inches. The round bobber floats on top and it should almost read the reservoir bottom.

 

[Reefslinger]

For those using dYI sips in 30 gallon totes with corrugated drainage pipes covered in vermiculite then filled with supersoil, can I make this notill and just add amendments, or do I have to clean out and reset(because of the vermiculite)?

 

[Greenthumbs256]

For those using dYI sips in 30 gallon totes with corrugated drainage pipes covered in vermiculite then filled with supersoil, can I make this notill and just add amendments, or do I have to clean out and reset(because of the vermiculite)?

Em1 will keep it clean you can run no till, but the issue is eventually your going to run out of top space to keep top dressing, and eventually you will run out of nutrients.

 

[Reefslinger]

Thanks greenthumb256. Another question if I may, it’s suggested that the medium ends up being to wet for worms to thrive. Would adding a top layer of hay give them a place to hang out and while munching on the hay they’d be feeding soil?

 

[Greenthumbs256]

Thanks greenthumb256. Another question if I may, it’s suggested that the medium ends up being to wet for worms to thrive. Would adding a top layer of hay give them a place to hang out and while munching on the hay they’d be feeding soil?

I suppose it could, but that wouldn't work the way I do it simply bc of the mycelium. But I wont say it wont work, anything's possible. It could even work better then the way I do it, I just dont know bc I've never done it.

 

[bodhipop]

Love this thread.
Where is the best place to acquire the LAB serum?
Has anyone "expanded" their grokashi after purchase into more wheat bran substrate?
I also have some kombucha scoby's that got some bugs into them. They are not colonized or anything but it's nothing I would want to use for my drinks, I was wondering about utilizing this into compost/juice teas but it'll probably just go in the trash can. Kombucha has to be a pretty acidic ph, so I guess you could ferment a blend at low ph and then dilute later on before feeding the plants. Just brainstorming.

 

[NewGrower2011]

Working on finalizing my next batch of soil for my SIP(s) and curious of the pros' & cons' of running light aeration vs heavy aeration in the mix when it specifically comes to running SIPs. Furthermore, the wick itself and the amount of aeration/material. I think we're in a little different shoes than some of the other traditional advise so wondering what this crowd thought.

I think last time around I ran a few variants on the wicks which amounted to how much perlite was used and where in the wick it was used. I think, but have no real data to support it, that the ones where the wick had a lot of aeration didn't work as well.

My current batch is a bit heavy on the organic material (ewc, bu's/ancient forest compost, a little peat, some old leftovers bud material from an aborted run for some greens). I have added some montmorillonite clay this time as well with a dash more perlite. Now I'm trying to decide how much more aeration to use.

Previously I ran open-top without any 'shower cap' and think that hindered things so this time around I have some heavy duty epmd pond liner (0.045mil) to make my covers. So with a cover I won't be getting passive aeration from the top like I did before and that has me thinking about it even more.

I do plan to use EM again as I did before so from that angle I'm covered either way. I even contemplated using air stones not so much for anerobic rez but knowing I have a moderately snug seal around my totes I'm thinking it'd make it up through the soil to some degree and that might help offset the difference of having a cover this time. The air would leak out around the cover but that may also push moisture up right under the plant - which screams of mold issues in flowering, etc. So that leads me back to passive and run anaerobic - just make sure there's a small air gap under the cover.